13 20 545 https://historysoa.com/files/original/5/306/1897-08-02-The-Author-8-3.pdf eb8c988715633956c9c1de1e4d303380 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 The Author Description An account of the resource A digitised run of the Society of Authors' monthly periodical, The Author, 1890–1914, made available together for the first time. Currently users can browse issues and <a href="https://historysoa.com/items/browse?search=&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bjoiner%5D=and&advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=51&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Index&collection=&type=&tags=&exhibit=&date_search_term=&submit_search=Search+For+Items&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) 1897-08-02 Volume 8 Issue 3 Pages Page range in volume 57–88 Ngram Date Version of the date in YYYYMMDD format for use by the Ngram plugin 18970802 Ngram Text Version of the text with no HTML formatting for use by the Ngram plugin XL he Hutbor* (The Organ of the Incorporated Society of Aidhors. Monthly.) CONDUCTED BY WALTER BESANT. Vol. VIII.—No. 3.] AUGUST 2, 1897. [Price Sixpence. CONT FAQ I General Memoranda 87 From the Committee 59 Literary Properly—1. The Home of Lords Committee. 2. The New Copyright Bill. 3. The Eight of CriiioiBm. 4. University of Cambridge r. Blackie and Sons 59 Copyright (Amendment) Bill (H. of L.) 63 Civil List Pensions 67 Notes and News. By the Editor 67 The Proposed Net System "1 A Warning to Authors and Others 72 A Case in Pofnt 74 ENTS. PAOI 'International Library Conference 75 Book Talk 78 Fashions in Language. By H. O. K ... 81 Correspondence.—1. Corruptions of the Language. 2. Editor and Contributor. 8. English Novels In Germany. 4. A Query. 5. Transliteration. 6. Subjunctive Mood: its Present Day use. 7. Cost of Production. S. How Long; 82 Literature in the Periodicals 85 Personal 86 Obituary 87 The Books of the Month 87 PUBLICATIONS OF THE SOCIETY. 1. The Annual Report, That for January 1897 can be had on application to the Secretary. 2. The Author. A Monthly Journal devoted especially to the protection and maintenance of Literary Property. Issued to all Members, 6*. 6d. per annum. Back numbers are offered at the following prices: Vol. I., 10*. 6d. (Bound); Vols. II., III., and IV., 8«. 6d. each (Bound); Vol. V., 6s. 6J. (Unbound). 3. Literature and the Pension List. By W. Morris Colles, Barrister-at-Law. (Henry Glaisher, 95, Strand, W.C.) 3$. 4. The History of the Societe des Gens de Lettres. By S. Squire Spriooe, late Secretary to the Society, is. 5. The Cost of Production. In this work specimens are given of the most important forms of type, size of page, <fec, with estimates showing what it costs to produce the more common kinds of books. Henry Glaisher, 95, Strand, W.C. 2*. 6d. 6. The Various Methods of Publication. By S. Squire Sprigoe. In this work, compiled from the papers in the Society's offices, the various forms of agreements proposed by Publishers to Authors are examined, and their meaning carefully explained, with an account of the various kinds of fraud which have been made possible by the different clauses in their agreements. Henry Glaisher, 95, Strand, W.C. 3*. 7. Copyright Law Reform. An Exposition of Lord Monkswell's Copyright Bill now before Parlia- ment. With Extracts from the Report of the Commission of 1878, and an Appendix containing the Berne Convention and the American Copyright Bill. By J. M. Lely. Eyre and Spottiswoode. is. 6d. 8. The Society of Authors. A Record of its Action from its Foundation. By Walter Besant (Chairman of Committee, 1888—1892). is. 9. The Contract of Publication in Germany, Austria, Hungary, and Switzerland. By Ernst Lunge, J.U.D. 2*. 6d. ## p. 56 (#470) ############################################# 11 AD VER TISEMENTS. ^i)e gociefj} of Jlufljors (§ttcotporafe6). 8ib Edwin Arnold, K.C.I.E., C.S.I. J. M. Barbie. A. W. X Beckett. Robert Bat em an. F. E. Beddard, F.R.S. Sir Henry Bkrgne, K.C.M.G. Sib Walter Besant. ATjOUBTINE BlRRELL, M.P. Rev. Prop. Bonnet, F.R.S. Right Hon. James Brtce, M.P. Right Hon. Lord Burohclire, P.C. Hall Cains. Eoerton Castle, F.S.A. P. W. Clatden. Edward Clodd. W. Morris Colles. Hon. John Collier. Sir W. Martin Conwat. F. Marion Crawford. The Eabl of Desart. president. o-ieozroce :mz:e:k.:e:dit;e3:. COUNCIL. Adstin Dobson. a. conan dotle, m.d. A. W. Dubouro. Prof. Michael Foster, F.R.S. D. W. Freshfield. Richard Garnett, C.B., LL.D. Edmund Gosse. H. Rider Haqgard. Thomas Hardy. Anthony Hope Hawkins. Jerome K. Jerome. RuDYARD KlPLINO. Prof. E. Ray Lankester, F.R.S. W. E. H. Lecky, P.C. J. M. Lely. Mrs. E. Lynn Linton. Rev. W. J. Loftie, F.S.A. Sir A. C. Mackenzie, Mas.Doc. Prof. J. M. D. Meiklejohn. Herman C. Merivale. Eon. Counsel — E. M. Underdown, Rev. C. H. Middleton-Wake. Sir Lewis Morris. Henry Norman. Miss E. A. Ormerod. J. C. Parkinson. Right Hon. Lord Pirbrioht, P.C, F.R.S. Sir Frederick Pollock, Bart., LL.D. Walter Herries Pollock. W. Baptiste Scoones. Miss Flora L. Shaw. G. R. Sims. S. Squire Spriqoe. J. J. Stevenson. Francis Store. William Moy Thomas. H. D. Traill, D.C.L. Mrs. Humphry Ward. Miss Charlotte M. Yonoe. Q.C. A.. W. X Beckett. Sir Walter Besant. Eoerton Castle, F.S.A. W. Morris Colles. ART. Hon. John Collier (Chairman). Sir W. Martin Conway. M. H. Spielmann COMMITTEE OF MANAGEMENT Chairman—H. Rider Haggard. Sir W. Martin Conway. D. W. Freshfield. Anthony Hope Hawkins. J. M. Lely. SU B-COM M ITTEES. MUSIC. C. Villiers Stanford, Mas.D. (Chairman) Jacques Blumenthal. J. L. Molloy. Sir A. C. Mackenzie, Mub.Doc. Henry Norman. Francis Storr. Solicitors— f Field, Roscoe, and Co., Lincoln's Inn Fields DRAMA. Henry Arthur Jones (Chairman). A. W. a Beckett. Edward Rose. Herbert Thring, B.A., 4, Portugal-street. Secretary—G. Herbert Thrino, B.A. OFFICES: 4, Portugal Street, Lincoln's Inn Fields, W.C. .A.. IP. WJ^TT & SOINT, LITERARY AGENTS, Formerly of 2, PATERNOSTER SQUARE, Have now removed to HASTINGS HOUSE, NORFOLK STREET, STRAND, LONDON". W.C. Published every Friday morning; price, without Reports, 9<L; with Reports, Is. THE LAW TIMES, the Journal of the Law and the Lawyers, which has now been established for over half a century, supplies to the Profession a complete Record of the Progress of Legal Reforms, and of all matters affecting the Legal Profession. The Reports of the Law Times are now recognised as the most complete and efficient Beries published. Offices: Windsor House, Bream's-buildings, E.0 THE ART of CHESS. By James Mason. Price 5s. net, by post 5s. 4d. London: Horace Cox, Windsor House, Bream's-buildings, E.0. THE KNIGHTS and KINGS of CHESS. By the Rev. G. A. MACDONNELL, B.A. With Portrait and 17 Illustra- tions. Crown 8vo., cloth boards, price 2s. «d. net. London: HouACE Cox, Windsor House, Bream's-buildings, E.O. ## p. 57 (#471) ############################################# be Hutbor* (The Organ of the Incorporated Society of Authors. Monthly.) CONDUCTED BY WALTER BESANT. Vol. VIII.—No. 3.] AUGUST 2, 1897. [Price Sixpence. For the Opinions expressed in papers that are signed or initialled the Authors alone are responsible. None of the papers or para- graphs must be taken as expressing the collective opinions of the Committee unless they are. officially signed by G. Herbert Thring, Sec. THE Secretary of the Society begs to give notice that all remittances are acknowledged by return of post, and requests that all members not receiving an answer to important communications within two days will write to him without delay. All remittances should be crossed Union Bank of London, Chancery-lane, or be sent by registered letter only. Communications and letters are invited by the Editor on all subjects connected with literature, but on no other sub- jects whatever. Articles which cannot be accepted are returned if stamps for the purpose accompany the MSS. GENERAL MEMORANDA. FOB some years it has been the praotioe to insert, in every number of The Author, certain " General Con- siderations," Warnings, Notices, &c, for the guidance of the reader. It has been objeoted as regards these warnings that the tricks or frauds against which they are directed cannot all be guarded against, for obvious reasons. It is, however, well that they should be borne in mind, and if any publisher refuses a clause of precaution he simply reveals his true character, and should be left to carry on his business in his own way. Let us, however, draw up a few of the rules to be observed in an agreement. There are three methods of dealing with literary property:— I. That of Belling it outright. This is in some respects the most satisfactory, if a proper price can be obtained. But the transaction should be managed by a competent agent. II. A pro&t-sharing agreement. In this case the following rules should be attended to > (1.) Not to sign any agreement in which the cost of pro- duction forms a part. (2.) Not to give the publisher the power of putting the profits into his own pocket by charging for advertisements VOL. VIII. in his own organs: or by charging exchange advertise- ments. _ (3.) Not to allow a special charge for " offioe 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! (7.) To stamp the agreement. III. The royalty system. In this system, which has opened the door to a most amazing amount of overreaching and trading on the author's ignorance, it is above all things necessary to know what the proposed royalty means to both °ides. It is now possible for an author to ascertain approximately and very nearly the truth. Prom time to time the very important figures conneoted with royalties are published in The Author. Readers can also work out the figures themselves from the "Cost of Production." Let no one, not even the youngest writer, sign a royalty agreement without finding out what it gives the publisher as well as himself. It has been objeoted. that these precautions presuppose a great success for the book, and that very few books indeed attain to this great success. That is quite true: but there is always this uncertainty of literary property that, although the works of a groat many authors carry with them no risk at all, and although of a great many it is known within a few copies what will be their minimum circulation, it is not known what will be their maximum. Therefore every author, for every book, should arrange on the chance of a success whioh will not, probably, come at all; but which may come. The four points whioh the Society has always demanded from the outset are:— (1.) That both sides shall know what an agreement means. (2.) The inspection of those account books which belong to the author. We are advised that this is a right, in the nature of a common law right, which cannot be denied or withheld. (3.) That there shall be no secret profits. (4.) That nothing shall be charged whioh has not been actually paid—for instance, that there shall be no charge for advertisements in the publisher's own organs and none for exchanged advertisements and that all dissounta shall b" duly entered. If these points are carefully looked after, the author may rest pretty well assured that he is in right hands. At the same time he will do well to send his agreement to the secretary before he signs it. F 2 ## p. 58 (#472) ############################################# 58 THE AUTHOR. HOW TO USB THE SOCIETY. I. "TTWERY member has a right to ask for and to receive I* J advice upon his agreements, his choice of a pub- lisher, or any dispute arising in the conduct of his business or the administration of his property. If the advice sought is such as can be given best by a solicitor, the member has a right to an opinion from the Society's solicitors. If the case is such that Counsel's opinion is desirable, the Com- mittee will obtain for him Counsel's opinion. All this without any cost to the member. 2. Eemember that questions connected with oopyright and publisher's agreements do not generally fall within the experience of ordinary solicitors. Therefore, do not scruple to use the Society first—our solicitors are continually engaged upon such questions for us. 3. Send to the office copies of past agreements and past accounts with the loan of the books represented. This is in order to ascertain what has been the nature of your agree- ments, and the results to author and publisher respectively so far. The Seoretary will always be glad to have any agreements, new or old, for inspection and note. The infor- mation thns obtained may prove invaluable. 4. If the examination of your previous business trans- actions by the Secretary proves unfavourable, you should take advice as to a change of publishers. 5. Before signing any agreement whatever, send the pro- posed dooument to the Society for examination. 6. The Society is acquainted with the methods, and—in the cose of fraudulent houses—the tricks of every publish- ing firm in the country. 7. Remember always that in belonging to the Society you are fighting the battles of other writers, even if you are reaping no benefit to yourself, and that you are advancing the best interests of literature in promoting the indepen- dence of the writer. 8. Send to the Editor of The Author notes of everything important to literature that you may hear or meet with. 9. The committee have now arranged for the reception of members' agreements and their preservation in a fireproof safe. The agreements will, of course, be regarded as con- fidential documents to be read only by the Secretary, who will keep the key of the safe. The Society now offers:—(1) To read and advise upon agreements and publishers. (2) To stamp agreements in readiness for a possible action upon them. (3) To keep agreements. (4) To enforce payments due according to agreements. THE AUTHORS' SYNDICATE. MEMBERS are informed: 1. That the Authors' Syndicate takes charge of the business of members of the Society. That it submits MSS. to publishers and editors, concludes agree- ments, examines, passes, and collects accounts, and, gene- rally, relieves members of the trouble of managing business details. 2. That the terms upon which its services can be secured will be forwarded upon detailed application. 3. That the Authors' Syndicate works only for those members of the Society whose work possesses a market value. 4. That the Syndicate can only undertake any negotiations whatever ou the distinct understanding that those negotia- tions are placed exclusively in its hands, and that all communications relating thereto are referred to it. 5. That clients can only be seen by the Direotor by appointment, and that, when possible, at least two days' notice should be given. 6. That every attempt is made to deal with all communi- cations promptly. That stamps should, in ail cases, be sent to defray postage. 7. That the Authors' Syndicate does not invite MSS. without previous correspondence; does not hold itself responsible for MSS. forwarded without notice; and that in all cases MSS. must be accompanied by stamps to defray postage. 8. That the Syndicate undertakes arrangements for lectures by some of the leading members of the Society; that it has a "Transfer Department" for the sale and purchase of journals and periodicals; and that a " Register of Wants and Wanted" is open. Members are invited to communicate their requirements to the Manager. There is an Honorary Advisory Committee, whose services will be called upon in any case of dispute or difficulty. It is perhaps necessary to state that the members of the Advisory Committee have no pecuniary interest whatever in the Syndicate. NOTICES. THE Editor of The Author begs to remind members of the Society that, although the paper is sent to them free of charge, the cost of producing it would be a very heavy charge on the resources of the Society if a great many members did not forward to the Secretary the modest 6s. 6d. subscription for the year. The Editor is always glad to receive short papers and communications on all subjects connected with literature from members and others. Nothing can do more good to the Society than to make The Author complete, attractive, and interesting. Will those who are willing to aid in this work send their names and the special subjects on which they ore willing to write? Communications for The Author should reach the Editor not later than the 21 st of each month. All persons engaged in literary work of any kind, whether members of the Society or not, are invited to communicate to the Editor any points connected with their work which it would be advisable in the general interest to publish. Members and others who wish their MSS. read are requested not to send them to the Office without previously communicating with the Secretary. The utmost practicable despatch is aimed at, and MSS. are read in the order in which they are received. It must also be distinctly under- stood that the Society does not, under any circumstances, undertake the publication of MSS. The Authors' Club is now open in its new premises, at 3, Whitehall-court, Charing Cross. Address the Secretary for information, rules of admission, Ac. Will members take the trouble to ascertain whether they have paid their subscriptions for the year? If they will do this, and remit the amount, if still unpaid, or a banker's order, it will greatly assist the Secretary, and save him the trouble of sending out a reminder. Members are most earnestly entreated to attend to the following warning. It is a most foolish and may be a most disastrous thing to enter into an agreement binding for a term of years. Let them ask themselves if they would give a solicitor the collection of their rents for five years to come, whatever his conduct, whether he was honest . I ## p. 59 (#473) ############################################# THE AUTHOR. 59 or dishonest? Of coarse they would not. Why then hesitate for a moment when they are asked to sign them- selves into literary bondage for three or five years? Those who possess the "Cost of Production" are requested to note that the cost of binding has advanced 15 per cent. This means, for those who do not like the trouble of "doing sums," the addition of three shillings in the pound on this head. In other words, if the cost of binding is set down in our book at eight pounds, to this must now be added twenty-four shillings more, bo that it now stands at £g 48. The figures in our book are as near the exact truth as can be procured; but a printer's, or a binder's, bill is so elastic a thing that nothing more exact can be arrived at. Some remarks have been made upon the amount charged in the " Cost of Production " for advertising. Of course, we have not included any sums which may be charged for inserting advertisements in the publisher's own magazines, or in other magazines by exchange. As agreements too often go, there is nothing to prevent the publishor from sweeping the whole profits o a book into his own pocket, by inserting any number of advertisements in his own magazines, and by exchanging with others. Some there are who call this a form of fraud; it is not known what those who practise this method of swelling their own profits call it. FROM THE COMMITTEE. ON Thursday, July 26, a meeting of the Com- mittee was held at the Medical Association Rooms, Hanover-square. It was Resolved: "That in view of the proposed action of the Publishers' Association towards the booksellers, a committee be appointed to consider the whole questiou, and to arrive at the opinions and inte- rests of the persons most concerned. That the committee should consist of five, who should have power to extend their number to twelve, but not more." It is expected that the committee will begin their work in September. Owing to the great pressure upon our space this month, Mr. Hapgood's New York Letter, and Mr. Sherard's Notes from Elsewhere, have been unavoidably held over. LITERARY PROPERTY. I.—The House of Loeds Committee. THE Select Committee of the House of Lords which has been appointed to deal with the copyright law promoted by the Society, and drafted for the Society by Mr. J. Rolt, of 4, New- square, sat for the first time on Thursday, July 1. As previously stated in The Author, the Bill is being brought forward on behalf of the Society by Lord Monkswell, who acted as chairman of the Lords' Committee. Mr. Daldy, who was a member of the com- mission of 1878, and who is secretary of the Copyright Association, was the first witness called. He gave evidence on the various points of the Bill, and answered the numerous questions put to him by their Lordships as to the effect of the Bill and its bearing with regard to change in the exist- ing law. The witness, in answer to their Lordships, touched on the point of the inclusion of transla- tion rights in a definition of copyright and its effect on the International law; on the question of the definition of " book" shall include " news- paper"; on the existing law with respect to lectures ; on the proposed amendment of that law; and generally on all the other points dealt with in the Bill. After the witness had given his evidence on the point relating to the definition "book shall include newspaper," the room was cleared, and on the re-admission of the public the chairman said that the committee had come to the conclusion that they would not include any alteration in the law with regard to the copyright in newspapers in the present Bill. Mr. Daldy was taken through various objec- tions, and suggested amendments, which objec- tions and amendments he had furnished to the secretary of the Society, who in turn had forwarded them to the chairman of the committee. Their Lordships listened with attention to his statements, and reserved the points for their con- sideration. At the conclusion of Mr. Daldy's evidence, Mr. C. J. Longman, representing the Publishers' Association, was called. His evidence was given in support of the Bill in all its important essen- tials. He did not touch on the points that had already been covered by the former witness except when it appeared to him that errors of law or fact had been put before their Lordships. His evidence was very strongly in favour of the fullest protection for the performance of dramatic works, whether such performance took place in a place of dramatic entertainment or in a private house. Although not supporting the suggestion in the Bill for registration at the British Museum, he stated that he looked forward to a time when registration should be made compulsory. Mr. G. H. Thring, the secretary of the Society, as representing the promoters of the Bill, was called last so as, if necessary, to supplement or correct the evidence already given, and to put before the Committee, should they desire, the views of the promoters of the Bill on any of the sepa- ## p. 60 (#474) ############################################# 6o THE AUTHOR. rate clauses. As most of the difficulties had already been explained (both of the former wit- nesses being mainly in favour of the Bill), there was very little to add, but the secretary pressed those points which appeared to be of the greatest benefit to authors, namely, the repeal of the 18th section of the existing Act and the adoption of the present clauses; the retention in the author of rights of dramaiisation of his novels, and the necessity for complete registration. The committee then adjourned to Thursday, July 8. On Thursday, July 8th, their Lordships' Special Committee again sat, Mr. Bram Stoker, Sir Henry Irving's manager, was called as being able to answer for the theatrical managers on the points relating to the drama and dramatic rights. He stated that the practice of dramatising novels was on the increase, and he thought it was absolutely essential both that the author of a book should be protected from dramatisation, and the author of a drama from novelisation. He submitted that dramatic authors should be able to prohibit performances in public or private. He desired to see a simplification if possible of the method of obtaining an injunction against the infringing parties, and stated that managers would prefer such simplified legal remedy rather than merely the power of obtaining penalties. He also touched on the subject of copyright in lectures. At the close of his evidence the room was ■cleared for the consideration of the Bill by their Lordships. The Bill has now been revised by the Special Committee, Lord Thring undertaking the redraft- ing of it on behalf of their Lordships' Special Committee. On Monday, July 19, Lord Monkswell on the motion to go into committee on the Bill made the following speech. The House then went into committee, and the amendments proposed by the Special Committee were agreed to. Lord Monkswell asked to be allowed to say a few words as to the proceedings of the Select Committee to which the Bill was referred. The benches opposite were represented by Lord Knutsford, Lord Pirbright, Lord Hatherton, and Lord Tennyson; while Lord Farrer, Lord Thring, and Lord Wei by represented that side. The committee sat several days, and went into the subject carefully. The first point which they devoted a great deal of attention to was that of translation. It was absolutely necessary to amend the law with regard to translations. It was now in a sad state of confusion. Trans- lation into foreign tongues were dealt with under the Berne Convention and under the International Copyright Act. But as to trans- lations into Hindustani, Welsh, Gaelic, and other tongues current within the British Dominions the law was in a doubtful state indeed. With regard to this he could not do better than quote from the evidence of Mr. Daldy, one of the Commis- sioners of 1878, and who was now, and had been for many years, honorary secretary of the Copy- right Association. Lord Monkswell then read the portion of the evidence bearing on this point, and then pro- ceeded :—It was certain, therefore, that the matter of translation ought to be dealt with as soon as possible, and the promoters of the Bill proposed to deal with it by giving, as was proposed in the original Bill, the absolute right during the whole period of the copyright to prevent unauthorised translations. An endeavour had been made to lighten the Bill so that it might be got through their Lordships' House this Session, and it dealt only with those subjects which were most press- ing and least contentious. All reference to news- paper copyright had been struck out. With regard to magazine copyright, it was proposed to make it retrospective, but as there was a diffe- rence of opinion as to that, the clause in the Bill making the copyright retrospective had been omitted. With regard to lectures the Bill had also been considerably lightened. The great point on which the committee wished to insist was that eojiyright should be given not only in lectures when published in a book, but when delivered, and that they had tried to effect by the Bill. It was further suggested in the original Bill that the law should be altered so as to give copyright, which did not now exist, to lectures delivered in endowed buildings. The Select Committee were on the whole favourable to that proposition, but, at the same time, they re- cognised that any alteration of the law to effect that must seriously affect very considerable inte- rests; and they thought it was not desirable, without taking a great deal of evidence and going into the matter very thoroughly, to recommend such an alteration in the law, consequently they had inserted in the amended Bill a proviso set- ting up again the provision that now existed— not allowing copyright to lectures in endowed buildings. For the present it had been decided not to propose any change in the law with regard to the difficult and thorny question of registration. Another alteration had been made which he thought would commend itself to their lordships. The principil Act of 1842 now applied to all British possessions, unless by Order in Council they should bo exempted either from the whole Act or part of it. It was proposed in the amended Bill to give the British posses- ## p. 61 (#475) ############################################# THE AUTHOR. 61 sion8 much greater freedom of action by declar- ing that the Act, if it passed, should not run in any of the British possessions unless they them- selves asked either for the whole or part of it. The net result, therefore, of the labours of the Select Committee had been to greatly lighten the Bill, and to clear it of almost every subject of controversy, whilst at the same time it intro- duced a great many alterations of the law which were of considerable value. He might, perhaps, be allowed to say that the best thanks of the committee were due to Lord Thring for the great care and attention he had bestowed on the draft- ing of this measure. (Hear.) He found that two or three amendments would have to be made, which, however, did not touch the Bill in this respect. In order that noble lords might have an opportunity of considering the amendments he had put down, he proposed to take the report stage to-morrow, and the amendments on Thursday or Friday, when he hoped the House would give a third reading to the Bill. (Hear, hear.) He begged to move that the House now resolve itself into Committee on the Bill. On Friday, July 23, the Bill was read a third time. Lord Monkswell stated that at the wish of the Colonial Office he desired to move that Clause 12 be omitted. The omission was agreed to. II.—The New Copyright Bill. I. FBOM THE "TIMES." A gentleman engaged in a publishing business recently wrote to Lord Monkswell suggesting that it was desirable to take steps to protect the titles of series of books, and so to prevent the foisting upon the public of hasty imitations of deservedly popular volumes. "I have been," he said, "in correspondence both with the Stationers' Hall authorities and the Trade Mark Office of the Board of Trade; and recently I took occasion to have an interview with the respective chiefs of these offices. The Eegistrar of Trade Marks told me that, unquestionably, such titles fall outside the scope of the present Trade Mark Acts; but he seemed to see no objection whatever to the re- gistration of such titles, only he thought that such a matter would fall more fittingly within the province of Stationers' Hall. The chief man at Stationers' Hall said: (1) That my application was by no means the first of the sort, that, on the contrary, more people came to his office with similar requests than with any other; (2) that he thought that means for registering novel titles of businesses and series of books should be given to the public; (3) that he had noted with surprise that the new Copyright Bill which your lordship was introducing into the House of Lords contained no provision for this purpose; (4) that he thought it very possible that, if the matter were brought before your lordship, your lordship would see the desirability of making such an addition." Lord Monkswell's reply was as follows: "I will lay your statement before the Copyright Committee at its next meeting; but, as the amendments you suggest would enlarge the scope of the Bill, I do not think they will consider themselves justified in recommending them to the House." II. FBOM THE " DAILY NEWS." Lord Monkswell's Copyright Bill has been printed and circulated with the amendments made by the Select Committee of the House of Lords. These were accepted in committee of the whole House yesterday afternoon, and the Bill now stands for third reading. As it has not yet passed through the House of Commons, the chances of its becoming law this session must be regarded as remote. But it has now been brought into the best shape which legal minds can give it, and there may be some hope for it in 1898. Even this year, if some general agreement could be obtained, a judicious attempt to deal with a difficult subject might be crowned with success. Social reform is not achieved in England with reckless or thoughtless haste. The essence of this measure formed the subject of a Bill which the present Duke of Rutland, then Lord John Manners and Postmaster-General, introduced into the House of Commons in 1879. That was, if we are not mistaken, the year in which the late Sir John Holker moved the second reading of the Criminal Code Bill, which has never got beyond a second reading since. There are presentable, we do not say conclusive, arguments against the codification of the criminal law. But the law of copyright has been osten- sibly codified for more than half a century, and all that is now required may be accomplished by a short amending Bill. In 1878 there was a Royal Commission on Copyright, to which Lord John Manners' Bill was due, and thirteen years afterwards, in 1891, Lord Monkswell again endeavoured to legislate upon the Commission's Report. But there is none of "that slippery stuff," as Mr. Morley calls party capital, to be made out of copyright, and so copyright, like the Corporation of London, remains unreformed. In 1891 Lord Monkswell's Bill was read a second time. This year it has advanced a step further, and has gone through Committee. The first ## p. 62 (#476) ############################################# 62 THE AUTHOR. clause makes translation an infringement of copy- right. This is obviously just, if there is to be any copyright at all, whether the right has or has not been expressly reserved. A very important change is made in the copyright of magazines. In 1842, when the principal Copyright Act was passed, there were very few magazines, except the old quarterlies, with Blachicood's and the Gentle- man's. Now there are almost as many magazines in a month as there are days in a year, and a large number of the articles contributed to them have a really permanent value. At present the author of an article has a right of separate publication for eight-and-twenty years. Macaulay, for instance, could not without permission from the editor of the Edinburgh Review—which was, of course, given, but which might have been refused—have republished during his lifetime any of his essays except those on Milton, Machiavelb, and, perhaps, one or two more. The Bill provides that while the proprietor of the magazine shall have the sole right of pub- lishing the magazine itself, and the articles as part of it, the author of an article may publish it separately after three years. This is a great change, but a change wholly, in our opinion, for the better. Copyright is essentially the asser- tion of property. But whei-e a special kind of property, which did not exist at common law, is created by statute, Parliament should be careful to regulate it in the public interest. The interest of the public lies in the rapid diffusion of readable matter, and cannot be served by locking up interesting essays for a generation. Seven years before the Copyright Act of 1842 there was passed the Lectures Copyright Act of 1835. This Act gives a lecturer the exclusive right of publication. But it requires a preliminary notice to Justices of the Peace, which savours of the terror inspired by the French Revolution, when lectures were regarded much as dynamite w-as regarded a hun- dred years later. It is doubtful whether the Act applies to sermons, and there must, we should imagine, be very few magistrates who have been formally notified that a new volume of sermons was about to dazzle the world. The Bill abolishes this rather ridiculous formality, and gives the lecturer, as well as the preacher, an absolute copyright. But it allows a lecture to be reported in a newspaper unless the lecturer expressly states that he does not wish to be reported. There are not many lectures which would suffi- ciently attract the general reader to be reported at any great length, nor would many newspapers have space for them. But a paid lecturer, who delivers the same lecture, which may have cost him much labour and research, at several places, is entitled to protection against a form of publicity which would destroy his market. Suchr at least, is the view popular in the literary class, and the view to which Carlyle gave such forcible emphasis in his famous petition to the House of Commons. There is, of course, the theory, understood to find favour with at least one eminent statesman, that copyright is an infringe- of public right, and that authors should be com- pensated by a royalty. But that is not within the range of practical politics. One of Johnson's biographers narrates an argument upon a Scottish case, which went from the Court of Session to the House of Lords, and which raised the point of copyright at common law in lectures or sermons. Dr. Johnson declared that it was unjust to stereotype a man's doctrines and ideas, which he might afterwards see cause to alter. That motive had not previously restrained the sage from reporting Parliamentary debates in what he was pleased to call the "Senate of Liliput." Wot the least important clauses in the Bill are those which deal with abridgments. As Lord Monkswell says in the useful memorandum pre- fixed to the Bill: "It is now easy without any infringement of copyright, in a few weeks, by skilful abridgment, to appropriate the fruit of the labours of many years, and to compete with the original copyright bought and published at a very great expense." The art of judicious abridgment is not perhaps quite so common as Lord Monkswell supposes. But a farrago of extracts any fool can turn out, and they may be so copious or so vital as to prevent many readers from approaching the original work. Under this Bill copyright carries with it the right of abridgment as well as the right of transla- lation, and the author would be empowered to insist upon a disclaimer of his authorship being printed upon the title-page. There is no copy- right in ideas. That is to say, that an illegitimate reproduction of another man's work must be a. verbal one, or there is no remedy. Any one, therefore, is at liberty to make a play out of somebody else's novel, or a novel out of somebody else's play. The whole plot may in either case be stolen. But no penalty is imposed upon the thief. It is for this reason that novelists who intend afterwards to dramatise their own novels arrange for one colourable performance on the stage so- soon as the story appears, so as to bring them- selves under the protection of the Dramatic Copy- right Act. It is proposed to make a statutory copyright in ideas, and to make the unauthorised dramatisation of a novel an infringement of it. Such are the chief features of this excellent Bill. ## p. 63 (#477) ############################################# THE AUTHOR. 63 III.—The Eight of Criticism. In the action brought by Sir John Carr in 1808 against Messrs. Hood and Sharpe, the exact words of Lord Ellenborough were as follows:— Every man who publishes a book commits himself to the judgment of the public, and anyone may comment upon his performance. Ridicule is often the fittest weapon that can be employed for such a purpose. Reflection on personal character is another thing. Show me an attack on the moral character of this plaintiff, or any attack upon his character unconnected with his authorship, and I shall be as ready as any judge who ever sat here to protect him; but I cannot hear of malice on acconnt of turning his works into ridicule. In the more recent case of Merivale v. Carson (20 Q. B. Div. at pp. 280-1), Lord Esher, M.E., said, carrying the doctrine, if possible, even further:— Every latitude must be given to opinion and to prejudice, and then an ordinary set of men with ordinary judgment must say whether any fair man would have made such a comment. . . . Mere exaggeration, or even gross exag- geration, would not make the comment unfair. However wrong the opinion expressed may be in point of truth, or however prejudiced the writer, it may still be within the prescribed limit. The question which the jury must con- sider is this. Would any fair man, however prejudiced he may be, however exaggerated or obstinate his views, have said that which this criticism has said of the work which is criticised? IV.—University op Cam bridge v. Blacxie and Sons. (Before Mr. Justice Kekewich.) In this ease the plaintiffs as proprietors of the "Pitt Press" brought this action and now moved the court for an injunction in respect of an alleged infringement of their copyright in annotated editions of Pope's "Essay on Criticism" and Milton's " Lycidas," "Allegro," and "II Pense- roso." Copyright was, of course, claimed solely in respect of the annotations. Mr. Millar, Q.C., and Mr. Ingpen appeared for the plaintiffs, and Mr. Stokes for the defen- dants. It was now arranged that on the defendants undertaking to keep an account of all books sold by them, and to file affidavits and deliver copies of exhibits within the first seven days of October, the motion should stand over until the second motion day in Michaelmas sittings; and Mr. Justice Kekewich made an order to that effect.— Times, July 23. VOL. Till. COPYRIGHT (AMENDMENT) BILL. [H. L] [As Amended by the Select Committee.] MEMORANDUM. THIS Bill is intended to amend some of the most serious defects in the present law of copyright. Its provisions do not mate- rially differ from the provisions on the same points contained in the Bill introduced by Lord John Manners (on behalf of the then Govern- ment) in the House of Commons in 1879, and in the Bill introduced by Lord Monkswell in the House of Lords in 1891. Both these Bills were mainly founded on the report of the Royal Com- mission on Copyright of 1878. Lord Monkswell's Bill passed a second reading in the House of Lords. The amendments are directed to the following points :— I.—Translations. Translation is made an infringement of copy- right. II.—Magazine Copyright. Since the passing of the Copyright Act, 1842, this kind of copyright property has probably increased a hundredfold in value and importance, both to authors and publishers, much literature of high merit being constantly published in the first instance in magazine form. The 18th section of the Act of 1842, which deals with the subject, is expressed in language so obscure as to be almost unintelligible, and defers the author's right of separate publication to the end of a period of twenty-eight years. It is proposed that that section should be repealed, and that the copyright should be vested in the author, subject to the following qualifications :— (1.) The proprietor of the magazine to have the sole right of publishing as part of the magazine. (2.) The author not to publish separately until after the expiration of three years from publication. The entire copyright in encyclopaedias is vested in the publisher as before, but in a separate section. III.—Lectures. The Lectures Copyright Act, 1835, gives to the lecturer the exclusive right of publication, but requires a preliminary notice to justices of the peace, and probably does not apply to sermons. It is proposed to repeal this Act, and to give the lecturer (including the preacher) copyright with- out any useless formalities, but permitting a newspaper report unless expressly prohibited by the lecturer. It will be observed that a proviso has been inserted maintaining the present law as G ## p. 64 (#478) ############################################# 64 THE AUTHOR. to lectures in endowed buildings, &c. The com- mittee have taken this course because they did not think it desirable to alter the law without taking more evidence than time permitted. IV.—Abridgments. It is now easy, without any infringement of copyright, in a few weeks, by skilful abridgment, to appropriate the fruit of the labours of many years, and to compete with the original copyright, bought and published at very great expense. This will be prevented by the" simple enactment that copyright shall carry with it the right to abridge. The reputation of the author is also safeguarded by a provision that a disclaimer of his author- ship of the abridgment shall, if required by the author, be printed on the title page ; and that the abridgment shall not be issued without the author's consent in eases where the author retains an interest in the sale (by royalties or otherwise) though not in the copyright. V.—Dramatisation of Novels. As there is no copyright in ideas, it is easy for any person to take the whole plot of a novel and practically reproduce the novel itself in dramatic form without any legal infringement of copyright, and a similar injury can be inflicted by the novelisation of dramas. It is proposed to convert these moral into legal infringements of copyright. Owners of dramatic copyright are also given a summary remedy against infringement which is much needed, as pirates are often difficult to detect, or are not worth the expense of an action in the High Court when detected ; and the remedy is to be available against those who •■ permit" as well as those who " cause " the representation. AEEANGEMENT OF CLAUSES. Translations. Clause. 1. Translations and infringement of copy- right. Copyright in translations. Copyright in Periodical Works. 2. Copyright in articles in periodical works. 3. Registration of article by author. 4. Registration by owner of periodical work. 5. Articles in encyclopaedias. Copyright in Lectures. 6. Lectures. Abridgments. 7. Abridgments without consent prohibited. Copyright owner not to abridge without author's consent in certain cases. Notice on title page that abridgment is not by author. Dramatisation. 8. Dramatisation of novels prohibited. 9. Conversion or adaptation of dramatic works prohibited. Summary Remedy for Infringement of Dramatic Copyright. 10. Liability to fine of person representing drama without consent of owner of per- forming right. Repeal. 11. Repeal. 12. Application of Act. 13. Short title. 14. Commencement of Act. Schedules. A Bill (as amended by the Select • Committee) intituled an Act to amend the Law relating to Copyright in Periodical Works, Lectures, Abridgments, and otherwise. — [The Lord Monkswell.] Be it enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:— Translations. 1. —(1.) In the case of a book, it shall be an infringement of the copyright therein if any person shall, without the consent of the owner of the copyright, translate the book: (2.) The author of an authorised translation of a book shall be entitled to copyright therein in the same manner as if it was an original work. Copyright in Periodical Works. 2. Where any article, essay, poem, or other work is first published in and forms part of a review, magazine, or other periodical, the copy- right in such article, essay, poem, or other work shall, in the absence of any agreement in writing to the contrary, be the property of the author thereof. Provided that where the author is paid for the writing of such work as aforesaid by or on behalf of the owner of the review, magazine, or other periodical, then— (i.) the owner of the review, magazine, or periodical shall, during the subsistence of copyright in such article, essay, poem, or other work, have the sole right of publishing the same as part of the review, magazine, or periodical, but not otherwise; (ii.) neither the author nor his assigns shall, without the consent of the owner of the review, magazine, or periodical, print or ## p. 65 (#479) ############################################# THE AUTHOR. 65 publish such article, essay, poem, or other work in any form until after the expiration of three years from its first publication in the review, magazine, or periodical, and any printing or publication contrary to this pro- vision shall be an infringement of the rights of the owner of the review, magazine, or periodical. 3. The author of any such article, essay, poem, or other work as aforesaid, or his assigns, may either before or after the expiration of the said term of three years register the same at Stationers' Hall as a separate work, and shall thereupon be entitled to restrain and obtain damages for any infringement of the copyright therein as a separate work. 4. —(i.) The owner of a review, magazine, or other periodical may register the same at Stationers' Hall, and shall thereupon be entitled to restrain and obtain damages for any infringe- ment of his rights in the same or any part thereof. (ii.) Registration of a review, magazine, or other periodical shall be in the form set forth in the First Schedule hereto, or as near thereto as circumstances will permit. (iii.) It shall be necessary to register only the first number, volume, or part of a review, magazine, or other periodical published in numbers, volumes, or parts. 5. Where any article, essay, poem, or other work is first published in and forms part of an encyclopaedia or similar collective work, and the author is paid for the writing thereof by or on behalf of the owner of the encyclopaedia or similar collective work, the copyright in such article, essay, poem, or other work shall, in the absence of any agreement in writing to the contrary, belong to the owner of the encyclopaedia or similar collec- tive work. Copyright in Lectures. 6. The author of any lecture shall be entitled to copyright therein as if the same were a book, subject to the following modifications and additions:— (i.) The first delivery of a lecture shall be deemed to be the first publication thereof. (ii.) So long as a lecture has not been published as a book by or with the consent of the author, the copyright therein shall include the exclusive right of delivering the same in public, but when so published the copyright in the book shall date from the first delivery of the lecture. (iii.) It shall not be necessary to register the copyright in a lecture which has not been published as a book by or with the consent of the author. VOL. Till. (iv.) A report of a lecture delivered in public, in the ordinary current edition of a newspaper after the delivery of such lecture, shall not be deemed an infringement of the copy- right unless the author before delivering the same gives public notice that he prohibits the same being reported, but no such report shall be deemed to be a publication of the lecture within the meaning of sub-sect, (ii.) (v.) The notice referred to in the last preceding clause may be given either by affixing the same to the door of the place where the lecture is delivered, or by advertisement in one or more newspapers published and circu- lating in the district, or by a declaration made by the lecturer before the delivery of his lecture at the place where he delivers the same. (vi.) The term "lecture" shall include a piece for recitation, address, or sermon. (vii.) Provided that this enactment shall not extend to any lectures delivered in any uni-. versity or public school or college or on any public foundation, or by any individual in virtue of or according to any gift, endowment or foundation [5 & 6 Will 4, c. 65, s. 5.] Abridgments. 7.—(i.) It shall be an infringement of the copyright in a book if any person shall, without the consent of the owner of the copyright, print or otherwise multiply, or cause to ba printed or otherwise multiplied, any abridgment of such book, or shall export or import any abridgment so unlawfully produced, or shall sell, publish, or expose for sale or hire, or cause to be sold, pub- lished, or exposed for sale or hire, any abridg- ment, knowing, or having reasonable grounds to suspect, that the same has been so unlawfully produced or imported. (ii.) Where the author of a book has sold the copyright thereof in consideration (whether wholly or in part) of a royalty or a share of the profits to be derived from the publication thereof, or is otherwise, notwithstanding such sale, possessed of a pecuniary interest therein, such book shall not, during the continuance of the copyright therein, and so long as the author shall be entitled to such royalty, share of profits, or shall be so interested as aforesaid, be abridged by the purchaser of such copyright without the consent in writing of tht author or his assigns. (iii.) Where the author has sold the exclusive right of publication of a book without assigning the copyright, he shall not be at liberty to publish an abridgment of the work without the consent of the owner of the exclusive right of publication. (iv.) If the owner of the copyright in a book o 2 ## p. 66 (#480) ############################################# 66 THE AUTHOR. to the abridgment whereof the author's consent is not required under the preceding proviso intends to publish an abridgment thereof made by some person other than the author of the original book, he shall give notice of such inten- tion to the author, if living, by registered letter, directed to his last known address, and shall, if so required by such author, either state or cause to be stated on the title page of each part or volume of the abridgment that the abridgment is not by the author of the original book, or shall in like manner state or cause to be stated the name of the maker of the abridgment. (v.) The author of a book shall be entitled to restrain and obtain damages for any abridgment published in contravention of the above provisions of the section. Dramatisation. 8. In the case of a book which is a work of fiction in prose or in verse, it shall be an infringe- ment of the copyright therein if any person shall without the consent of the owner of the copyright, take or colourably imitate the title of such book, or take from such book any material or substan- tial part thereof, and use or convert it into or adapt it for a dramatic work, or knowing or having reasonable grounds to suspect such dramatic work to have been so made shall perform or permit or cause the same to be performed. 9. In the case of a dramatic work it shall be an infringement of the copyright therein if any person shall, without the consent of the owner of the copyright, take or colourably imitate the title of such book, or take from such book any material or substantial part thereof and convert or adapt such part into any other form of work, whether dramatic or otherwise, or knowing or having reasonable grounds to suspect any work to have been so made shall print or otherwise multiply, or cause to be printed or otherwise multiplied, copies thereof for sale or exportation, or shall export or import, or sell, publish, or expose for sale or hire, or cause to be sold, published, or exposed for sale or hire, any copies thereof, or shall perform such work, or permit or cause the same to be per- formed. Summary Remedy for Infringement of Dramatic Copyright. 10. If any person shall represent or cause or permit any dramatic work to be represented without the consent in writing of the owner of the performing right in such work, it shall be lawful for the owner of the performing right (without prejudice to any action for damages or other remedy he may be entitled to) to apply within two months after the commission of the offence to a court of summary jurisdiction having jurisdiction in the place where the representation has taken place, or where the offender dwells, and such court shall, on production of the certificate of registration, order the offender to pay as a civil debt a sum not exceeding fifty pounds and costs, and such sum shall go to the owner of the per- forming right by way of compensation. Provided that not more than one penalty shall be recovered in respect of each representation. Repeal. 11. The Acts or parts of Acts specified in the Second Schedule hereto are hereby repealed as from the passing of this Act, but except as hereinbefore expressly provided, such repeal shall not prejudice or affect any rights acquired previously to such repeal, and such rights may be enforced and enjoyed as if such repeal had not been made. Extent of Act. 12. —(i.) This Act shall extend only to the British Islands, but if Her Majesty the Queen is satisfied that the Legislature of any British possession has by resolution declared its assent to this Act or any part thereof being extended to such possession, Her Majesty may direct by Order in Council that this Act or such part thereof shall apply to such possession, and this Act or such part shall apply accordingly. (ii.) Any such Order in Council may, with such assent as aforesaid, from time to time, be revoked or altered by any further Order in Council. (iii.) Every such Order in Council shall, as soon as may be after the making thereof, be published in the London Gazette. (iv.) A copy of every such Order in Council shall be laid before both Houses of Parliament within six weeks after the issuing thereof if Parliament is then sitting, and if not, then within six weeks after the commencement of the next session of Parliament. (v.) No such Order in Council shall affect prejudicially any right acquired at the date of its coming into operation. 13. This Act may be cited as the Copyright (Amendment) Act, 1897, and shall, except so far as is inconsistent with this Act, be read and construed with the Copyright Acts. 14. This Act shall come into operation on the first day of January, one thousand eight hundred and ninety-eight. ## p. 67 (#481) ############################################# THE AUTHOR. 67 SCHEDULES. First Schedule. Form of Entry of a Periodical Work. Date of Publica- tion of first Volume, Part, or Number. Name and Address of Owner. Name and Address of Publisher. Title of Work. Second Schedule. Ads Repealed. Session and Chapter. Short Title. Extent of Repeal. 5 & 6 Will. 4 0. 65. 5 4 6 Vict. c. 45. Lectures Copyright The whole Act. Act, 1835. Copyright Act, 1842 Sections eighteeen and nineteen. CIVIL LIST PENSIONS. APAELIAMENTARY return which has just been issued gives the following list of all pensions granted during the year ended June 20, 1897, and charged upon the Civil List:— Mary Anne, Lady Broome, <£ioo, in considera- tion of the public services of ber late husband, Sir F. N. Broome, K.C.M.G., especially as Governor of Western Australia, and of her own literary merits. Mr. William Alexander Hunter, £200, in con- sideration of his labours in connection with Roman law and scientific jurisprudence. Dr. John Thomas Arlidge, .£150, in considera- tion of his valuable labours in the cause of public health, and especially his investigation into the hygienic results of particular industries and occupations. Miss Beatrice Hatch, .£30, Miss Ethel Hatch, JB30, Miss Evelyn Hatch, ,£30, in consideration of the services of their father, the late Rev. Edwin Hatch, in connection with ecclesiastical history. Amelia, Lady Thurston, £150, in recognition of the distinguished services of her husband, the late Sir John Bates Thurston, as Governor of Fiji and High Commissioner for the Western Pacific. Mrs. Elizabeth Dickens, £100, in consideration of the literary eminence of the late Mr. Charles Dickens, and of the straitened circumstances in which she has been left by the death of her husband, Mr. Charles Dickens, jun. Mrs. Rose Trollope, £100, in consideration of the distinguished literary merits of her husband, the late Mr. Anthony Trollope, and of her straitened circumstances. Miss May Martha Mason, £30. Mrs. Mary Caroline Florence Wood, £30, in recognition of the originality and merit of the work of their father, the late Mr. George Mason, in painting. Mr. Augustus Henry Keane, F.R.G.S., £50, in consideration of his labours in the field of ethnology. Dr. Francis Steingass, £50, in consideration of his services to Oriental scholarship in England. Mrs. Maria Garrett, £50, in recognition of the merits of her husband, the late Dr. George Garrett, as a composer of church music. Mrs. Jane Wallace, £50, in recognition of the philosophical labours of her husband, the late Whyte's professor of moral philosophy in the University of Oxford. Mr. Archibald Hamilton Bryce, D.C.L., £50, in recognition of his services in the cause of secon- dary education in Scotland. The total is £ 1200. NOTES AND NEWS. TINHERE is an article in the current number I of the Quarterly Review entitled "Ou Commencing Author," which purports to be based on this journal and its contents for the last seven years. The paper is in many respects, as I shall show immediately, quite satisfactory and even sympathetic. The writer begins with recognising the right of the author to a full understanding at least of what is meant by the estate which his publisher administers: therefore, of course, his further right to understand what the publisher makes by his administration. As to the sympathetic side, we will return to that immediately. Let us first take the points to which I must take exception. It has been our contention in this paper, over and over again, that the literary and the com- mercial side of literature are totally distinct. The poet at work, if he allows any other con- sideration to enter his brain — any touch of commercialism—must infallibly mar that work. In every art, the artist must be absorbed while he is at work. The work done, he may be as commercial as he pleases. That is the just and obvious deduction. But this writer cannot understand such a distinction. His view is that an artist, when his work is finished, must not, without detriment to that work, pay any atten- ## p. 68 (#482) ############################################# 68 THE AUTHOR. tion to its commercial value. He says, "To such men"—i.e., men who, when their work is finished, do consider its literary value—" there comes a literary half and a commercial half." Just so. Why not ?" Where the commercial half arrives at being real, there is some danger that it will drive out the literary half." No : because the two have nothing to do with each other. If the writer means that there is danger that the artist may have his brain filled with commercialism while he is at work, one can only reply that he must be a very mean and miserable artist. Apply the same kind of conventional talk to painting. All great painters receive large sums of money for their work. No one in his senses has ever re- proached them with doing so: no one has ever asserted that they have ruined their art as their price went up. In the name of common sense, then, why cannot literary men be treated as on the same footing as painters? There is, again, another distinction between the literary and the commercial side of literature which must not be forgotten. It by no means follows that a writer of the highest kind will become popular, while a person of tenth-rate merit may command the shillings of millions. This consideration alone should show the futility of the common talk about commercialism. My position is this: If an author chooses to give his property to a publisher, let him. If he chooses to keep his property for himself, or to administrate it for himself, or to let its administration out at a rent or royalty, or to sell it, there is no danger whatever that the same care of his commercial interests will damage that completed tcork any more than the same care icill damage a painting. There is, perhaps, the danger that he may scamp the next poem, and that commercialism may "infect it." Surely, however, something must be allowed to the artistic sense which governs and controls artistic production. Again, the writer says: "In some of our lesser men, it is conceivable that a journeyman's credit- able faculty of going straight on, and of produc- ing yet another book, and yet another book, will survive." Here we seem to discern the bogey of "inspiration." The writer plainly understands, I have no doubt, that the painter must go on paint- ing because he is a painter; yet he cannot see that the poet, the story-teller, the dramatist—where are we to stop ?—the critic, the essayist—everyone who writes because he is to the manner born, must go on—must go on writing till he dies. Lo boa Diea me dit, " Chante, Chante, paavre petit." The writer quote3 these lines—full of tears as well as of consolation—yet cannot understand that they contradict flatly what he has just advanced about the dangers of " going on." He finds fault with The Author for hoping- that copyright may be so enlarged as to enable a successful and popular writer to found a family. Says that it is an ignoble wish. Why does he think so? Because he confuses the literary and the artistic value of a book. He says, he who could act " on a pill-vendor's conditions, namely, that he keep his private property for ever, must receive only as a pill-vendor.'' This is nonsense. One might as well say that the Marquis of Salisbury if he receives his rents and keeps- his property does so as a pill vendor. But this kind of rubbish will continue to be talked so long as literary value and literary property are mixed. The Reviewer speaks of a certain writer who would abolish criticism. I wonder who that writer is. The position taken up by The Author has always been (i) that criticism should be a distinction—that is to say, that a paper should, as some papers do, select books for careful criti- cism by competent persons; (2) that the system of "reviewing" books in a batch is injurious to literature because it does not give importance to important books, because " notice " is not criticism, and because it is impossible for the writer, with the best intentions, to read the books he notices, and that the system is injurious to the paper because it ruins the literary character of that paper; (3) that to notice harmless weak productions is useless, because such a notice does not educate the writer nor does it help the pubbc, which, whatever its faults, does not buy or read we.ak books; (4) that the space in the paper taken up by little notices written without reading the books would be much better bestowed upon an important notice; (5) that the present depressed condition of criticism is due mainly to the system of the little notices, which simply will not allow their writers to read the books; and, lastly, that the public never read, and pay no heed, to these little notices. This is the position taken up in these columns on the subject of reviewing. It will be seen that this is very, very far from wishing to abolish criticism. The Reviewer is also very angry with some uuknown persons who, it seems, object to literary men advising publishers. Who, again, are these people? The position of adviser to publishers is one of the greatest responsibility and importance. Most men of letters have at various times done ## p. 69 (#483) ############################################# THE AUTHOR. 69 such work: some, occasionally: some by engage- ment and on salary. It seems to me quite unnecessary to defend the work, and I do not know who has attacked it. Personally, I have myself done such work, and I see no reason at all to be ashamed of it. Nor do I think it necessary in these columns to do more than enter a protest against the implied accusation that The Author, the only publication standing at the head of the article, finds any fault with any literary man or woman who advises for pay a publishing house. He says that in demanding inspection of docu- ments I myself have done a " grea,t service" and have been right, "however injudiciously" I may be held to have done it. My methods—or rather the methods of the Committee—have always been perfectly simple. There has been throughout a steady determination to get at the facts and the figures and to publish them; to pour a flood of light on facts strenuously concealed. There has been no other method, and that method will be continued. _ In many points: on the necessity for main- taining the responsibility and the honour of authorship: on the differences which mark men of genius: on the writer as teacher: and so forth, one has nothing but gratitude to this Reviewer, because it is good that such things should be said. But the whole paper is tainted and spoiled by this inability to distinguish literary value from commercial value: so that the writer, while he is fain to acknowledge the genius of Scott and Dickens, must needs try to explain away or to lament the fact that they were good at business. Nearly all popular writers have thought very much of the separate commercial side: Scott: Dickens: Trol- lope: George Eliot: Macaulay: Byron: every- body. At the same time one must certainly not obtrude the subject. As our writer says: "If the public once hears too much about profits—it has not bothered itself yet about the matter—but if it should?" In The Author the question of profits is a question of principle: there is no mention of any single writer's returns: or of what he obtained from any book: and there never will be any. It is the trade organ of literary men and women generally: its object is to give such facts and figures as illustrate principles. But the writer is quite wrong about the matter. The public has heard about these profits: it hears often : not from us, but from other papers, what this and that writer is receiving. Again, the Beviewer protests against the use of the phrase " thousand words," " so many thousand words:" "so much for so many thousand words." Now this is not the phrase of the author, but of the editor. He wants an article of a certain length, and no longer: it is to fill a definite space in his magazine: he may say, if he likes, so many pages: or he may say so many thousand words. What on earth does it matter? Or the author, in that commercial spirit which the reviewer confuses with the artistic spirit, may say, "Here is my work. It occupies so many pages," or "Here is my work. It occupies so many thousand words." Will anybody in his senses contend that there is any difference? It is a fctfon de parler. I am myself, for instance, under agreement to hand in, by a certain time, a certain story to a certain editor. My editor tells me, " I want a story of 8o,coo words." He means that it is to occupy a certain number of months in his serial. Whether it is 70,000 words, or 80,000 words, or 90,000 words he will not mind, nor will he count. But he means that I am not to take lip the old space, and that he will not fill up his pages with the old-fashioned three-volume novel. He must assign a limit: he must say how much space he can give. Whether he says words or pages, I repea", what does it matter? In a word, this Reviewer means well: he sees that we are absolutely in the right, and he says so: but because he confuses literary and commercial value he has got hopelessly muddled ; while in such little matters, as one or two which I have quoted, he is wrong simply because he does not know the practice. There are one or two remarks which I should like to quote: There is this special feature in the writing business, that it is entirely volunteered. Some few years ago writers awoke to the belief that they had not received a fair share in the net profit of their wares. More particularly they desired to make a declara- tion of their right to know the amount of expense incurred in the publication of their volumes. In this they have nothing bnt our sympathies, and part of their work is yet to do. What are the more prevalent motives which set genuine men of letters to work? We fear that the first motive we assign will appear to many most honourable men of the day l; perilously near to cant." Yet, upon omviction, we cannot but put it in the forefront of the battle. We speak of a mission, a vocation, a priestly office; a priestly office assuredly in a wider natural church. And this office no man lightly takes upon himself. The real men are never likely to take it upon themselves lightly, for they slide into it involuntarily and unconsciously. And they slide into it too with a good deal of that suffering, whioh, in the genuine man of letters, seems inevitable. Business men who have selected as their path to fortune the financial side of books, are, from one commercial point of view at least, exceptionally lucky. They are hardehells who have to deal with softshelU. It is not to be wondered at that the softshells have not been conspicuous for getting ## p. 70 (#484) ############################################# 7° THE AUTHOR. the best of it. Many a publisher might say perhaps, as Robert Clive said in the gold vaults of the Indian city, " By heaven ! I am surprised at my own moderation!" A man oan only be an author in so far as he is a man who has perceived, or known, or done real things, and possesses the gift and feels the duty of speaking about them. A woman and an author must be either something above the average robust male or something below him. The following information is here published as a warning to typewriters: "Some time ago a friend lent me a small but interesting pamphlet, and as it is out of print I was allowed to have a typewritten copy made of it. The friend recommended as type- writer a young lady, orphan daughter of a clergy- man, recently deceased, who courageously sup- ported herself by typewriting, She copied the pamphlet for me very nicely, and when I paid her bill she said she wished to get regular work from authors, so I advised her to advertise in The Author, which she has done every month since January, 1897. She now writes to say that some one, whose name she does not mention, has written to ask her terms, but says his MS. is so precious that she must pay him a guinea as caution money before he sends her the MS. She naturally declines to have anything to do with a person of this sort." I would only add to the above that the object of the demand is made obvious by the fact that when a manuscript, which is very rare, is precious, it is probably worth many hundred guineas. Asking a guinea as caution money for a manuscript which the writer declares to be "precious," is too thin to deceive anybody. I shall be much obliged if papers generally will be so good as to copy this warning in the interests of typewriters, who have not, probably, too much experience of the world. The Civil List, which is published in another column, is the very best list that has ever ap- peared since its commencement. There are sixteen recipients of pensions. Among them, eleven are widows and daughters. One observes that these pensions are granted more and more to widows and daughters instead of the workers themselves. The change will be accepted by everybody with satisfaction. One observes, also, that it is not yet possible to obtain a list completely in accord with the famous resolution of 1837. That resolution undoubtedly gave power to place in this list persons who had claims upon the Sovereign. Thus, the Queen's tutors and teachers were placed upon the list by authority of that clause. Yet the list was then, and has always been, intended for persons distinguished or connected with literature, science, and art. There are two ladies in this list who are widows of Colonial Governors. One of these, Lady Broome, better known as Lady Jackson, is herself a writer of some distinction; the other, Lady Thurston, is simply the widow of a Colonial Governor. As such, her pension has no place on this list. The power of foisting all kinds of people into this meagre provision for literature, science, and art could be removed by passing another resolution omitting the clause referred to. I observed in a certain paper a question meant to be " smart." "Is it," the writer asked, " the wickedness of the publisher which causes the names of Dickens and Trollope to appear in this list?" It is not in these pages that private affairs will be discussed. The late Charles Dickens, jun., however, was not a writer, except of one or two guide books. He was a printer. Perhaps publishers showed their "wickedness" by not paying his accounts. As for the name of Trollope, it was stated at the time of Anthony Trollope's death that he was possessed of a large sum saved from the proceeds of his novels. Publishers have hardly been so "wicked " as to take that money from his family. But what silly nonsense it is to ask such a question! I have received from a correspondent a collec- tion of extracts from letters received from various publishers, which inform him that they cannot undertake the responsibility of publishing his manuscript. The letters are very curious and instructive. Various reasons were assigned, all of which were different, but all contained one cardinal fact in which they were agreed: that the work was too long. One firm frankly admitted that what they wanted was a manuscript of about 60,000 words. What may be gathered from all these letters is, in fact, that some publishers are becoming increasingly anxious to bring out books at 6*. which contain the minimum leugth for which the long suffering public will pay 4s. 6d. In these columns mention has already been made of a little book, containing about 24,000 words, and taking very little more than an hour to read, and costing 4.S'. 6d. cash. To what lengths is this practice going to be carried? A certain result will be that before long the advertised price of 6*. and the real price of 4«. 6d. will fall into contempt, and the public will refuse to pay more than a shilling for a little book which can be read in one hour. It is true there may be cases in which the ## p. 71 (#485) ############################################# THE AUTHOR. author's name is great enough to carry off a high price for a short story, but these cases must always be very rare. It seems that it should always be the duty of novelists to provide the public with work which, in length, at least, will give them some fair return for the cost of the book. Let us turn to lighter themes. The following appeared in the Times, July 24, in the form of a letter from Mr. Walter Wren. He kindly gives me permission to reproduce it here. Mr. Wren is well known as a profound student of Dickens. The origin of Do-the-boys Hall seems settled by this discovery beyond the reach of reasonable doubt. One pities the unfortunate Mr. Simpson, of Easby, near Richmond, York- shire: "In your article of June 12, on the coronation number of the Times, telling your readers that they would be presented gratis with a reproduc- tion in facsimile of the Times of Friday, June 29, 1838, you call attention to these two advertise- ments as containing a hint of some of the abuses which Dickens (whose 'Oliver Twist' is here an- nounced as appearing in Bentley's Miscellany) was already setting himself to scourge. 'These are of schools—one in Yorkshire—at which youths are boarded and instructed according to age, including clothes, books, and other neces- saries. No extras and no vacations.' "I respectfully submit that you might have put this more strongly, and that these must be the originals from which Dickens made up Mr. Squeers's card. 'Nicholas Nickleby' was published in 1839. It seems to me clear that Mr. Squeers's card was based on them. It will be found on page 20 of the original edition. Please print all three. '" Education.—At Winton Hall, near Kirby Stephen, in Westmoreland, young gentlemen are boarded, clothed, provided with books, and edu- cated, by Mr. Twycross, in whatever their future prospects may require, at £20 per annum. There are no extras nor vacations. Prospectuses and references may be had at Peele's Coffee-house, Fleet-street, where Mr. T. attends daily, between 12 and 2 o'clock.' "' Education.—At Mr. Simpson's Academy, Easby, near Richmond, Yorkshire, youth are boarded, and instructed by Mr. S. and proper assistants in whatever their future prospects may require, at twenty and twenty-three guineas a year, according to age, including clothes, books, and other necessaries. No extras and no vaca- tions. Cards with references to be had from Mr. S., who attends from 12 to 2 o'clock daily at VOL VIII. the Saracen's Head, Snow-hill. Conveyance by steam vessel weekly.' '" Education.—At Mr. Wackford Squeers's Academy, Dotheboys-hall, at the delightful village of Dotheboys, near Greta-bridge, in Yorkshire, youth are boarded, clothed, booked, furnished with pocket money, provided with all necessaries, instructed in all languages living and dead, mathematics, orthography, geometry, astronomy, trigonometry, the use of the globes, algebra, single stick (if required), writing, arithmetic, fortification, and every branch of classical litera- ture. Terms twenty guineas per annum. No extras, no vacations, and diet unparalleled. Mr. Squeers is in town, and attends daily, from one to four, at the Saracen's Head, Snow-hill.' "Dickons added to the advertisements in your issue of 1838. But the leading principles are in all three—viz., ,£20 a year for clothes, books, and education; no extras, no vacations; and both Mr. Simpson and Mr. Squeers, the two Yorkshire schoolmasters, 'attended daily at the Saracen's Head.'" Mr. Howard Collins projxises to take up and continue the subject of the subjunctive mood in the October number of The Author if possible. He is consulting.as many men of letters as he can reach as to their opinion of his j>osition. Walter Besant. THE PROPOSED NET SYSTEM. ACOMMITTEE has been appointed by the Society for the investigation of the whole subject. It would be injudicious therefore to express any opinion until that committee has given in its report. There has already appeared a sheaf of papers and articles dealing with the proposal. It is well known that among the book- sellers—the persons most concerned—there is con- siderable difference of opinion. Perhaps it would be well, before their views are ascertained, and before the committee completes its labours, that there should be a general silence. On the produc- tion of the report, no doubt, the floods will be let loose. The bare facts of the case seem fairly stated in a brief article which appeared in the Pall Mall Gazette of July 13. There is one word, however, which should be altered. It is there said that the publishers "intend to boycott discount booksellers." They do not intend: they propose —a very different thing. One Book, One Price. Shall we buy a book at gd. or is.? The outside public say, unhesitatingly, gd.; the booksellers H ## p. 72 (#486) ############################################# 72 THE AUTHOR. say, unhesitatingly, i«. Both natural enough, when you come to look at it. The advantages of selling at is. and buying at gd. are so obvious that there is no need to go further into them. But the most casual observer who remarks the prices on the bookstalls and compares them with the rumours that reach us from the traHe cannot help seeing that a Battle of the Books is only a question of time. Here and there we find six- penny magazines sold at 4.|«?., and books pub- lished at 6*. going at 4*. 6d. The thing seems simple enough. Can a retail bookseller sell at what price he likes r He gets his books at a discount of 25 per cent., or some- thing more than that; has he a free hand after that? With the vague idea we all have of the principles of law, we declare offhand that any- thing else would be interfering with the liberty of the subject. The question is nothing new. It has been gone into years ago. The only novelty now is that the booksellers have got an associa- tion, and have the powers of a trade union. They are the only people who object to the discount. The publishers do not. The authors do not. If an author is getting a royalty on the published price it is nothing to him how the book is sold. In any case the lower rate is probably to his advantage, for it increases the sale of his work. The same thing would apply to the publisher. In fact, the opinions of all the great writers of the day were taken on the subject, and were published in Sir W. Besant's paper, The Author. Speaking from memory, we recollect they were practically unanimous and decided in saying the retail price was the bookseller's affair. The price at which the wholesale bookseller buys from the publisher is quite another matter. It is allowed that to break this is to ruin the book for regular trade. Against all this the fact remains that most of the big publishers intend to boycott the discount booksellers. Taking it logically, the publishers are really the employes, and are going on strike. To the average onlooker it would seem to lje just a case in which a strike would not succeed. The discount man can get his books indirectly if he likes; and he can appeal to the public to support him. The reduction of yl. in the shilling is an argument which touches the British public in its tenderest point. It is the argument which he has always made till now whenever the difficulty has come up; and in these days of libraries the British public wants every possible encourage- ment in buying books. However, publishers are not ignorant of the world, nor are they, by any means, incapable men of business. Obviously, the new Book- sellers' Association have found their power, and can put pressure on the publisher which he is- unable to resist. But the fight has hardly yet begun. The publication of a book appears a simple thing at first sight. When you come to look into it, or, worse still, have anything to do with it, it is a problem which runs close South African politics or the Irish question itself.—Pall Mall Gazette, July 13. A WARNING- TO AUTHORS-AND OTHERS. ITHINK the following story may interest some readers of The Author, if only as a curious instance of human effrontery. It may, however, act as a warning against a certain class of "literary agents." About a year ago Madame X., a French lady, wished to have some short articles and stories, which she had written in English, corrected for the press, and inserted an advertisement in a local London paper. It brought several replies, and among them one from a gentleman whom I will call Mr. A. He stated that he was "late editor of the Readers' Gazette" (I give a fictitious title), and named several persons as his referees; among them, a well-known publishing firm, "for literary publications "; and for " scholastic pub- lications " a certain "Jones, Manchester." in a foot-note he also named a gentleman, very well known in the scholastic world, as able to speak to his literary qualifications. I will call him "Mr. N." Mine. X. was delighted. She fancied that fortune had directed her to a literary man, and she hastened to communicate with A. He called upon her, and in conversation told her he held an official post in the Civil Service. It was agreed that he should undertake the corrections, the only thing contemplated up to now. But, in the course of the interview, he intimated that he was prepared to undertake the duties of literary agent, and to place the MSS. as well as to correct them. Mine. X. said that she could not afford' to pay for this, but Mr. A. replied that she had told him she was acquainted with many French journalists. Now, it was the wish "of his heart to become a correspondent of the Continental Press, and if she would give him an introduction he would consider himself paid. On this Mme. X. confided to him a number of MSS., and gave him an introduction to the editor of one of the most widely known of continental journals. Months passed, during which Mr. A. wrote from time to time, speaking vaguely of his efforts on Mine. X.'s behalf—they had been uusuccess- ## p. 73 (#487) ############################################# THE AUTHOR. 73 ful, but he expressed himself as by no means discouraged. During this time he corrected the longest of the articles—it was a short story. I saw the copy he had made—the MS. was entirely in his handwriting, and so far his assertion that he had "re-written" it was true. But his corrections were a farce. As I myself had to "re-write" it, I speak from knowledge, and a gentleman, who is himself a writer, said of it that it was not worth having, even if done for nothing, that no one with the least literary ear could possibly have passed the foreign turns of expres- sion. Even obvious omissions of parts of sen- tences were not supplied, and the general incompetence displayed in this specimen of A.'s powers confirmed our suspicions that he was not what he had represented himself to be. We were not at all surprised to find that the foreign editor had been puzzled by his letter, had evi- dently conceived an unfavourable opinion of A., and declined to have anything to do with him. I should say that A. asked and received 5*. for correcting this short story. On my return to England after an absence, Mme. X. had confided her doubts to me. I advised her to get her MSS. back as soon as possible—especially as she had a chance of dispos- ing of them herself. She wrote explaining this. A. replied in a manner which struck us as evasive, but at last, after many weeks and many letters from Mme. X., he returned all but one. .In the accompanying letter, lie said that he had sent all, and also said that he had "re-written" two others of the MSS.; but the parcel, on being opened, did not contain these copies, nor were the returned MSS. "corrected." Mme. X. felt that she had simply wasted six months—A. had done absolutely nothing—his corrections were worthless in the instance in which he made them, and, in the majority of instances, he had done no work at all. Of course he could not be held responsible for failing to dispose of the MSS., supposing lie ever tried, which the sequel makes us gravely doubt. Mme. X. wrote in vain, asking for the missing MS. and the two "copies." A. replied that he had sent the MS., and he ignored the question of the copies. And in a few days he sent in a bill for ,£3 3*. for "professional ser- vices." Mme. X. was in despair, she was utterly unable to pay £3 38., and A. had known this from the first. She wrote reminding him that he had himself offered those services in return for an introduction which she had given; and added that she was ready to pay on the same scale as before for the "corrections" of the MSS. which he had said he had" re-written," when she received the rc-tcritten copies. The reply was a threat of the County Court. Neither then, nor afterwards, did A. ever allude to the (verbal) agreement, or to the missing copies. He simply repeated his threats of the County Court if a remittance was not sent " to-morrow," or " next Tuesday," as the case might be. It was almost amusingly evident that he was trying to strike terror into a helpless foreigner. He numbered his letters "second and third " application." His first threat of the County Court came barely a fortnight after the "first application," and in reply to a civil request for the work he was demanding payment for. Mme. X. was in very bad health, and was much distressed at the prospect of appeariug in Court, and perhaps being made to say what she did not mean. Under these circumstances a friend began to make inquiries of the persons given by A. as referees. The first person applied to was the present editor of the Readers Gazette. He replied that there must be some mistake—he himself had been editor many years—and he suggested imposture. Next, the Civil Service List was tried, with the result that nothing whatever was known of Mr. A. A slight clue, however, was followed up, and at last Mr. A. was dis- covered—not as a Civil servant, but as under- master in a primary school in an adjacent parish. Meantime, the firm of publishers was written to. They at length remembered—not Mr. A.'s name, but a now, de plume which he had mentioned as the name he wrote under. A MS. by a writer with this nom de plume had been submitted to the firm, and declined. The "scholastic" side of Mr. A. was next probed; and here, strange to say, we came upon the first piece of bond fides we had yet discovered. "Jones, Manchester," whose name had sounded to us so apocryphal that we had not thought it worth while to waste a letter upon him, turned out to be a most respectable firm of publishers —almost entirely, it seemed, of school books for primary schools. They knew Mr. A., and thought well of him. He had published an " elementary book " and a leaflet or two for children to learn. It was not precisely a testimony to "scholastic" qualification, but at least he was known. More- over, Mr. N, whom A. had mentioned as able to speak to his literary qualifications, replied favour- ably, and said that A. had held " high positions," and was "an educated gentleman," but added that he knew nothing of his literary qualifications. Thinking there was a mistake in identity, and that A. was trading on a similarity of name, we asked for further particulars, and learned that Mr. N. had obviously no personal knowledge of A., but that A. really had been inspector of some diocesan schools in the provinces, and afterward* head- master of a " high school." All this while, A.'s ## p. 74 (#488) ############################################# THE A UTHOR. threats were becoming more urgent, and he repre- sented himself as on the eve of placing the matter in the hands of his solicitor. The friend who made the inquiries thought it was time to do something, and wrote a letter to A., repeating the facts as stated by Mine. X., and informing A. of the result of the inquiries. The letter con- cluded with a renewed offer to pay him 58. each for the corrected stories, on receiving the correc- tions. A reply came by return of post. It appeared to be written by A.'s wife at. his dicta- tion, and stated that Mr. A. could not answer the letter now, as the matter had passed out of his hands. Before this, at first, in order to learn whether A. was already known to our Society, 1 had con- sulted Mr, Thring, who with the greatest kind- ness gave me counsel. He now reiterated his opinion that wc ought to get a " friendly solicitor" to write A. a letter. A legal friend of my own most kindly consented to do this, and wrote deny- ing any indebtedness for "professional services," but again renewing the offer to pay for the cor- rections. It brought the following answer again by return: "Sib,—-I have received yours of the , and it has been duly filed." This extraordinary reply, and the effrontery of A.'s whole attitude, astonished the solicitor, and is still a puzzle to us all. We are, however, consoled by seeing that A. is really not so clever. For six weeks after this, when we all thought the matter was ended, he suddenly wrote once more to Mme. X., threatening to put the matter into a lawyer's hands if the money was not sent within three days. By this time the threat had lost its terrors—even Mme. X. was able to laugh at it, and so I trust all was well that ended well. But it is a singular story, for there can be no doubt that A. was at no distant period in an excellent position, and yet his calm effrontery would seem to show a practised hand. It is my deliberate conviction, basrd on several small indications, that he never showed the MSS. to a single editor. This, of course, we cannot prove, but if he had ventured to force us into court he would have heen required to mention names. I should say that in this last letter he repeated that he had been editor of the Readers' Gazette — it was the only allusion he ever made to the unmasking of his pretensions. Finally, I would entreat, not only authors, but everybody, to "look up their references"—though, as a gentleman I consulted over this business said very frankly, " When does one look them up, if they are good ones?" And I confess that I should have thought it impossible that a man would venture falsely to call himself ex-editor of a paper—it is a statement so easily verified. But perhaps A. is a student of human nature, and reckoned on our reasoning thus! And candour compels me to admit, that had inquiries been made at first, and had we happened to begin with Mr. N. and "Jones, Manchester," we might have- been perfectly satisfied, and have gone no farther. Wherefore, when references are given you, write to them all. Y. A CASE IN POINT. IOUGHT to have joined the Society of Authors long ago; but I suppose it is a case of stinginess over the wrong thing, and that even the demands of a large family upon a slender income should not have hindered my finding that guinea subscription. Every author wants more or less protection under the present conditions of things: certainly the unwary one. Here is a case in point. A well-known publisher asked me to prepare a book for the present season. It was to be ready at the New Tear, and I was to receive =£50 in advance, on account of royalties, upon delivery of the MS. I sent in the complete work in the last days of December. I waited, and at length hud to remind the publisher that three weeks had elapsed, and I was expecting to hear from hiin. To my surprise his reply, and several subsequent communications, showed me that he was " off the job," if possible, having doubts of its probable success. But I stuck to him. He suggested additions and improvements, which I loyally worked up with great benefit to the book. At length, early in April, I had the first proofs and a cheque for .-£25. The last sheets were returned, and I was look- ing for the completion of the payment. But, guess my astonishment on being informed by letter that many faults in composition, cant phrases, and so forth, had been discovered, and it had been necessary to take the thing to pieces —also " whether the thing will ever pay is becom- ing more than ever a matter of doubt with me." With the best possible grace I accepted the possibility that my style was open to criticism, but I asserted that for acquiescence in his improvements I must first have the opportunity of weighing their value. Now that the book is published I find that, far from " improvement," the book has been utterly damaged by interpola- tions and omissions, and many alterations of very slight importance but destructive to that coherent unity of style which should throughout reveal an author's personality. There are six verbal altera- tions which I should consent to. The remainder ## p. 75 (#489) ############################################# THE AUTHOR. 75 are of a piece with the specimens I have marked in the copy of the work inclosed for your inspec- tion, which amount to nothing more nor less than interpolated blunders. The book has been brought out, price 7«. 6d. As it looks more like a 4*. or 58. volume, the booksellers won't touch it, and it has fallen still- born upon a season especially favourable for the sale of such a work. Our publisher tells me it is "complete failure," and ascribes the failure to the numerous alterations rendered necessary after the thing was in type, and which added heavily to the printer's bill. What this has to do with the shyness of the retail booksellers passes me, but I have been so worked upon by the sad story of £150 or more thrown away upon my " diabolical" (tie) book as to give a renunciation of all further right or claim upon payment of ,£5 5*. There is nothing now to hinder Mr. X. T. from reforming his mode of publication, and making a small income out of it. Simpleton, you will say! I deserve it. S. INTERNATIONAL LIBRARY CONFERENCE. President—Sir John Lubbock. Chairman of Committee—Kichard Garnett, LL.D. Hon. Treasurer—H. K. Tedder. Hon. Secretary— J. Y. W. MacAlister. Secretary—J. D. Brown. f I ^HE Conference was opened on Tuesday, July I 14, by the Lord Mayor, in the Council Chamber of the Guildhall. The following notes of the principal proceedings are taken from the Times:— PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS. The President (Sir J. Lubbock) then gave his inaugural address. He said that the existence of this congress was an indirect result of an Act passed by a private member of Parliament (Mr. Ewart) in the year 1850. The Act was a striking example of beneficent legislation passed by a private member. It had been adopted by some 350 places, containing nearly half our people. From 1857 to 1866 it was adopted by fifteen localities, from 1867 to 1876 by forty-five, from 1877 to 1886 by sixty-two, from 1887 to 1896 by no fewer than 190. In London the recent pro- gress had been even more remarkable. From 1850-66 only one public library was established, and Westminster had the honour of taking the lead; from 1867 to 1876 not one, from 1876 to 1886 only two, from 1887 to 1896 no fewer than thirty-two. These libraries now contained over 5,000,000 volumes, the annual issues amounted to 27,000,000, and the attendances to 60,000,000. Australia had 844 public libraries with 1,400,000 volumes, New Zealand 298 with 330,000, South Africa about 100 with 300,000. In Canada the public libraries contained over 1,500,000 of volumes. The United States possessed in 1890 1686 public libraries, containing 13,800,000 volumes. These numbers, however, were hardly comparable with ours, as they included in some cases college and law libraries. Moreover, we had many public libraries which were not included in the above numbers. The British Museum alone contained 2,000,000 volumes. Those who doubted the advantage of public libraries generally based their argument on the assertion that an immense preponderance of the books read were novels. But it must be remembered that a book of poems, and even more a work of science, would take much longer to read than a novel. Moreover, many novels were not only amusing and refreshing, but also instructive. No doubt the wise choice of books was becoming more and more difficult. The National Home Reading Union had done, and was doing, excellent service in assisting our country- men and countrywomen to what to read, and how to read. A recent writer had referred to the treasures of ancient lore in Egyptian papyri, which were now scattered in large numbers through the museums of Europe, where, for want of catalogues and descriptions, they lay well nigh as profoundly buried as if they were in their original tombs. Many authors buried their own creations by misleading titles, or by bringing together incongruous subjects, which led to un- fortuuate results, like other ill-assorted marriages. A friend of his had recently mentioned a remark- able case in point. In the year 1850, Dr. Mitchell, the Director of the Observatory of Cincinnati, which was then the only astro- nomical observatory in the United States, brought out a perfectly beautiful book, and it came over here for sale in the ordi- narv way. It was called "The Planetary and Stellar Worlds." The publisher of the book complained bitterly about it, and said that he had not sold a single copy. His friend said, "Well, you have killed the book by its title. Why not call it ' The Orbs of Heaven'?" That was acted upon, and 6000 copies were sold in a month. (Cheers and laughter.) As regarded Govern- ment, our own had set a very good example. An American writer (E. H. Walworth), in an article on " The Value of National Archives," had paid us the compliment of stating that "perhaps no nation had been more careful than England in the preservation of her archives; and perhaps no nation has been more careless in this direction than the United States." (Cheers.) This was, however, no longer true of the United States ## p. 76 (#490) ############################################# 76 THE AUTHOR. Government, which now issued excellent monthly- catalogues. India also had for some time taken much pains to make her publications as available as possible. The Eoyal Colonial Institute had recently taken an important step in adopting and forwarding to every colonial Government a reso- lution, "That the colonial Governments be respectfully invited to issue—through the medium of their Government gazettes or otherwise— registers containing entries of all publications within given periods, and also all other locally published works, with their full titles, so as to furnish for general information complete records of the literature of each colony." To turn to the scientific societies, our own Eoyal Society had accomplished a great and most useful work in its catalogue of scientific papers, contained in nine thick quarto volumes. These had been extremely useful. The society was moreover organising a catalogue which aimed at completeness, and was intended to contain the titles of scientific publica- tions, whether appearing in periodicals or inde- pendently. In such a catalogue the titles of scientific publications would be arranged, not only according to authors' names, but also according to subject-matter, the text of each paper and not the title only being consulted for the latter purpose. The preparation and publication of such a com- plete catalogue was far beyond the power and means of any single society. Led by the above considerations, the president and council of the Royal Society had appointed a committee to inquire into and report upon the feasibility of such a catalogue being compiled through inter- national co-operation. (Hear, hear.) There was one other catalogue to which he should like to refer, namely, the classified index of the London Library in which were given the names of the principal authors who had written on each sub- ject; and the assistance there given to the student was invaluable. To every true lover of books it was sad to see our countrymen and countrywomen neglecting the great masterpieces of science and literature, and wasting their time over " books that were no books," merely because they were new—in many cases, to use Buskin's words, "fresh from the fount of folly." (Cheers.) EVOLUTION OF THE PUBLIC LIBRARY. Mr. Henry Tedder read a paper on "The Evolution of the Public Library." Mr. Herbert Spencer had, he said, traced the origin of all our professions. The processes of development and differentiation had been as clearly shown in the case of public libraries as in other departments. The earliest librarians were priests, and the earliest libraries ienples. The earliest civilisa- tions—those, e.g., of Assyria and Egypt—had their public libraries, which, however, were purely of an ecclesiastical character. Aulus Gellus said that Pisistratus in the sixth century b.c. was the first founder of a real public library, whilst others ascribed their origin to Aristotle. One of Caesar's projects was the establishment of a great public library, and Varro had written a treatise on the subject; and at Herculaneum a beauti- fully arranged small room was found with 1756 manuscripts, which gave an insight into the arrangements of libraries of that time. Christian libraries, of course, dated from Constantine; and his successors, especially Theodosius, busied themselves with their establishment, and St. Augustine gave his library to the church at Hippo. The early church was, however, more or less hostile to the ancient literature of Greece and Rome. But the Benedictines early in the sixth, century were the first of the Christian bodies to establish libraries, and their example was followed by the Carthusians, Cistercians, Prasmonstraten- sians, and others; and the Cistercians were the first to allow persons outside their orders to borrow books. In the thirteenth century a library was formed at St. Germain des Pres. Paris, where, in 1513, a noble library was founded. For much which was in his paper he wished to acknowledge his obligations to Mr. J. Willis Clarke, who had clearly traced the con- nection between collegiate and monastic libraries —a connection specially manifest at Merton College, Oxford. Mr. Tedder also gave interest- ing accounts of the construction and arrangements of college libraries; and particularly of the Escurial Library founded in 1584. He also described cathedral libraries, of which he took Westminster as a type. The old type was mainly for the benefit of the professional scholar; and it was not until the middle of the eighteenth century t hat the needs of the people at large were considered, and the Bodleian and Mazarin libraries were splendid instances of private munificence. The free library movement started by E wart's Act was mainly educational, and the rapid growth of rate-supported libraries—which were peculiar to this country—had been described by Sir John Lubbock. In the United States a similar movement had been going on, and France afforded numerous examples of public libraries on every scale of magnitude. Belgium, Austria- Hungary, and Scandinavia were also well equipped, and in recent years a vast number of library associations had grown up both here and in the United States. In conclusion, Mr. Tedder described public libraries as the real universities of the unattached, and said that the librarian should remeinbir that he was a priest of litera- ture. (Cheers.) ## p. 77 (#491) ############################################# THE AUTHOR. 77 PUBLIC LIBRARY AUTHORITIES. Mr. Herbert Jones read a paper on "Public Library Authorities, their Constitution and Powers, as they are and as they should be." Our present system, he observed, was due to the happy-go-lucky methods which were so characteristic of the British people. The results had, no doubt, on the whole been good, but the time had come for a reconstruction on a more logical and consistent basis. Library committees were variously constituted in different centres, and the numbers were fluctuating and sometimes too great for useful action, and their relations to other local bodies vague and ill-defined. But when commissioners were appointed a better system prevailed. Our free library legislation needed amendment, and it was not desirable tliat a possibly hostile vestry should be able to super- sede the regular library authority. A small body appointed or elected ad hoc was surely better than a large body constituted for a variety of purposes. He was in favour of the appointment in each district of a distinct library authority—not constituted of too many persons, but varying according to population—whose sole work would be the supervision of libraries. In this way a uniformity of action and a security which was greatly to be desired would be effected. (Cheers.) Mr. Alderman Rawson, of Manchester, said that his city was the first to adopt Mr. Ewart's Act. A like movement had almost simultaneously started in the United States. Since the estab- lishment of the libraries the numbers of books and readers in Manchester had increased tenfold. Notwithstanding the enormous circulation of books, the loss by missing or injured books was a mere trifle. The employment of women in the libraries had produced most beneficial effects in the maintenance of silence and order. The cor- poration, though entitled to elect outsiders on the library committees, had not done so, and had, with pardonable vanity, thought themselves competent to manage their libraries. The Manchester libraries were peculiar in one respect, that they never levied fines, and their confidence in the public had never been abused. (Cheers.) The Inland Revenue had tried to exact income-tax, and the case had been carried to the House of Lords, where in the end the library authority of Man- chester achieved a notable victory for themselves and all the public libraries of the country. THE TRAINING OF LIBRARIANS. Mr. Charles Welch, Guildhall Librarian, read a paper on "The Training of Librarians." He insisted on the primary importance of a wide and liberal education. BOOKS AND TEXT-BOOKS. A paper on "Books and Text-Books: The Function of the Library in Education," was read by Mr. F. M. Crunder, librarian, Public Library, St. Louis, U.SA., who said that the problem was to provide the best education for the masses. Could text-books furnish that educa- tion P He remembered his surreptitious enjoy- ment as a schoolboy of a book of extracts—chiefly poetry and oratory—and those poems and speeches were to him worth all the arithmetic and text- book learning which he was compelled to learn. To use Sir John Lubbock's words, "the main • thing is not so much that every child should be taught as that every child should wish to learn." Franklin's was the ideal education—that no child should be taught until he desired to learn. Books were the true university, and the true edu- cation was to stimulate the love of good literature, and to enable the child to discriminate between what is good and bad in books. Education should seek to make not lawyers, engineers, farmers, &c., but men; and the larger aim would be found also invariably to have included the narrower. The text-book should only be employed as the guide to what was of permanent value and interest in literature. NATIONAL BIOGRAPHY AND BIBLIOGRAPHY. Mr. Sidney Lee, editor of the Dictionary of National Biography, read the next paper on "National Biography and National Biblio- graphy." He said he should make his immediate purpose plainer if he said a few words about the aims and scope of the Dictionary of National Biography, which might be defined as a bio- graphical census of all dwellers in the British dominions who had achieved anything worthy of commemoration. The most notable feature in their methods of execution was the effort to give authority for every fact recorded. The life of Shakespeare, for instance, would be practically useless were not the authenticity of each of the traditions which had accumulated about his name carefuly determined. He had himself attempted on a modest scale a bibliography of Shakesperiana arranged in the order in which the student of Shakespearian biography was likely to find it convenient to approach the books. His biblio- graphy was far from complete; the catalogues of the British Museum Library, with its 3680 entries; the Barton collection in the Boston Public Library, with its 2500 entries; and the Birmingham Public Library, with 9640 volumes, supplied far longer lists of Shakesperiana. But he had endeavoured to observe some logical principle of classification which the larger library cata- logues did not attempt. After a reference to the ## p. 78 (#492) ############################################# 78 THE AUTHOR. bibliography respecting Milton, Sir Walter Scott, Sir W. Raleigh, Dryden, and others, he said that all that was possible was to mention, as a rule in chronological sequence, the chief articles or memoirs previously published. The Dictionary's list of authorities contained much that was material for the preparation of a subject catalogue of literature, and a subject catalogue was obviously of high importance in developing the utility of public libraries. The making of subject catalogues was a subsidiary branch of the science of bibliography. In its essence bibliography was the science of describing books as books, in contradistinction to books as literature. For the literature of Great Britain and Ireland there existed at present four notable experiments in national bibliography. At the beginning of the century Eobert Watt, a poor surgeon of Paisley, sacrificed twenty years of arduous labour in compiling his "Bibliotheca Britannica," an elaborate catalogue mainly of British literature, though a few foreign works were included, arranged in two indices—one of authors' names, the other of the titles of books. The next effort in national bibliography was made by William Thomas Lowndes, who in his "Bibliographers' Manual," first published in 1834, endeavoured to arrange the titles of books (under authors' names) with some regard to their intrinsic interest. Lowndes, after many years of abject poverty, lost his reason and died in 1843. The third great attempt at a bibliography of English literature was made in America, and it was to the credit of that great country that its history involved no distressing incidents like those which accompanied the efforts of Watts and Lowndes. Allibone's ample " Dictionary of English Litera- ture" was projected in 1850, and the last proof sheets were read by the author on the last day of 1870. The work was published by Messrs. Lippincottof Philadelphia, in three large volumes, and a supplement in two volumes, almost equally large, appeared in 1891. Living authors were included as well as the dead, and to all books of importance there were appended illustrative quotations from critical reviews. Although Allibone's book was open to criticism and con- tained many blunders, jet the work was an invaluable book of reference, as every librarian would acknowledge. The fourth great experi- ment in national bibliography was the printed British Museum catalogue, which is a permanent memorial of the skill, knowledge, and industry of Dr. Garnett, the Keeper of Printed Books, and his staff. BOOE TALE. THE Earl of Desart's new novel will be entitled " The Raid of the Detrimental." In it he has made a new departure. The tale deals with the true history of the Great Disappearance of 1862, and is related by several of those implicated, and others. The book will be published early in September by Messrs. C. Arthur Pearson Limited. Professor Laughton is engaged upon "The Life and Letters of Henry Reeve." The book will be published by Messrs. Longmans, Green, and Co. Among other forthcoming publications by this firm are "The Validity of the Papal Claims," by Dr. Nutcombe Oxenham, with a preface by the Archbishop of "Xork; and a biography of Dr. Maples, Bishop of Likoma, in Central Africa, by his sister. Colonel H. M. Vibart has written a work on "The Siege of Delhi, in the Indian Mutiny," in which he gives to Colonel Bard Smith's services a more adequate recognition than he believes they have hitherto been granted. The book will be published by Messrs. A. Constable and Co. Mr. Bret Harte's new novel is called "Three Partners," and treats of a strike in a mining camp. It will be published next month by Messrs. Chatto and Windus. Mr. Meredith's volume of selected poems will appear shortly. Mr. W. Clark Russell's articles on the life of Nelson, which are running in one of the maga- zines, will be issued in book form in the autumn by Mr. James Bowden. Mr. Sidney G. Murray is the author of "A Popular Manual of Finance," which will be issued immediately by Messrs. Blackwood. The late Mr. Du Maurier's novel, "The Martian," will be published by Messrs. Harper on Sept. 17. Mine. Sarah Grand's new novel is to be published by Mr. Heinemann. Mr. Herbert Warren, the president of Magdalen College, is having his poems published by Mr. Murray, under the title " By Severn Sea." Some time ago they were printed by Mr. Daniel, of Oxford, but only circulated privately. They are now to be available to the public. Mr. Geo. Haven Putnam has a scheme for the institution of literary courts or boards of arbitra- tion, to settle disputes arising between the writing and publishing professions. Details of it are to be given in the revised edition of his work, ## p. 79 (#493) ############################################# THE AUTHOR. 79 "Authors and Publishers," which is to appear shortly. Sir Ellis Ashmead Bartlett, M.P., has written "The War in Thessaly, with Personal Experiences in Turkey and Greece." It will be remembered that one of the "personal experiences" of the author was to be captured by a Greek torpedo boat and carried to Athens. Mr. Fitzgerald Molloy has aimed at presenting a complete picture of Irish society in the last century, in his forthcoming work entitled "The Romance of the Irish Stage." Messrs. Downey and Co., who will publish the book, are also about to issue a uniform edition of Mr. Molloy's social and historical studies at a popular price. Mr. D. J. O'Donoghue, the biographer of Carleton, will shortly conclude " The Life and Writings of James Clarence Mangan," a work he has been engaged at for some time. It will tell for the first time the story of the young poet's tragic career in the Young Ireland days; and there will also be reminiscences of Mangan by Sir Frederick Burton, Sir Charles Gavan Duffy, Dr. J. K. Ingram, and others. A biography of the engineer who laid the first Atlantic cable—Sir Charles Tilston Bright—is being prepared for publication (by subscription) by Messrs. Constable and Co. A brother and a son of the distinguished pioneer have compiled the work from the diaries which Sir Charles kept; therefore it will be largely autobiographical in character. Lord Eibblesdale, who was Master of the Buckhounds under the last administration, is writing his recollections of " The Queen's Hounds and Stag Hunting," to which will be contributed illustrations by prints and drawings from Her Majesty's collections at Windsor Castle and at Cumberland Lodge. The book will be published by Messrs. Longmans. Mr. Theodore A. Cook will write a book about Rouen, and Miss Margaret Symonds (daughter of the late John Addington Symonds) one about Perugia, for a series of volumes dealings with mediaeval towns which Messrs. J. M. Dent and Co. are to publish. The late Mrs. Oliphant was writing "Sienna," but had only completed three chapters of it. The biography of Professor Huxley is not likely to be ready before the autumn of 1898. Prince Ranjitsinhji's book on cricket is to be published by Messrs. Blackwood, and will be dedicated to the Queen. There will be an ddition de luxe in crown quarto, with the author's auto- graph, twenty photogravures, and eighty full- page plates; a fine-paper edition in royal octavo, with a photogravure frontispiece and ninety-nine plates; and a popular edition in large crown octavo, with eighty page illustrations and twenty in the text. Mr. George Bernard Shaw is revising his plays for their coming publication in book form under the title " Plays Pleasant and Unpleasant." They will be in two volumes, to be published by Mr. Grant Richards in the autumn. The several stories contained in Mr. Coulson Kernahan's "Book of Strange Sins," are being published in separate numbers by Messrs. Ward, Lock and Co. Mr. Fraser Rae is at work upon a new edition of Sheridan, in which he will correct the accepted text to a considerable extent. Mr. William Le Queux's new Tuscan novel, now in the press, is to be called "A Madonna of the Music Halls." Mr. F. E. Robinson, M.A., the latest recruit to the ranks of London publishers, announces that he has nearly completed arrangements for a series of Oxford and Cambridge College Histories, which will be written by dons and other well- known graduates. Mr. Frank A. Munsey—whose enterprise has lately been spoken of by Mr. Hapgood in the New York Letter of The Author—has been in London making preliminary arrangements for an English edition of Mungey's Magazine. He will probably send a manager from New York, and open a branch establishment here. Mr. Munsey has secured a story by Mr. Max Pemberton for the magazine, to succeed Mr. Hall Caine's " The Christian." Mr. Alfred Kingston is engaged upon a work entitled " East Anglia and the Great Civil War," in which he tells the story of the rising of Crom- well's Ironsides in the counties of Cambridge, Huntingdon, Lincoln, Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, and Hertford. The "Victorian Era" series of books, to be issued by Messrs. Blackie, is intended as an authoritative record of the great movements of the century. Mr. J. H. Rose, M.A., late Scholar of Christ's College, Cambridge, will edit the series, and contribute a volume on " The Rise of the Democracy." Canon J. H. Overton will write "The Anglican Revival ;" Dean Stubbs, a biography of Charles Kingsley; Mr. George Gissing, a biography of Charles Dickens; Mr. H. Holman, "National Education;" Mr. G. Aimitage Smith, " Free Trade and Its Results;" Mr. Lawrence Gomme," Modern London;" &c. ## p. 80 (#494) ############################################# 8o THE AUTHOR. Mr. F. Anstey's "Baboo Jabberjee" will be published by Messrs. Dent this autumn. Mr. Barry Pain's new novel, which Messrs. Harper will publish immediately, is entitled " The Octave of Claudius." Colonel L. J. Trotter has written the " Life of John Nicholson, Soldier and Administrator," which Mr. Murray will publish. A series of stories by Mr. Barry Pain, dealing with the career of Eobin Hood; a series by Mr. Max Pemberton, dealing with the French Revolution; and a series of detective stories by Major Arthur Griffith, are among the forth- coming projects of the English Illustrated Magazine, Mr. Andrew Lang has edited a volume of selec- tions from Wordsworth, which is in the press, and which will be the first of a new series of "Selec- tions from the Poets," to be published by Messrs. Longmans. Mr. William Harbutt Dawson has written a comprehensive account of the present day social movement in Switzerland in its various branches. The volume, entitled "Social Switzerland," will be published by Messrs. Chapman and Hall at once. "The Typewriter Girl" is the title of a story dealing with an aspect of London life untouched hitherto, which Messrs. Pearson are about to publish. "Olive Pratt Rayner" is the name assumed by the writer. A work on English monastic history, by the Rev. Ethelred L. Taunton, will be published by Mr. John C. Nimnio in the autumn. It will be called, "The English Black Monks of St. Bene- dict: A Sketch of their History from the Coming of St. Augustine to the Present Day." The third volume of the series entitled " Litera- tures of the World," which Mr. Heinemann publishes, will be "Italian Literature," by Dr. Richard Garnett. It will appear early in the autumn. Three months later "English Litera- ture," by Mr. Edmund Gosse, the editor of the series, will be ready. Mr. G. Forrest, Director of Records, Govern- ment of Tndia, is to write "A History of British India" for the important project, the Cambridge Historical Series. The Historical Society of Trinity College, Dublin, is co-operating with the National Literary Society of Dublin to celebrate the centenary of Burke's death. It is proposed to hold a public meeting in November, and to erect a tablet on the house in which Burke was born. Miss Phoebe Allen, whose work in interesting children and spreading their love for Nature is well known, is the editor of a small botanical quarterly called the Sunchildren's Budget, which is the organ of two botany clubs, the second of which is for children. Readers of this paper who are interested in the subjects are invited to make the acquaintance of the magazine for their children. Mrs. Butcher, wife of Dean Butcher of Cairo, will publish in October a book on Egypt, where she has lived for nearly twenty years. It gives an outline of the history of Egypt from the time of the Roman occupation in the year 30 b.c. to the English occupation in the year 1882 a.d., and so will fill a blank in our knowledge of that ancient country. As the Christianity of Egypt is the connecting thread for all the various epochs com- prehended in these twenty centuries, the book will be called "The Story of the Church of Egypt." Messrs. Smith and Elder are the publishers, and it will appear in two volumes. A story of public school life, entitled " The Gift of God," is about to be brought out in volume form. It is by Mrs. Laffan, the wife of the Prin- cipal of Cheltenham College; better known to the reading public by her former name—" Mrs. Leith Adams." Mrs. Laffan gave a lecture at the Ladies' College, Cheltenham, last month, on the subject of "Fictional Literature as a Profession for Women." It has created great interest, and will be repeated. New editions of "Madelon Lemoine," and" The Old Pastures," by this writer, are in the press. Volume 2 of Mr. Edwin 0. Sachs' monumental work, "Modern Opera Houses and Theatres," has now been issued, and with it, perhaps, that part of the undertaking which appeals most to the general public has seen its completion, for the third volume, due in December, will mainly deal with the historical and practical details of theatre construction, finance, and management, and have an essentially technical character. Mr. Sachs has been able to extend materially the scope of the second volume beyond what was originally in- tended, so that the part now completed contains descriptions of over fifty playhouses in Europe, with no less than 450 illustrations. Most of the latter are on plates. Every country is represented, including Russia with three theatres, Roumania and Greece with one each. Garnier's charming theatre at Monte Carlo even stands to do credit for the principality of Monaco. The playhouse most elaborately illustrated in vol. 2 is the Paris Opera House, and the French capital is further represented by the new Opera Comique in course of construction, and the Eden Varietv Theatre. ## p. 81 (#495) ############################################# THE AUTHOR. 81 The great Vienna Opera House heads the Austrian examples in vol. 2, whilst Her Majesty's takes a similar position among our metropolitan houses. Mr. Sachs has received great assistance from many foreign Governments whilst preparing the work, and many of the names prominently asso- ciated with drama on the one hand, and with architecture on the other, will also be found on his list of subscribers. Mr. Arthur Lee Knight has a new book for boys in the press, entitled "Under the White Ensign; or, for Queen and Empire." Messrs. Jarrold are the publishers, and the volume will be profusely illustrated by Mr. J. B. Greene, who makes a special study of naval subjects. "The King's Oak" will be the title of a volume of stories by Robert Cromie, which Messrs. E. Aickin and Co., Limited, of Belfast, have in the press. Mr. Cromie is best known as the author of " The Crack of Doom," which had an extraordi- nary circulation in Sir GeorgeNewnes' "Famous Books " series. The author of " The Song-Book of Bethia Hard- acre" (Chapman and Hall) is Mrs. (not Miss) Fuller Maitland. "The Demon of Santa Fc," by Mr. Farquhar Palliser (Heber K. Daniels), commences in the current number of Eureka: The Playgoers' Magazine, conjointly with "A Romance of Nor- way," from the same pen, in No. 4 of the "Favourite Illustrated Stories." A sequel to Mr. Palliser's " Me and Jim," entitled " Our Tenants," will also be published by the same publishers— the Favourite Publishing Company, Pentonville- road. The Navy and Army Illustrated (edited by Commander C. N. Robinson, R.N.) is devoting a series of special numbers to the Yeomanry and Volunteers. The title of the work is "Our Citizen Army," and the entire letterpress is by Callum Beg, author of " The Life of a Soldier," &c. The second number of the series was lately published and contains some fifty or sixty illustrations descriptive of the duties falling to the lot of our citizen soldiers in camp and elsewhere. "Cruelties of Civilisation."—Early in August the Humanitarian League will issue the third volume of its publications. It will contain the following essays: "Literce Humaniores: An Appeal to Teachers," by Henry S. Salt; "Public Control of Hospitals," by Harry Roberts; "The Shadow of the Sword," by G. W. Foote; "What it Costs to be Vaccinated," by Joseph Collinson; "The Gallows and the Lash," by Hypatia Brad- laugh Bonner; "The Sweating System," by Maurice Adams; "The Humanities of Diet," by H. S. Salt. One of the League's new pamphlets will deal with the English Game Laws. FASHIONS IN LANGUAGE. VERT great men may almost be said to be "of no time." The English of Shakspeare is still modern, and one reads it with more ease and pleasure than that of much more recent writers; the reason being that he writes sincerely, and is but little swayed by the thoughtless fashions of his day. This is not the case with a vast majority of even good authors; most of whom are content to swim with the tide, and to gain a temporary success at the cost of all chance of immortality. Addison, Gray, Coleridge, Macaulay, Tennyson, are all instances of men who have stedfastly resisted such temptations, and of whom, therefore, we may feel sure that their works will endure and will become classics. It is when one turns to the colloquial idiom recorded by writers of various times that one observes how fashions affect our language, and realises what changes are in store for it among the multitudes of so-called "English-speaking people" that are growing up in America and the Colonies. Yet precisely similar changes have been always going on, even in the comparatively small and well-trained circle of London society, without seriously affecting the purity of written English. Time and space would not suffice for a com- plete exemplification of these remarks; we may however, find enough to justify them in con- sidering one class of words—the adjectives and adverbs by which indolent and ill-trained men and women have been wont to express intenseness and superlative quality. Thus, in the London of the Revolution, when institutions began to be fixed and West-end society to become organised, we find colloquialism of this sort recorded by Con- preve and the Spectator; and the fine ladies and their beaux at once began to coin current epithets which circulated with but little regard to their intrinsic value. Mrs. Fainall hates her husband "transcendentally"; Mirabell is a "pretty" fellow; Cleantha has been "hugely" diverted. Then comes the Hanoverian age, beginning with George II. and ending with George IV., when convention was lord of all, and " enthusiasm" was regarded as a form of insanity. Here we come upon yet more artificial epithets, the paper- money of social intercourse. Not only are words used without any pretence of their proper signifi- cation, but the lords and ladies who set the fashion do not even deign to employ the neces- ## p. 82 (#496) ############################################# 82 THE AUTHOR. sary termination to indicate an adverbial meaning The characters in Miss Burney's novels talk of a "monstrous handsome woman," and a "prodi- gious pretty place;" like the mediaeval emperor, they are above grammar, though they can hardly be said to have mastered that humble science. Many other instances will occur to readers of eighteenth century books, and will be even found in sermons and works intended to be dignified. "Respectable " is used as a high form of praise; few words, indeed, can have more changed their value. Boswell writes of "Chief Baron Smith of respectable and pious memory," where he evidently means to exhaust eulogy. Two other favourite epithets of the period have fallen from their high estate—"elegant"and "genteel," the former used to mean much what we mean when we say that a lady is refined, or that her hospitality is gracious; the latter meant well bred or polite. Lord Chesterfield, about the middle of the period, touched the subject with his habitual plesantry:— "Not content," writes the witty peer, "with enriching our language with words absolutely new, my fair countrywomen have gone still farther and improved it by the application and extension of old ones to various and very different significations. They take a word and change it, like a guinea into shillings for pocket-money, to be employed in the several occasional purposes of the day. For instance, adjective vast, and its adverb vastly, mean anything. . . . Large objects are vastly great, small ones are vastly little; and I had lately the pleasure to hear a fine woman pronounce a very small gold snuff- box that was produced in company to be vastly pretty because it was vastly little." On this Walpole noted: "Humming is a cant word for vast. A person meaning to describe a very large bird, said 'It was a humming bird.'" Surely we seem to be on familiar ground here. Is it not the fact that for the last thirty years we have had "cant words," or intensive expletives, of at least equal absurdity? What is the meaning of a lady who is awfully ugly, but has an airfu/ly jolly house?" Or of the young officer who comes down to breakfast in a strange house declaring that he has had "a rippin' night's rest?" H. G. K. CORRESPONDENCE. I.—Corruptions of the Language, THE AUTHOR" is fulfilling several useful functions, and its usefulness seems to grow with every month. The suggestion of " E. W. H." appears to me to be an excellent one; and I shall be glad to support it. But I am hunting smaller game just now; and I ask for only a few lines of your journal to call attention to a minor nuisance. The English language is in daily danger of being corrupted by slovenly phrases introduced by journalists and reporters in a hurry; and it might be one of the duties, and one of the privileges, of The Author to guard the purity of the language, in so far as this is possible and practicable for any one journal. But, as The Author is read by hundreds of men and women who write, and who have an honest respect for the language they write in, it is, probably, a task that becomes it well, to exclude from the language words and phrases that are "bad English" or ungram- matical, or ill-sounding. An obituary notice of Mrs. Oliphant in the July number of The Author, concludes with the words: "Mrs. Oliphant was predeceased by her husband and two sons." Now, I did not expect to find that in The Author. Let me talk grammar for a minute; I will try not to bore you. "Predeceased by " is clearly a verb in the passive voice. If one can "be predeceased," it follows that one can "decease" and even "predecease." Then " decease" is an active verb. What is to decease/ There is no such verb in the English language. Still less is there the verb to pre- decease. The writer might have given the sad facts in a truer way if he had not gone after Latin words, but kept within the bounds of his mother tongue: "Mrs. Oliphant was a widow; and all her children had died before her." There is another Latin word that is hauled in by every penny-a-liner with fatal facility and unpleasant results. I saw this heading in a country newspaper the other day: "Demise of a Dundee Baker in Canada." What is a demise* It is a demissio—a handing down (of the crown or of some title). Shakespeare has the verb to demise in the sense of to bequeath. Mr. Greville, in his Memoirs (quoted in the Century Dictionary), writes: "Now arose anew difficulty—whether the property of the late king demised to the king or to the Crown." Here the word demise is rightly used. An act of demise is a handing down of something to somebody. But the small journalist saw the word, liked the sound of it and the look ## p. 83 (#497) ############################################# THE AUTHOR. 83 of it, didn't know what it meant, took the ignotum pro magnifico, and applied it to the death of the first person he had to mention the departure of. As I am on the prowl for a few minutes, I will mention another piece of bad English that seems likely to gain and to keep a place in our language. It is the American vulgarism " at that." Anyone whose ear has been trained by the reading of the best English prose, must be shocked by the use of a phrase so unrhythmical. I should like to suggest to you the usefulness of setting apart a column as a sort of Index Expurgatorius, in which all kinds of bad English and slovenly grammar would be gibbeted, as the gamekeeper nails stoats and other vermin to the barn door. J. M. D. Meiklejohn. St. Andrew's, July 6. II.—Editor and Contributor. What is the law in the following supposed case? I write an article, more or less ephemeral, and send it to a daily paper. I receive a proof; on it is a notice that such proof is no guarantee that the article will be accepted or published. There is, therefore, no contract. I send a copy of the same article to another daily paper, which at once prints and pub- lishes it. It happens that on the first of the Greek Kalends my article appears in both papers. Has either paper any remedy against me, or are they both equally in my debt? Delay spells ruin to an ephemeral article; how am I to view the notice printed on the proof slip? Dubious. [My opinion is that, if the author of the article in question was not able, or willing, to take his chance, he should have kept the proof and informed the editor of his intention to offer it elsewhere, unless he received a note of acceptance or contract to publish. I do not think that he was justified in sending it to the second paper without such warning or notification to the first paper. Clearly, the editor of the first paper was entitled to believe that the article was offered to him alone. By the decision of the Westminster County Court in the case of "Macdonald v. National Revieic," the forwarding of a proof is in itself an acceptance of the article, or a contract to pay for it, if not to publish it. The notice that the proof is not a guarantee of acceptance is probably sent with the proof in consequence of that decision.—Ed.] III.—English Novels in Germany. I have read with considerable surprise the statement of your contributor, " E. W. H.," to the effect that " Germans have found it necessary to-' forbid the perusal by young girls of English novels." The italics are his. After a comprehensive study of the works of prominent German writers of to-day, I confess it would seem to me quite unnecessary to banish even some very advanced English novels from the library unless, at the s:ime time, an enormous per- centage of the romances read, with or without permission of the parents, by girls of seventeen or younger, were forbidden at the same time. Per- sonally, I have the greatest admiration for the style and literary merits of works I could men- tion, written by leading Teuton (men and women) authors; but it is impossible to deny that few books which attain general popularity in the Fatherland would escape the verdict in England of "highly pernicious," or that they would instantly be locked away on the shelf with the glass windows, of which only " papa" is supposed to have the key. As the assertion in question is not" E. W. H.'s" own, I trust he will forgive me for taking up the cudgels in defence of English literature. Gwendoline Ashworth-Edwards. Germany. ii<ri IV.—A Query. I should feel much obliged if any reader of 'The Author could give a definite rule, or refer to a satisfactory authority, in the following cases: (a) The correct form of the predicate verb, "when two or more pronouns of different persons, are connected by alternative conjunctions." According to Professor Bain, there is a diver- gence of use among classical writers. (/?) The correct auxiliary to be used with verbs of motion. (y) The present day use of, and distinction between, the prepositions " by " and " with." A. E. Aldington. V.—Transliteration. With reference to the note by "H. G. K." on "Transliteration" in The Author for this month, I beg to point out that the congress he wishes for has sat, and to a great extent settled the question. At the Tenth Oriental Congress, held at Geneva in 1894, on the motion of Lord Reay, President of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain, a commission was appointed to consider this subject. The scheme adopted by the commission was printed in the Proceedings of the Congress, and a translation of it was published in the Asiatic Society's Journal for October, 1895. This system has, with a few alterations, been adopted by the society, and earnestly recom- ## p. 84 (#498) ############################################# 84 THE AUTHOR. mended for adoption by all writers on Oriental subjects. As one who has written and published a good deal on Indian languages, I am deeply impressed with the necessity of uniformity on this point— not for the sake of Oriental scholars, to whom, knowing as they do the words in their Oriental alphabets, transliteration is of little moment, but for the general public, who are apt to be bewil- dered by diversity of spelling. The system adopted by the Geneva Congress does not com- mend itself to me in every particular, and in such of my writings as are intended for students of Oriental languages only I could not conscien- tiously adopt some of the Roman equivalents proposed, as I consider them misleading. But in writing for the general public this objection would not arise, and the Geneva system might be used. I think, however, for general use the employment of dots and diacritical signs would have to be dispensed with, as the public would not understand them without previous study—and the public has no time to study such matters. In the Arabic language there are four letters, all of which in India are pronounced as z, three which are pronounced s, and two pronounced t. It would suffice to write all these letters as they are pronounced without putting dots under them. But then the four letters pronounced as z in India are pronounced differently in other Mahomedan countries. For instance, the name of the month during which all good Muslims fast is pronounced in India and Persia Ramzan, while in Arabia and Turkey it is pronounced Ramadhan (i.e., like the two English words "rummer " and "darn," not like "rammer" and "dan"). I do not think any system, except one which hideously distorted them, would enable the Englishman who is unac- quainted with Arabic to pronounce these words properly at sight—one would not like to see the word written " rummer darn!" The short indis- tinct vowel which is so very frequent in Oriental languages creates a great difficulty. The sound of it is exactly the same as the u in English bun, sun, run. It is also the same as the unac- cented e in the French le, jc, me; and the half audible c at the end of German eine, meine, gate. But it is also the same as the final unaccented a in America, woman. Consequently the Geneva Congress, following an already established rule, has adopted a to express this sound, and this course is now followed by all Oriental scholars. French writers (not scholars), however, use e. Thus the general whose name we should pro- nounce in India as Uzzum Pasha, appears in Thessaly as Edhem, and Muhammad is written Mehemet. While, therefore, absolute uniformity is,per haps, not likely to be attained soon, it might be an advantage if the alphabet adopted by the Geneva Congress were made more geuerally known, and used by English writers at least. Foreign writers may perhaps in time consent to use it also. John Beames. Netherclay House, Bishop's Hull, Taunton, July 6. VI.—Subjunctive Mood: Its Present Day Use. Your correspondent might have ascertained Mr. Lang's views on this subject by a shorter process than the study of 68,000 words. "I," says Prince Prigio, "unworthy as I am, represent the sole hope of the Royal Family. Therefore to send me after the Fired rake were* both dangerous and unnecessary." To which the author appends a note: *" Subjunctive mood! He was a great grammarian!" Apparently a suspicion of priggishness attaches at the present day even to the use of "the sub- junctive of to be after if." E. C. S. VII.—Cost of Production. In re the letter of "S. R.," published on page 38 of the current issue of The Author, I think he is quite wrong in his deduction that because a decent publisher declines to accept a book that therefore it is not worth publishing! Not so, friend " S. R."! However meritorious a book is, many publishers will not accept it unless the author has already a well-known name in the literary world, as they think that without this the work will not "catch on." The commercial side comes in, you see, and publishers will not take the first plunge. The refusal of a book by a decent publisher is no sign that it is not worth publishing, for it is not its literary merit so much as the status of the author that the publisher considers. Many historic cases—" Vanity Fair," "Jane Eyre," &c. — prove this. My own book, "Fisherman Fancies," Elliot Stock declined to bring out at his own risk, and yet it was much praised by Mr. R. D. Blackmore, and had capital reviews from good London and provincial journals. F. B. Doveton. VIII—How Long? Here is another choice experience of the courtesy of editors. Last December I submitted a contribution to a weekly paper circulating in the parish where I reside. No acknowledgment was vouchsafed. After a couple of reminders, it ## p. 85 (#499) ############################################# THE AUTHOR. 85 has to-day been sent back, declined with thanks. Seven months to consider a short story! It is difficult to believe that a small suburban news- paper can find any valid excuse for so long a detention of manuscript. C. C. Authors' Club, July 15. —■»•«> LITERATURE IN THE PERIODICALS. On Commencing Author. Quarterly Review for July. On the Complaints op Authors. A. T. Q. C Speaker for July 3. The Proposed School op Fiction. A. T. Quiller Coach. Pall Hall Magazine for Jaly. John Sterling, and a Correspondence between Sterling and Emerson. Edward Waldo Emerson. Atlantic Monthly for July. Some Reminiscences op English Journalism Sir Wemysa Reid. Nineteenth Century for July. Pascal. Leslie Stephen. Fortnightly Review for July. A Woman Poet [Mme. Marceline Valmore]. Fort- nightly Review for July. The paper in the Quarterly Review has been treated elsewhere (see Notes and News). A practical suggestion the Quarterly Review makes has regard to the work of agents. At the present time, many agents only look at the work of well-known people; but the writer seems to foresee considerable remuneration to a firm who will announce themselves as the depositaries of everything—sonnets, epics, turnovers for a paper, or anything else, by servant girls, duchesses, or eminent men. For these they would have to give an immediate receipt. They would be free to send back at once anything considered unmarketable. They would be at liberty to charge (say) ten per cent, on whatever they obtained for the item, and to pay themselves. There would be no temptation to dishonesty, because the action of the percentage and the immediate receipt for the document would be so self-working. It will be noticed that the idea is substantially that which Mr. Isidore G. Ascher put forward in the July number of The Author. Just before the latest Quarterly appeared, Mr. Quiller Couch had been writing his view that the commercial side of the literary calling has been too prominent of late. He believes " that writing has aims and rewards of its own which must and always will escape what I may call a bagman's estimate, and that if a man can only bring a bagman's estimate to this calling, a bag- man he had better be." The author and the publisher, is a case of the workman and the capitalist; and "give and take" is the best motto for each. There is a class of authors, one would point out to Mr. Couch, who take their money, as much as they can get, and then pretend not to care how much it is. There is, as a rule, no one more anxious for money than the writer who talks big about bagmen. Those who know how to separate literary from commercial value do not talk about the sordidness of keeping watch over property. An interesting friendship between Emerson and Sterling is revealed by Mr. E. Waldo Emerson. The correspondence (they never met) that passed between the American poet and the British man of letters, here published for the first time, shows their relations to have originated by Emerson sending a presentation copy of his "Essays." Sterling acknowledges this in a letter from Clifton, dated Sept. 30,1839. "I have read very, very little modern English writing that has pleased, me so much," he says; "among recent productions almost only those of our friend Carlyle, whose shaggy-browed and deep-eyed thoughts have often a likeDess to yours which is very attractive and impressive, neither evidently being the double of the other." Emerson, in re- plying, criticises Sterling's volume of poems, saying, "I must count him happy who has this delirious music in his brain;" and " I am natu- rally keenly susceptible of the pleasures of rhythm, and cannot believe but that one day—I ask not where or when—I shall attain to the speech of this splendid dialect." There are twenty letters altogether, eight of them Emerson's. They are made up of criticisms of literature, and passages of tender personal sympathy with trouble. "Ill-health, many petty concerns, much loco- motion, and infinite laziness," are Sterling's first excuse for delay; and the Eame reason of ill- health continues until in June, 1844, when he is dying, he writes from Ventnor that his condition is one of " expecting to be dead in five minutes, and noticing the pattern of the room paper and of the doctor's waistcoat as composedly as if the whole had been a dream." We find Sterling saying, in 1840, that "Hartley Cole- ridge, Alfred Tennyson, and Henry Taylor are the only younger men I now think of who have shown anything like genius, and the last— perhaps the most remarkable—has more of voli- tion and understanding than imagination." In 1842 Sterling thought of visiting New Eng- land. "Come and bring your scroll in hand," promptly writes the American sage. "Come to Boston and Concord, and I will go to Niagara with you. I have never been there." Again he writes, introducing his countryman Bronson Alcott as " a man who cannot write, but whose conver- sation is unrivalled in its way—such insight, such discernment of spirits, such pure intellectual play, such revolutionary impulses of thought." Another friend Emerson introduces is Henry James, of New ## p. 86 (#500) ############################################# 86 THE AUTHOR. York, "a man of ingenuous and liberal spirit, and a chief consolation to me when I visit his city." Here is one paragraph from a letter of Emerson's, dated January 31, 1844. I learned by your last letter that you had builded a house, and I glean from Russell all I can of your health and aspect; and as James is gone to your island, I think to come still nearer to you through his friendly and intelligent eyes. Send me a good gossiping letter, and prevent all my proxies. What can I tell you to invite such retaliation? I dwell with my mother, my wife, and two little girl -. the eldest five years old, in the midst of flowery fields. I wasted much time from graver work in the last two months in reading lectures to Lyceums far and near; for there is now a "lyceum," so oalled, in almost every town in New Eogland, and, if I would accept every invitation, I might read a lecture every night. My neighbours in this village of Concord are Ellery Cbanning, who sent his poems to you, a yontb of genius; Thoreau, whose name you may have Been in the Dial ; and Hawthorne, a writer of tales and historiettes, whose name you may not have Been, though he, too, prints books. All these three persons are superior to their writings, and, therefore, not obnoxious to Kant's observa- tion, " Detestable is the company of literary men." Emerson was trying to arrange for the printing of Sterling's poems in America, but the project hung fire. The reasons are given by Emerson in his letter of June 30, 1843, which shows the un- satisfactory state of the book law at that time: Oar whole foreign book market has suffered a revolution within eighteen months, by the new practice of printing whatever good books or vendible books you send ns, in the cheapest newspaper form, and hawking them in the streets at twelve, eighteen, and twenty-five cents the whole work; and I suppose that fears, if his book should prove popular, that it would be pirated at once. I printed Carlyle's •' Past and Present" two months ago, with a preface beseech- ing all honest men to spare our book; but already a wretched reprint has appeared, published, to be sure, by a man unknown to the trade, whose wretchedness of type and paper, I have hope, will still give my edition the market for all persons who have eyes and wish to keep them. But, beside the risk of piracy, this cheap system hurts the sale of dear books, or such whose price contains any profit to an author. Add one more unfavonrable incident whioh damped the design, that a Philadelphia edition of "Sterling's Poems " was published a year ago, though bo ill got up that it did not succeed well, our booksellers think. To judge from this year's issue of Professor Kiirschner's "Deutsche Litteratur Kalender," which has been fully described in this journal before, the guild of writers must be on the increase in Germany. It numbers sixty pages more than last year's issue, and contains much new and valuable information. The portraits inserted in the present volume are of special interest. The one facing the title-page represents the popular and prolific romancer Mas Ring, who, as we learn from Kiirschner, is a doctor of medicine, and will celebrate on the 4th of next month his eightieth birthday. Among his various successful novels the one entitled "John Milton und seine Zeit" has attracted in Germany particular attention. The second portrait is that of the well-known poet . Detlev von Liliencron. As for the rest, the useful literary and biographical annual fully maintains its standard, and we may cordially recommend it to all who take an interest in current German literature. PERSONAL. "|V TE- GEORGE SMITH gave a dinner at IVI the Hotel Mctropole, on July 8, to his friends and the contributors to the "Dictionary of National Biography." In pro- posing the health of Mr. Sidney Lee, Mr. Smith said that twenty-one volumes of the "Dic- tionary" had appeared under the editorship of Mr. Leslie Stephen, with the assistance of Mr. Sidney Lee; five were edited jointly by Mr. Stephen and Mr. Lee; and twenty-five had been produced under the editorship of Mr. Lee. The number of contributors was 634; and each volume contained between 400 and 500 separate biogra- phies. Mr. Lee, in replying to the toast, said that when ill-health unhappily compelled Mr. Stephen to retire from the editorship, it was the force of his example that had enabled him to carry the work forward to the stage it had reached. Mr. Stephen also acknowledged the toast. Mr. Lee gave " The Health of the Con- tributors," and Canon Ainger replied. "The Guests who were not Contributors" was proposed by the Chairman, who coupled with it the names of Viscount Peel and Mr. Lecky. One of the most remarkable features of the time, said Mr. Lecky, was the manner in which individual exer- tion had been replaced by corporate work, by syndicates and companies. It was old fashioned now to think that a history could only be written by one hand in a uniform style. The Tennyson Memorial in the Isle of Wight will be unveiled by Lady Tennyson, and dedicated by the Archbishop of Canterbury, on Friday, the 6th inst., at 3 p.m. It is placed in Freshwater Down, the favourite walk of the late Laureate. Mark Twain has declined the fund which was set on foot for him by the New York Herald, and supported in London by the Westminster Gazette. A man who is able to work, he says, should not accept charity. The appeal was meeting with ready response. A successful Dickens fete was held at Broad- stairs in the first week of July. The principal feature was a fancy dress bazaar, in which the stall-holders impersonated characters in the novelist's books. The proceeds will be devoted to erecting a club-house and other buildings in memory of Charles Dickens. ## p. 87 (#501) ############################################# THE AUTHOR. 87 OBITUARY. MISS JEAN INGELOW died at Kensing- ton on July 20, at the age of seventy- seven. She came, like Tennyson, of a Lincolnshire family (her mother was a Scotch, woman of literary inclinations), and was one of a banker's eleven children. Her first volume which attained fame was "Poems" (1863), which has been popular through the half century that has elapsed since. This was her second work, the first, "A Rhyming Chronicle of Incidents and Feelings," having been published anonymously in 1850. "The Brothers," " Divided," and " Songs of Seven" were likewise well received; and Mr. Swinburne, for one, paid very high praise to "Requiescat in Pace." Both in this country and in the United States her works com- manded large sale in the sixties and seventies. Her stories in blank verse included " Lawrance" and "Gladys and Her Island "; "Supper at the Mill" and "Afternoon at a Parsonage" were dainty sketches. The poem by which Miss Ingelow is best known is "High Tide on the Coast of Lincolnshire," which is a favourite piece with public reciters. She also wrote fairy stories for children and novels for the young. "Off the Skelligs" was perhaps her best prose work. Miss Ingelow seldom revised her poems after she had once committed them to paper. She shunned publicity, and was a generous friend of the poor. Sir John Skelton, K.C.B., LL.D., Advocate, late Vice-President of the Local Government Board for Scotland, died in his native city, Edin- burgh, on the 20th ult., aged sixty-six. He was the author of several books on public health and the poor law; of "Nugse Criticse," a volume of essays published in 1862; and of historical and other works, including " A Campaigner at Home," "The Impeachment of Mary Stuart," " Maitland of Lethington and the Scotland of Mary Stuart," "Mary Stuart," "Essays in Romance," and one novel, "Crookit Meg." It was Disraeli's admiration for "Crookit Meg" that removed the young barrister from Parliament House at Edinburgh to be Secretary of the old Board of Supervision. His latest work was "Table Talk of Shirley" (1895), of which a second series appeared last winter. This work contains reminiscences of some of the foremost writers of the present reign. Dr. Skelton was a consistent admirer of the unfortunate Queen of Scots, but this did not interfere with his close friendship with Froude. Under the pseudonym of " Shirley" lie was a frequent contributor to Frasers and Blackwood's. He was the original of Lord Glenalmond in Stevenson's" Weir of Hermiston." "' Shirley' is the last of them," the late Miss Isabella Blackwood used to say in speaking of the former but departed glories of literary Edinburgh. Sir John Charles Bucknill, M.D., F.R.C.P., F.R.S., who died at Bournemouth on the 19th ult., aged seventy-nine, originated, in 1853, the Journal of Mental Science—which for nine years he edited, was one of the original editors—and Brain; and wrote numerous psychological works. The most important of these are: "Unsound- ness of Mind in Relation to Criminal Acts," "The Mad Folk of Shakespeare," "Notes on American Asylums," "Habitual Drunkards and Insane Drunkards," and " Care of the Insane and their Legal Control." THE BOOKS OP THE MONTH. [June 24 to July 23.—154 Books.] About, Edmond. The King of the Mountains, [trans, by Richard Davey.] 3/6. Heinemann. Allen, Grant. An African Millionaire. 6'- Richards. Allingham, Francis. Crooked Paths. 6/- Longmans. Aloysius, Slater Mary. Memories of the Crimea. Burns and Oates. Anglican, An. Some Thoughts on the Third Order of St. Francis. I/- Skeffington. Anonymous. A Catalogue of the Egyptian Antiquities in tho Posses- sion of F. G. Hilton Price. Quaritch. Anonymous [*'E."]. Peggy's Decision. 1/- Simpkin. Anonymous. Notes on tho Painted Glass in Canterbury Cathedral. Canterbury: E. Crow. AnonymouB. The Oxford Debate on tho Textual Criticisms of the New Testament. Bell. Anonymous [•'One of H. M.'s servants."] The Private Life of tho Queen. 2/6. Pearson. Armitage, E. S. A Key to English Antiquities, with special reference to the Sheffield and Roiherham District. 7, - Sheffield: W, Townsend. ABtlns, G. S. Wayside Echoes. 2/- King, Sell, and Railton. Austin, Alfred. Victoria: June 20, 1S37—June 20, 1897. 6d. Macmillan. Bailey, James. Sunday School Teaching. 1/6. R. Cully. Barnes, W. E. An Apparatus Criticus to Chronicles in the Pesbitta Version. 5/- Clay. Harnett. P. A. (ed.) Teaching and Organisation. 6/6. Longmans. Barr, Robert. Tho Mutable Many, (i - Methueu. Bathurst, J. K. The Royal Houses of Great Britain. Genealogical Chart, with notes. Comparative Synoptical Chart Company. Be a van, A. A. Popular Royalty. 10 6. Low. Bell, R. S. Warren. The Cub in Love and Other Stories. 18. Richards. Bellamy, Edward. Equality 0 - Heinemann. Besant, Sir W. The Queen's Reign and its Commemoration. The Werner Company. Bingham, Clive. With the Turkish Army in Thessaly. C tj net. Macmillan. Blrrel), Augustine. Four Lectures on the Law of Employers' Liability at Home and Abroad. 2/6. Macmillan. Boae. W. P. Du. The Ecumenical Councils. 6 - Edinburgh: Clark. Bower, Marfan. The Story of Molly. 3;(J. Andrews. Brown, J. D., and Stratton, S. S. British Musical Biography. 10,6 net. Birmingham: S. S. Stratton. Browning, Oscar (ed.) The Journal of Sir George Rooke, Admiral of the Fleet. Navy Records Society. Bryant, Sophie. The Teaching of Morality in the Family and the School. 8/- Sonnenschein. Bryden, H. A. The Victorian Era in South Africa. Offices of African Criiic. Caine, Caisar (editor). AnaVcta Eboracensia: Some Hemaynesof the Ancient City of York. 42 - Phillimore. Cameron, MrB. Lovott. A Man's Undoing. White. Campbell, C. T. British South Africa: A History of the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope. 7 C. Haddon Campbell, F. Index-Catalogue of Bibliographical Works (chiefly in the English language) relating to India. Library Bureau. ## p. 88 (#502) ############################################# 88 THE AUTHOR. Cavalry Officer, A. Cavalry Titetics. 4 - Stanford. Clarke, L. W. Tlie Miracle Play in England. 3/6. Andrews. Cocking. B. D. A Primer of French Etymology. 1/6. Innes. Cotton, John. Thoughts and Fancies. Simpkin. Cowell, E. B. (ed.) The Jataka. Vol. III. 12/6. Clay. Crawford, J. W. Wild Flowers of Scotland. 6/- net. Hacqueen. Davenport, Cyril. The English Regalia. 21 - net. Kegan Paul. Donaldson, T. Walt Whitman, The Man. 6/- (lay and Bird. Druery, O. T. The New Gulliver, or Travels in Athomia. 3/6. Roxburghe. Earlo, Mrs. C. W. Pot-Pourri from a Surrey Oarden. 7/6. Smith, Elder. England, Frances. Small Concerns. 1/- Dlgby. Farquharson, C. D. The Federation of the Powers. 1/- Warno. Forlong, J. G. R. Short StudieB in the Science of Comparative Bcligion, embracing all the religions of Asia. Quaritch. Fowler, Edith H. The Professor's Children. 6/- Longmans. Oarbctt, Captain H. 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F., Queen, Empress, and Empire." ## p. 88 (#503) ############################################# ADV Now Ready, Crown 8vo., Cloth Boards, Silver Price 68. A LADY OF WAI "A Story of the Siege of Chester, 1i BY THE Rev. VINCENT J. LEATHERDAL London: Horace eox, Windsor House, Bream'e-tmili SEMENTS. Ill Now ready, demy 8vo., cloth boards, price 10s IN NEW SOUTH AFf Travels in the Transvaal and Rhoa With Map and Twenty-six Illustrations. By H. LINCOLN TAN In demy 8vo., price 12s. net, by poet 12s. 6d. Six Months in a Syrian Monastery. Being the Record of a Visit to the Headquarters of the Syrian Church in Mesopotamia, with some account of the Yazidis, or Devil Worshippers of Mosul, and El Jilwah, their Sacred Book. By OSWALD H. PARRY, B.A. (Of Magdalen College, Oxford.) Illustrated by the Author. With a Prefatory Note by the Right Reverend the Lord Bishop of Durham. 41 The author of this handsome volume presents 1 a detailed study of a relic of history pursued off the track of general research;' he has sought to give, and has succeeded in giving. 'a picture of quiet life in a country much abused, and among a people that command less than their share of ordinary interest.' 1 Westward the tide of Empire takei its way,' sang a prophetic divine of the olden days, and no less certainly, as Mr. Parry points out, does the ebb of travel roturn towards the East. ... As a volume descriptive of life and travel among a distant people, his work is welt worth reading, but for those persons who are more particularly concerned with the old Syrian Church, or in the solution of the problem indicated above, it is one of quite unique attraction. A pathetic interest attaches to the account of the YazidiB included in this volume for it contains part of their sacred writings, the original manuscript of which was in the hands of Professor Robertson Smith for translation at the time of his death.' —Publisher? Circular, CONTENTS. Introductory. PART I. Chapter I.—The Land of Gold and the Way there. II.—Across Desert and Veldt. III. —Johannesburg the Golden. IV. —A Transvaal Coach Journey. V.—Natal: the South African Garden. VI.—Ostracised in Africa. Home with the Swalt PART II —RAMBLES IS RHODESIA Chapter L—Eendragt Maakt Magt. ,, IL—Into the Country of Lobengula. III.—The Trail of War. ,, IV.—Gold mining. Ancient and Modern. V.—Sic Transit Gloria Mundi. „ VI.—To Northern Mashonaland. „ VIL—Primitive Art. The Misadventures of a Wa Index. London: H0Ri.cs Cox, Windsor House, Bream's-builc Crown 8vo., cloth boards, price 6s. HATHERSAC A Tale of North Derbyshij BY CHARLES EDMUND H Author of " An Ancient AnoeBtor," ftc| London: HORACE Cox, Wlnd»or House, Breun's-bull London: Horace Cox, Windsor House, Bream's-buildings, E.C. Eoyal 8vo., price 16s. net. SPORTING DAYS IN SOUTHERN INDIA: BEING REMINISCENCES OF TWENTY TRIPS IN PURSUIT OF BIG GAME, CHIEFLY IN THE MADRAS PRESIDENCY. Lieut.-Col. A. J. O. POLLOCK, Eoyal Scots Fusiliers. WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS BY WHYMPER AND OTHERS. Contents. Chapters I., II., and III—The Bear. IV. and V.—The Panther. VI., VII., and VIII.—The Tiger. IX. and X.—The Indian Bison. XI. and XII.—The Elephant. XHI.—Deer (CervicUe) and Antelopes. XIV. —The Ibex. XV. and XVI.—Miscellaneous. ndon : Horace Cox, Windsor House, Bream's-buildings, E.C. ## p. 88 (#504) ############################################# ADVErERTKNTS. IV THE TEMPLE 1 UTING OFFICE. § kail | rpYPEWEITING EXCEPTIONALLY ACCTJ T| fl KriceB. Duplicates of Circulars by the latest | ^ ■> ,_.TrT,-r>V ITT DON C <J, 1< .L. 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Windsor House, Bream-s-buildiugs, Crown 8vo., 3d. extra PROCEDURE OF THE USE of COMMONS, WITH Second Edition, B-*- -d PRINCIPLES™* OP 4r' MEN™Y D'BATING S0C'ETIES' „„v and PRACT1C1' > „ „^ ✓ < t> t v x^,„ HE: '.SUGGESTIONS AND PRECEDENTS FOR THE CSE OF ,N THEORY AND PRACT1CI Combination. *■ . Windsor House. Bream's-buB 3. Combination. London: Hobace Cox r GEO. G. GRAY, Esq., Ind.), J.P., Barrister-at-Law, Ac., Author of "A Manual of _ —. ptcy," a Treatise on 11 The Right to Support from Land and ^\ J J I Jj ^Si" &C., Speaker of the Hastings Local House of Commons. : Horace Cox, Windsor House, Bream's-buildings, E.C "panted and Published by ^~^dlng«, E.C. fie> Bream'e-btiildings, London, E.C. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. 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Title A name given to the resource The Author Subject The topic of the resource The Author Description An account of the resource A digitised run of the Society of Authors' monthly periodical, The Author, 1890–1914, made available together for the first time. Currently users can browse issues and <a href="https://historysoa.com/items/browse?search=&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bjoiner%5D=and&advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=51&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Index&collection=&type=&tags=&exhibit=&date_search_term=&submit_search=Search+For+Items&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) 1897-07-01 Volume 8 Issue 2 Pages Page range in volume 29–56 Ngram Date Version of the date in YYYYMMDD format for use by the Ngram plugin 18970701 Ngram Text Version of the text with no HTML formatting for use by the Ngram plugin Ube Butbor* (The Organ of the Incorporated Society of Authors. Monthly.) CONDUCTED BY WALTER BESANT. Vol. VIII.—No. 2.] JULY 1, 1897. [Peicb Sixpence. CONT PAfll General Memoranda 30 From the Committee 81 Literary Property—1. The Berne Convention. 2. The Eight of Criticism. S. Willonghby r. Kegan Paul. 4. The Cost of Pro- duction. 6. The Publishers' Vade Mecum 31 New York Letter. By Norman Hapgood 39 Notes from Elsewhere. By Robert H. Sherard 40 Notes and News. By the Editor 42 The Society as a Publishing Company 44 The Subjunctive Mood. By Howard Collins. 46 Disillusion. ByH. G.K « ENTS. PASS Book Talk 46 Correspondence. — 1. Transliteration. 2. The Mockery of Realism. 8. The Need of a Literary Bureau. 4. Mutual Help among Writers 4» Personal 61 Obituary—Mrs. Oliphant 61 The Bronti1 Museum 61 A Note from Buckle 52 Literature in the Periodicals 62 The Books of the Month 64 PUBLICATIONS OF THE SOCIETY. 1. The Annual Report. That for January 1897 can be had on application to the Secretary. 2. The Author. A Monthly Journal devoted especially to the protection and maintenance of Literary Property. Issued to all Members, 6*. 6d. per annum. Back numbers are offered at the following prices: Vol. I., ios. 6d. (Bound) ; Vols. II., III., and IV., 8s. 6d. each (Bound); Vol. V., 6j. 6d. (Unbound). 3. Literature and the Pension List. By W. Morris Colles, Barrister-at-Law. (Henry Glaisher, 95, Strand, W.C.) 3«. 4. The History of the Societe des Gens de Lettres. By S. Squire Sprigge, late Secretary to the Society, is. 5. The Cost of Production. In this work specimens are given of the most important forms of type, size of page, &c, with estimates showing what it costs to produce the more common kinds of books. Henry Glaisher, 95, Strand, W.C. 2s. 6d. 6. The Various Methods Of Publication. By S. Squire Sprigge. In this work, compiled from the papers in the Society's offices, the various forms of agreements proposed by Publishers to Authors are examined, and their meaning carefully explained, with an account of the various kinds of fraud which have been made possible by the different clauses in their agreements. Henry Glaisher, 95, Strand, W.C. 3*. 7. Copyright Law Reform. An Exposition of Lord MonkswelFs Copyright Bill now before Parlia- ment. With Extracts from the Report of the Commission of 1878, and an Appendix containing the Berne Convention and the American Copyright Bill. By J. M. Lely. Eyre and Spottiswoode. is. 6d. 8. The Society of Authors. A Record of its Action from its Foundation. By Walter Besant (Chairman of Committee, 1888—1892). is. 9. The Contract of Publication in Germany, Austria, Hungary, and Switzerland. By Ernst Lunge, J.U.D. 2s. 6d. ## p. 28 (#438) ############################################# 11 AD VEIi TISEMENTS. $ociefp of Jlut^ors (gncotporcttei)). Sib Edwin Arnold, K.C.I.E., C.S.I. Alfred Austin. J. M. Babbie. A. W. X Beckett. Robert Bateman. F. E. Beddard, F.B.S. Sib Henry Bebgne, K.C.M.G. Sir Walteb Bksant. At)GU8TINE BlRRELL, M.P. Bev. Prof. Bonney, F.B.S. Bioht Hon. James Bryce, M.P. Eight Hon. Lord Burghclere, P.C. Hall Caine. Eoerton Castle, F.S.A. P. W. Clayden. Edward Clodd. W. Morris Colles. Hon. John Collier. Sir W. Martin Conway. F. Marion Cbawford. PRESIDENT. OOEOZR-a-IE MEBEDITH. COUNCIL. The Earl of Desabt. Austin Dobson. A. Conan Doyle, M.D. A. W. Duboubg. Prof. Michael Foster, F.R.S. D. W. Fbeshfield. Richard Gahnbtt, C.B., LL.D. Edmund Gosse. H. Rides Haggard. Thomas Hardy. Anthony Hope Hawkins. Jerome K. Jerome. Rudyard Kipling. Prof. E. Ray Lankesteb, F.R.S. W. E. H. Lecky. J. M. Lely. Mrs. E. Lynn Linton. Rev. W. J. Loftie, F.S.A. Sir A. C. Mackenzie, Mub.Doc. Prof. J. M. D. Meiklejohn. Hon. Counsel — E. M. Undebdown, Herman C. Merivale. Rev. C. H. Middleton-Wakk. Sir Lewis Morris. Henry Nobman. Miss E. A. Ormerod. J. C. Parkinson. Rioht Hon. Lord Pirbright, F.R.S. Sir Frederick Pollock, Bart., LL.D. Walter Herries Pollock. W. Baptists Scoones. Miss Flora L. Shaw. G. R. Sims. S. Squire Sprigge. J. J. Stevenson. Francis Storr. Prof. Jas. Sully. William Moy Thomas. H. D. Traill, D.C.L. Mrs. Humphry Ward. Miss Charlotte M. Yonge. Q.C. COMMITTEE OF MANAGEMENT. A. W. a Beckett. Sib Walter Besant. Egerton Castle, F.S.A. W. Morris Colles. Chairman—H. Rider Haggard. Sir W. Martin Conway. D. W. Freshfield. Anthony Hope Hawkins. J. M. Lely. Sib A. C. Mackenzie, Mus.Doc. Henby Norman. Francis Storr. SUB-COMMITTEES. MUSIC. C. Villibrs Stanford, Mns.D. (Chairman) Jacques Blumenthal. J. L. Molloy. ( Field, Roscoe, and Co., Lincoln's Inn Fields. ij. G. Herbebt Thbing, B.A., 4, Portugal-street. Secretary—G. Herbert Thrino, BA OFFICES: 4, Portugal Street, Lincoln's Inn Fields, W.C. ART. Hon. John Collier (Chairman) Sir W. Martin Conway. M.JH. Spiklmann. Solicitors- DRAMA. Henry Arthur Jones (Cluiirman). A. W. A Beckett. Edward Rose. .A.. IP. AATJLTT &c SO INT, LITERARY AGENTS, Formerly of 2, PATERNOSTER SQUARE, Have now removed to HASTINGS HOUSE, NORFOLK STREET, STRAND. LONDON. W.C. Published every Friday morning; price, without Reports, 9d.; with Reports, 1b. THE LAW TIMES, the Journal of the Law and the Lawyers, which has now been established for over half a century, supplies to the Profession a complete Record of the Progress of Legal Reforms, and of all matters affecting the Legal Profession. The Reports of the Law Times are now recognised as the moBt complete and efficient series published. Offices: Windsor House, Bream's-buildings, E.C THE ART of CHESS. By James Mason. Price 5s. net, by post 5s. 4d. London: Horace Cox, Windsor House, Bream's-buIldingB, E.C. THE KNIGHTS and KINGS of CHESS. By the Rev. G. A. MACDONNELL, B.A. With Portrait and 17 IUustra tions. Crown 8vo., cloth boards, price 2s. 6d. net. London: Hokace Cox, Windsor House, Bream'B-buildings, E.G. ## p. 29 (#439) ############################################# tTbe Hutbot* (The Organ of the Incorporated Society of Authors. Monthly.) CONDUCTED BY WALTER BESANT. VoL.Tm.-No. 2.] JULY i, 1897. [Pbick Sixpence. For the Opinions expressed in papers that are signed or initialled the Authors alone are responsible. None of the papers or para- graphs must be taken as expressing the collective opinions of the Committee unless they are officially signed by G. Herbert Thring, Sec. THE Secretary of the Society begs to give notioe that all remittances are acknowledged by return of post, and requests that all members not receiving an answer to important communications within two days will write to him without delay. All remittances should be crossed Union Bank of London, Chancery-lane, or be sent by registered letter only. Communications and letters are invited by the Editor on all subjects connected with literature, but on no other sub- jects whatever. Articles which cannot be accepted are returned if stamps for the purpose accompany the MSS. GENERAL MEMORANDA. EOR some years it has been the practioe to insert, in every number of The Author, certain " General Con- siderations," Warnings, Notices, &o., for the guidance of the reader. It has been objected as regards theBe warnings that the tricks or frauds against which they are directed cannot all be guarded against, for obvious reasons. It is, however, well that they should be borne in mind, and if any publisher refuses a clause of precaution he simply reveals his true character, and should be left to oarry on bis business in his own way. Let us, however, draw up a few of the rnles to be observed in an agreement. There are three methods of dealing with literary property:— I. That of selling it outright. This is in some respects the most satisfactory, if a proper price can be obtained. But the transaction should be managed by a competent agent. II. A profit-sharing agreement. In this case the following rules should be attended to: (1.) Not to sign any agreement in which the cost of pro- duction forms a part. (2.) Not to give the publisher the power of putting the profits into his own pocket by charging for advertisements VOL. Till. in his own organs: or by charging exchange advertise- ments. (3.) Not to allow a special oharge 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! (7.) To stamp the agreement. III. The royalty system. In this system, which has opened the door to a most amazing amount of overreaching and trading on the author's ignorance, it is above all things necessary to know what the proposed royalty means to both "ides. It is now possible for an author to ascertain approximately and very nearly the truth. From time to time the very important figures connected with royalties are published in The Author. Readers can also work out the figures themselves from the "Cost of Production." Let no one, not even the youngest writer, sign a royalty agreement without finding out what it gives the publisher as well as himself. It has been objected that these precautions presuppose a great success for the book, and that very few books indeed attain to this great success. That is quite true : but there is always this uncertainty of literary property that, although the works of a great many authors carry with them no risk at all, and although of a great many it is known within a few copies what will be their minimum circulation, it is not known what will be their maximum. Therefore every author, for every book, should arrange on the ohanoe of a success whioh will not, probably, come at all; but which may oome. The four points which the Society has always demanded from the outset are :— (1.) That both sides shall know what an agreement means. (2.) The inspection of those account books which belong to the author. We are advised that this is a right, in the nature of a common law right, which cannot be denied or withheld. (3.) That there shall be no secret profits. (4.) That nothing shall be charged whioh has not been actually paid—for instance, that there shall be no charge for advertisements in the publisher's own organs and none for exchanged advertisements; and that all discounts shall be duly entered. If these points are carefully looked after, the author may rest pretty well assured that he is in right hands. At the same time he will do well to send his agreement to the secretary before he signs it. D 2 ## p. 30 (#440) ############################################# So THE AUTHOR. HOW TO USE THE SOCIETY. I. INVERT member has a right to ask for and to receive JQj advice upon his agreements, his choioe of a pub- lisher, or any dispute arising in the conduot of his business or the administration of his property. If the advice sought is such as can be given best by a solicitor, tho member has a right to an opinion from the Society's solicitors. If the case is such that Counsel's opinion is desirable, the Com- mittee will obtain for him Counsel's opinion. All this without any cost to the member. 2. Remember that questions connected with copyright and publisher's agreements do not generally fall within the experience of ordinary solicitors. Therefore, do not scruple to use the Society first—our solicitors are oontinually engaged upon such questions for us. 3. Send to the office copies of past agreements and past accounts with the loan of the books represented. This is in order to ascertain what has been the nature of your agree- ments, and the results to author and publisher respectively so far. The Secretary will always be glad to have any agreements, new or old, for inspection and note. The infor- mation thus obtained may prove invaluable. 4. If the examination of your previous business trans- actions by the Secretary proves unfavourable, you should take advice as to a change of publishers. 5. Before signing any agreement whatever, send the pro- posed document to the Society for examination. 6. The Society is acquainted with the methods, and—in the case of fraudulent houses—the trioks of every publish- ing firm in the country. 7. Remember always that in belonging to the Society you are fighting the battles of other writers, even if you are reaping no benefit to yourself, and that you are advancing the best interests of literature in promoting the indepen- dence of the writer. 8. Send to the Editor of The Author notes of everything important to literature that you may hear or meet with. 9. The committee have now arranged for the reception of members' agreements and their preservation in a fireproof safe. The agreements will, of course, be regarded as con- fidential documents to be read only by the Secretary, who will keep the key of the safe. The Society now offers:—(1) To read and advise upon agreements and publishers. (2) To stamp agreements in readiness for a possible action upon them. (3) To keep agreements. (4) To enforce payments due according to agreements. THE AUTHORS' SYNDICATE. MEMBERS are informed: 1. That the Authors' Syndicate takes charge of the business of members of the Society. That it submits MSS. to publishers and editors, concludes agree- ments, examines, passes, and collects accounts, and, gene- rally, reliovcs members of the trouble of managing business details. 2. That the terms upon which its services can be secured will be forwarded upon detailed application. 3. That the Authors' Syndicate works only for those members of the Society whose work possesses a market value. 4. That the Syndicate can only undertake any negotiations whatever on the distinct understanding that those negotia- tions are placed exclusively in its hands, and that all communications relating thereto are referred to it. 5. That clients can only be seen by the Director by appointment, and that, when possible, at least two days' notice should be given. 6. That every attempt is made to deal with all communi- cations promptly. That stamps should, in ail cases, be sent to defray postage. 7. That the Authors' Syndicate does not invite MSS. without previous correspondence; does not hold itself responsible for MSS. forwarded without notice; and that in all cases MSS. must be accompanied by stamps to defray postage. 8. That the Syndicate undertakes arrangements for lectures by some of the leading members of the Society -r that it has a "Transfer Department" for the sale and purchase of journals and periodicals; and that a " Register of Wants and Wanted" is open. Members are invited to- communicate their requirements to the Manager. There is an Honorary Advisory Committee, whose services will be called npon in any case of dispute or difficulty. It is perhaps necessary to state that the members of the Advisory Committee have no pecuniary interest whatever in the Syndicate. NOTICES. THE Editor of The Author begs to remind members of the Society that, although the paper is sent to them free of charge, the cost of producing it would be a very heavy charge on the resources of the Society if a great many members did not forward to the Secretary the modest 6s. 6d. subscription for the year. The Editor is always glad to receive short papers and communications on all subjects connected with literature from members and others. Nothing can do more good to the Society than to make The Author complete, attractive, and interesting. Will those who are willing to aid in this work send their names and tho special subjects on which they are willing to write P Communications for The Author should reach the Editor not later than the 21 st of each month. All persons engaged in literary work of any kind, whether members of the Society or not, are invited to communicate to the Editor any points connected with their work which it would be advisable in the general interest to publish. Members and others who wish their MSS. read are requested not to send them to the Office without previously communicating with the Secretary. The utmost practicable despatch is aimed at, and MSS. are read in the order in which they are recoived. It must also be distinctly under- stood that the Society doeB not, under any circumstances, undertake the publication of MSS. The Authors' Club is now open in its new premises, at 3, Whitehall-court, Charing Cross. Address the Secretary for information, rules of admission, Ac. Will members take the trouble to ascertain whether they have paid their subscriptions for the year H If they will do this, and remit the amount, if still unpaid, or a banker's order, it will greatly assist the Secretary, and save him the trouble of sending out a reminder. Members are most earnestly entreated to attend to the following warning. It is a most foolish and may be a most disastrous thing to enter into an agreement binding for a term of years. Let them ask themselves if they would give a solicitor the collection of their rents for five years to come, whatever his conduct, whether he was honest ## p. 31 (#441) ############################################# THE AUTHOR. 3» V* dishonest? Of course they would not. Why then hesitate for a moment when they are asked to sign them- selves into literary bondage for three or five years? Those who possess the "Cost of Production" are requested to note that the cost of binding has advanced 15 per cent. This means, for those who do not like the trouble of "doing sums," the addition of three shillings in the pound on this head. In other words, if the cost of binding IB set down in our book at eight pounds, to this must now be added twenty-four shillings more, bo that it now stands at £g 4s. The figures in our book are as near the exact truth as can be procured; but a printer's, or a binder's, bill is so elastic a thing that nothing more exact can be arrived at. Some remarks have been made upon the amount charged in the " Cost of Production" for advertising. Of oourse, we have not included any sums whioh may be charged for inserting advertisements in the publisher's own magazines, or in other magazines by exchange. As agreements too often go, there is nothing to prevent the publisher from sweeping the whole profits o a book into his own pocket, by inserting any number of advertisements in his own magazines, and by exchanging with others. Some there are who call this a form of fraud; it is not known what those who practise this method of swelling their own profits call it. PROM THE COMMITTEE. THE Incorporated Society of Authors have forwarded the following congratulatory address to the Queen. The address has been signed by Mr. George Meredith (President of the Society), Mr. H. Rider Haggard (Chairman of the Committee of Management), and Mr. G. Herbert Thring (Secretary) :— "We, the undersigned, representing a body of more than 1400 authors, avail ourselves of your Majesty's gracious permission to oubmit, with the utmost loyalty and devotion, our most respect- ful congratulations on the sixtieth anniversary of jour Majesty's reign, glorious from every point of view, and unprecedented in every achievement which can enrich and advance your people. "We rejoice especially, and in this we believe that your Majesty, as an author, will sympathise with us, that during the last sixty years the achievements of literature in all its branches have been great beyond parallel. "Thus, among scholars, divines, and philoso- phers, we only need to mention the great names of Stanley, Carlyle, and Mill; in poetry, those of Tennyson, Browning, and Matthew Arnold; in history, those of Macaulay, Grote, Freeman, and Froude; in science, those of Darwin, Faraday, Huxley, Owen, and Tyndall; in fiction, those of Dickens and Thackeray. We desire also to allude to the splendid and sudden development of the genius of women in the sphere of literary work, as instanced, amongst others, by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Mrs. Gaskell, George Eliot Miss Mulock, and Charlotte Bronte. With these leaders we rejoice to think that in this period there have lived and passed away many writers and workers in literature whom the world will not willingly suffer to be forgotten, such as Hood, William Morris, Lord Houghton, Charles Kings, ley, De Quincey, Wilkie Collins, and others in every branch of letters. "We invite your Majesty's attention to the fact that the dependencies and colonies working par- ticularly in the domains of poetry and fiction have begun to create a literature individual, indeed, to each community, but the common possession of your Empire. "We believe that it is above everything desirable to welcome whatever may help to bind together the myriads who call your Majesty Queen and Empress in the various quarters of the earth, and we submit that nothing is working more powerfully to this end than the literature of the English tongue which is open to and in the hands of all. "We respectfully recognise the deep interest which you, Madam, have always shown in the intellectual achievements of our time, whether literary or scientific, and we humbly pray that your Majesty may long be spared to reign over an Empire as illustrious for its literature as for its arms, its arts, its industries, and its trades." r, TT „ G. Herbert Thring, Secretary. LITEEAEY PEOPEETY. L-—Revision op the Berne Convention in Germany. THE diplomatic conference on international copyright convoked in Paris on April 15, 1896, to discuss a first revision of the Berne Convention, drew up an Additional Act, modifying certain articles of the Convention of Sept. 9, 1886, and also a Declaration explanatory of certain stipulations of the Convention. The Federal Council of the German Empire having given its assent to both of these documents, they were, in January of the present year, presented to the Reichstag, and received its sanction on the Feb. 10, 1897. The German Empire is thus the first of the countries of the Union in which the Additional Act and the Declaration drawn up at Paris have become law. The document in which the Imperial Chancellor, Prince von Hohenlohe-Schillingsfurst, placed before the Reichstag the Additional Act and the Declaration, is lying before us. (" Reichstag, ## p. 32 (#442) ############################################# 32 THE AUTHOR. 9 Legislatur-Periode IV., Session 1895-97, No. 640.") The contents are of a most interesting nature, comprising, besides the Additional Act and Declaration both in the original text and in a German translation, a Memorandum (Denk- schrift) and four appendixes. The whole is deserving of the serious attention of all -who are interested in questions of international, or indeed of national copyright, whilst many of the Chan- cellor's remarks bear upon questions of grave importance to both authors and publishers. One of the appendixes contains the Articles as they stood in the original Convention and as they now appear altered, side by side in parallel columns, offering a most convenient comparison of the two, and it must here suffice to mention that the modified Articles are numbers 2, 3, 5, 7, 12, and 20, together with paragraphs 1 and 4 of the Final Protocol. From the Memorandum and the other appendixes the following passages have been selected as likely to be the most interesting to authors, but the perusal of the whole can be recommended, as no single particular of the results of the conference, however small, is over- looked in the valuable and suggestive notes which accompany them. The Memorandum amounts almost to a report of the part taken in the conference by the dele- gates of the German Empire. After enumerating the countries represented, the Memorandum con- tinues: "The Office of the International Union for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works in Berne had previously forwarded certain ' Proposi- tions de l'Administration Francaise et du Bureau international,' and these furnished a base for the work of the conference. In addition to this, there were also to be considered, especially by the German delegates, certain wishes which, since the existence of the Berne Convention, had been expressed amongst ourselves in circles which these questions interested. The matter laid before us had been subjected to a careful examination in a number of previous conferences of the commis- saries of the associated Imperial and Prussian jurisdictions, and, to a great extent, had been further submitted to a searching inquiry at the hands of experts. UNIFORM COPYRIGHT LAW. "The 'propositions' above mentioned bore direct reference to the several articles of the previous Convention, or to the Final Protocol attached to it. It was evident from the way in which they were framed that it would be impos- sible in this conference also to look forward to the desirable consummation of a uniform international codification of the law of copyright; and, as the labours of the conference advanced, it became more and more plain that a uniform revised con- vention of that kind was absolutely unattainable, notwithstanding the best intentions on the part of the majority of the countries of the Union - The reason of this was the opposition of particular countries, based principally upon their own domestic legislation. "In consequence of this, the final result of the conference consists in the drawing up of an Addi- tional Act, bearing upon some articles of the previous Convention and of its Final Protocol (this Additional Act embraces all the countries of the Union except Norway), and of a 'Declara- tion' attached to the Berne Convention and the Additional Act. This Declaration embraces all the countries of the Union, including Norway, with the exception of Great Britain. (The ultimate agreement of the Republic of Hayti to both may be regarded as certain). "Although, under these circumstances, it must be admitted that the result of the Paris Inter- national Copyright Conference lacks coherence and finality, it is just, on the other hand, to emphasise the fact that, practically speaking, the contents of the new stipulations will be found to be, as far as is possible, adapted to the views resulting from recent developments of the law re- specting such matters. Taken in connection with the other Articles of the Berne Convention, which remain unaltered, they are calculated to form a convenient base both for a practical exposition of uniform international copyright, and for a further development of it. In addition, in No. 5. of the " Voeux" which the conference adopted, it has also expressed its hope that the consultations of the next conference may again result in a text uniformly applicable to all countries within the Union. "So far as Germany is concerned, what was effected in Paris practically corresponds with the wishes expressed by those amongst ourselves interested in the matter. On the one hand, account was taken of our legitimate efforts, as, for example, in the case of the extension of the period of protection of the exclusive right of translation; and, on the other hand, a check has been in several ways placed upon the disadvan- tages arising from exaggerated effoits in favour of prolongation of copyright." PROTECTION OF THE OUTSIDE AUTHOR. The Memorandum proceeds next to describe and comment upon the additions made to the several Articles of the Convention of 1886, taking them one by one. Amongst other passages of great interest may be quoted the following respecting the modification of Article 3: ## p. 33 (#443) ############################################# THE AUTHOR. 33 "It results from the wording of the revised 3rd Article that an author of a country outside the Union, in order to enjoy the protection accorded hy the Union, must comply with the conditions and formalities prescribed by the country in which he publishes his work or causes it to be published. If he has complied with these preliminaries, he enjoys the full protection which the Union guarantees—that is to say, he is pro- tected not only against unauthorised editions, but also against unauthorised translations, and unauthorised representations, or exhibitions of the work which he has published in one of the countries of the Union, in accordance with Article 5 of the Convention, to which refers Article 1, iii., of the Additional Act, and Article 9 of the Convention. "The author who does not belong to a country of the Union is in a worse position than one who does belong to one in this respect, that his un- published works cannot obtain protection in a country of the Union. It was considered at the Paris Conference that this difference in the treat- ment of the author outside the Union (one arising from the nature of the case) would form an inducement to other States to join the Union." UNAUTHORISED TRANSLATIONS. Respecting the new Article 5, which deals with the very important question of translations, the Memorandum remarks: "How far an author is to be internationally protected against unauthorised translations of his work is an important question. On the part of Germany a strong effort was made to obtain a complete uniformity in all replies to this question. In consequence of the opposition of some coun- tries of the Union that was not possible. How- ever, a real step in the direction of the evolution of international protec tion was made by the pro- posed alteration of Article 5, clause 1. The author's exclusive right to translate,* which according to the previous stipulation was secured him for ten years only after the publication of the original, is in future to be extended to the whole period during which the original is pro- tected against piracy in its original language, provided that the author has published a transla- tion of his own within those ten years. Apart from this limitation, the reproduction of a work in an unauthorised translation is therefore placed upon the same footing as an unauthorised repro- duction in the original form. This principle has been already accepted by the Legislatures of a number of countries (for example, Belgium, France, Spain, and, according to the general opinion, Great Britain), and is strongly supported by German authors. "On the side of Germany there was no hesitation about agreement to this modification. The idea that protection of translations is a contradiction because the author has a right to his work only in the language in which he wrote it, may be con- sidered as exploded. How far it may seem requisite to limit the duration of an exclusive right of translation is a question of expediency. At the conclusion of the Berne Convention the shorter limit of time was decided upon from a hope that this regulation might persuade the countries which held back from the Union the more rapidly to overcome their hesitation. Weight can no longer be attached to that con- sideration. So far as German interests are con- cerned, the real hesitations respecting any further limitation of liberty of translation come practi- cally to this—a misgiving that the result would be to increase the difficulty and the expense of the translation of foreign works into German. If, in addition, the possibility of the author's entirely withholding his work from translation is suggested, that danger is a very remote one. Besides, this case is provided for by the limita- tion which has been introduced into Article 5. In addition to this, however, some misgiving is expressed that, in consequence of the extension of the protection, we should more frequently than hitherto have to content ourselves with inadequate translations, in consequence of these alone having been authorised by the author. But, as a matter of fact, in the present state of the law, the con- sequence of the fierce competition is that good translations are often placed at a disadvantage by inferior but cheaper ones. And this circumstance cannot but have a deleterious effect upon the production of good translations. In the nature of things it will be a matter of consequence rather to the author himself than to anyone else that the translation should be a good one. Ordinarily no one is more interested than he, or the publisher to whom he has assigned the pro- duction of the translation, to provide, by the choice of the translator, and by the supervision of the work, that the result shall bj satisfactory. But both author and publisher will feel more dis- posed for such enterprises when they no longer, have any occasion to be anxious lest, after a short, interval, someone else should publish another translation which may obtain command of the market in consequence of its greater cheapness, notwithstanding its actual inferiority. "It by no means follows that, in consequence of the extension of the duration of the copyright, translations at the present moderate prices will be in the future withdrawn from the market. The danger of the price being placed too high is limited in this case, exactly as in the case of originaj ## p. 34 (#444) ############################################# 34 THE AUTHOR. German works, by the trade competition. Besides, in the province of literature, the lower price can certainly not be regarded as an advan- tage, when what is offered for it is of inferior value. In the interests of the community it is by all means to be desired that unsatisfactory translations of foreign works, many of them of no value in themselves, should not be put before the reading public in such excessive numbers as at present. Both from the point of view of the German author and that of the actual national book trade, it will be a gain to have placed a check upon the flooding of .the book market with worthless translations. EXCLUSIVE EIGHT OF TRANSLATION. "It must also be considered a step in advance for Germany that a wider protection of the exclusive right of translation has been secured by Germany for the foreign author. This will pre- pare the way for a German literature of good translations. On the other hand, respecting a just treatment of German authors in the other countries of the Union, both their perfectly reasonable wish not to see their works translated by persons who have no authority to do so, and their very material pecuniary interests, connected with the increasing dissemination of German literature in foreign countries, alike plead for the widest possible extension of this sort of protection. "The exclusive right of translation depends upon the condition that the individual work shall first of all be under the protection of the Con- vention—that is to say, that those conditions and formalities have been complied with which are prescribed by the Legislature of the country of origin to secure the original work from reproduc- tion. (Article 2, clause 2, of the Convention.) On the other hand, it is not necessary that the author should also have complied with sundry peculiar stipulations respecting the right of trans- lation contained in the law of the country of origin (as, for example, the Imperial law of June 11, 1870, s. 6)." THE PERIOD OF PROTECTION. The extension of the period of protection beyond ten years is made further depeudent upon the fact that the author shall have, within that period, published a translation in a country within the Union, in that language, or in those languages, for which the period of longer pro- tection will be claimed. After the lapse of this period of ten years the right of translation into all the other languages in which translations of the work have noc appeared, will have fallen into the public domain. The period of ten years begins from the date of publication of the original work. It follows next, from No." 2 of the Declaration, that dramatic and dramatico-musical works, which have not appeared in print, and therefore, not- withstanding their actual performance, are not held to be published, are protected as long against translation as they are against being reproduced in any other way. In addition to this, according to the wording which has been chosen, the owner of the copyright (even though, in conse- quence of the lapse of the appointed period, he may have lost his rights for the future, either entirely, or for this or that language) is not pro- hibited from taking legal proceedings against a translation which has previously appeared in an illegal manner. PROTECTION OF NEWSPAPER ARTICLES. The following passage deals with the new stipulations for the protection of newspaper articles and articles in periodical publications: "Also respecting the protection of articles appearing either in newspapers or in periodical publications, the proposals made by the German delega es were substantially adopted by the Conference. "For the future are protected: "1. Absolutely; Boinances and novels ap- pearing iu Feuilletous. Under the head of novels are included, as was more precisely explained at Paris, short stories and anecdotes, as well as, under certain circumstances, such compositions as do not contain mere news, but have been embellished by touches of the author's imagi- nation. "2. Conditionally: it being presupposed that eithtr the newspaper article, or the number in question of the periodical publication, is furnished with an express prohibition of reproduction—all other articles in periodicals. If the prohibition is omitted such articles may be reprinted, if the source whence they are taken is mentioned. It was also taken for granted at Paris that the mention of source should not amount merely to a mention of the name of the newspaper or periodical publication in which the article in question had appeared, but, in the case of the article being signed, should include also the name of the author. "The distinction between longer and shorter articles, similar to that in the German copyright law of June 11, 1870, was left an open question, as it had been previously left by the Berne Convention. "3. Unrestrictedly is permitted the reproduction of political articles, news, and 'current topics,' as hitherto, either in the original language or in translations, and that notwithstanding a pro- ## p. 35 (#445) ############################################# THE AUTHOR. 35 hibition on the part of the author even expressly notified, and without any mention of source." WHAT BBITAIN DECLINED TO ACCEPT. Perhaps no part of the whole document is more interesting to English authors than that which deals with the Declaration which our English delegates found themselves unable to accept "Whilst reading it the English author will be unable to avoid reflecting sadly that he is, in consequence of some of our own statutes, in a distinctly worse case than the German author. It seems, however, that even so the fact that this Declaration has become law in Germany may be of importance to English dramatists. "All the stipulations which are contained in the Declaration of May 4, 1896, might have been included in the Additional Act had not difficulties about accepting them as an inter- national arrangement been raised by the delegates of Great Britain on the ground of the domestic legislation of their country. "The Conference was accordingly compelled to choose between either forfeiting entirely the par- ticipation in the Additional Act of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, with its extended colonial territories, or collecting the explanatory prescriptions here in question, to which Great Britain could not agree, in a sepa- rate document. The Conference chose the latter course, and respecting three doubtful points decided as follows: "1. Latterly judgments have been given by several courts according to which the protec- tion of a literary or artistic work published in one country of the Union must depend in another country of the Union, not only upon compliance with those conditions and formalities which are prescribed by the country of origin, but also upon compliance with those required for the home productions in the other country in which protection is claimed. Under these cir- cumstances it seemed desirable once and for all to make it clear, by an authoritative interpretation of the meaning of Article 2, clause 2, that the pro- tection afforded to literary and artistic works by the Berne Convention of Sept. 9, 1886, and the Additional Act of May 4, 1896, depends alone upon compliance with the conditions and formalities required by the country in which the work originated." Respecting the second point, we may quote: "2. Having regard to the fact that the protec- tion which the Berne Union guarantees is, under certain circumstances, made dependent upon this —that the work in question must have been published in one of the countries of the Union— it appeared to the great majority of the delegates VOL. VIII. of the various States represented at Paris neces- sary that the term 'publication' should be defined. According to the definition of 'publication' given, in consequence, under No. 2 of the Decla- ration, 'to publish' (veroffentlichen: publier) is equivalent to 'to bring out' (herausgeben: (Salter), by which is to be understood the first multiplication (Vervielfaltigung) with a view to public sale." The third point deals with a matter that has long been a very sore subject with English novelists. "3. The fact that the dramatisation of popular romances, and also the production in the form of romance of attractive dramatic pieces, has of late become constantly more and more common, led to a desire definitely to include all such cases under the heading of ' adaptations' mentioned in the 10th Article of the Berne Convention. The opposition of the British delegates compelled the Conference to renounce either incorporating a declaration to this effect with the article itself, or altering the article in the Additional Act." As regards Germany, the new declaration (Die Umgestaltung eines Romans in ein Theaterstuck oder eines Theaterstucks in einen Roman fallt unter die Bestimmungen von Artikel 10) amounts simply to giving complete expression to the view which has for a long time past found acceptance in this country—namely, that all such transforma- tions as are here dealt with can be included in the term "adaptations," and that it is simply the office of the judge to examine and determine, with the assistance of experts, whether, in each case, an adaptation lies before him or a new work has been created. We were able to assent with- out hesitation, as the intervention of the tribunal is provided for in the 1 oth article. THE MEANING OF PUBLICATION. In Appendix III. the definition of "publica- tion," which is the second point of the " Declara- tion, is discussed at somewhat greater length. As the international importance of this definition may not be at first sight quite plain, the clear elucidation of the point here given seems well worth quoting. As a matter of fact, one of the cases here mentioned as a possible one has actually recently occurred, and was mentioned in the March number of The Author. "According to various provisions of the Berne Convention (Articles 2, 3, 5, 7, 9), the grounds and the duration of the covenanted pro- tection depend either upon the country in which the work was published or upon the date of pub- lication. In the meantime it has been found in practice that in the application of these dire«- tions a difference of opinion exists respecting what E ## p. 36 (#446) ############################################# 36 THE AUTHOR. is meant by publication. Taken in its widest sense, publication is that act which for the first time brings the work into publicity. The public reading aloud of a literary composition might be considered an act of this kind. So miiht the public performance of a play, or of a musical work; or the public exhibition of a picture, or of a sculpture. In a narrower sense, publication takes place only when the work is by means of reproduction put within the reach of the public —that is, has been brought out as a publica- tion." The practical range of the question which has been raised is very important. For example, if an opera has been originally produced in Germany, and then appears in print in Italy, which of these two countries is to be considered the " country of origin" (in the sense of Article 2) will depend upon which of the above definitions of " publica- tion is chosen." In the case of a play which has been put upon the boards before its appearance in the book market, the duration of the exclusive right of translation (according to article 5 as it has hitherto stood, and, under certain circum- stances, also as it now stands in its altered form) depends upon whether the former or the latter date is to be accepted as that of publication. In this connection also Article 2, clause 1, and Article 3 are of moment. "For if any act which brings the work into publicity is to be regarded as publication, the author, whether he belongs to one of the countries of the Union or not, immediately secures himself the protection of the Convention by causing his work, before it has been in any way multiplied by reproduction, to be either produced (auffiihren) or exhibited (aufstellen) within the Union. This protection is thenceforward a lasting one. The circumstance that the author afterwards has his work brought out by a publisher in a country outside the Union is in no way prejudicial to him. On the other hand, the author who belongs to a country of the Union would lose the protection to which his unpublished work is entitled so soon as he allowed it to be performed or exhibited in a country outside the Union. An author who did not belong to the Union would, under the same circumstances, be robbed of the prospect of pro- curing himself protection under the Union. For both it would be equally useless afterwards to bring out (herausgeben) the work for the first time within the Union. But if only production by a publisher is esteemed as publication, in all the above instances the case would be exactly th-i contrary." Having regard to this uncertainty, it was pro- posed by agreement to limit the meaning of "publication " so as to ensure a uniform adminis- tration of the Convention in all the different countries. Hereupon the position taken by Germany, having regard to the well-known sense of the Imperial law respecting copyright, was that publication must be regarded as consisting in the putting forth of reproductions. It may here be left as an open question whether this view might be at once deduced from Article 9, clause 3, of the Berne Convention. But in any case its being so pre-eminently to the purpose is an argument in its favour. Besides, the de- sirability in legal questions of giving full import- ance to certainty is in favour of it, as there will often be difficulties in the way of proving whether a work may, in some way or another, previously have obtained publicity. The grounds which had led to making publication within the Union the point of departure of protection, also pointed to t.he adoption of the narrower view of publication. It could be nothing but disadvantageous to the publishing world within the Union if the author could avail himself of protection by means of so transitory an act as performance or exhibition would often be, and the subsequent first edition became of no importance. On the other hand, it would be a facility contrary to the aims of the Union given to the authors of States outside it, if they were thus enabled by a transitory act of this sort to create protection for themselves and to publish the work in some other region. So, according to the Declaration, "veroffent- licht" (publiees) is equivalent to "herausgegeben" (editces). Doubt can scarcely arise about what is meant by this. A work is published (heraus- gegeben) in a given country, when the reproduc- tions of it there, for the first time, having been brought into publicity with a view to sale, come into the market. No importance, as the rule at present stands, is attached to the question whethrr the copies offered for sale have been also supplied within the Union, which will generally be the case. Such a requirement, apart from the diffi- culties attached to carrying it out, would not be justified, since the advantages which publication within the Union carries with it are already sufficient to attach the concession of protection to publication. II.—The Right of Criticism. In July, 1808, an action was brought by Sir John Carr against Messrs. Hood and Sharpe, booksellers. The facts, which were not denied, were as follows: The plaintiff was the author of certain books called respectively " The Stranger in France," for which he received the sum of ,£100; "The Summer Tour in France," for which he received ## p. 37 (#447) ############################################# THE AUTHOR. 37 £500; "The Stranger in Ireland," for which he received ,£200; and "The Tour through Ireland," for which he received .£600. He had written another book, called " The Stranger in Scotland," for which he expected a sum of money equal at least to what he had before received, when the defendants produced a book called " My Pocket Book," in which the plaintiff's writings were held up to derision. In consequence, his book became greatly depreciated, and his publishers refused to look at " The Stranger in Scotland "; hence this action. Sir Richard Phillips, the publisher in question, was asked if he ever read reviews. He declared that he did not, knowing the scurrility, partiality, and misrepresentation with which they abounded, and the manner in which they were produced. The Attorney-General contended that" My Pocket Book " was only fair criticism. Lord Ellenborough observed "that every man had a right to criticise the writings of another, and even to hold them up to ridicule, so that he cast no personal re- flections on the author. If fair criticism injured the sale of a work, it was damnum absque injuria. As to the present question, if the criticism went beyond observations on the work or on the author, merely as such, it was action- able, and not otherwise." The jury found for the defendant. I have always thought, as a matter of common sense, that the right to criticise a book should be exactly the same as the right to criticise anything else that is sold. For instance, a man who criticises a baker's bread, and charges the baker with using alum and potatoes, and other substances besides flour, would certainly be liable to an action for libel. He would have to prove the use of alum and potatoes. So a man who charges a writer with plagiarism, inde- cency, vulgarity, incompetence, or ignorance— charges constantly hurled at authors by critics who are too often personal enemies or rivals— would have to prove his charges in open court. That is to say, if he could only justify a charge of ignorance by a single point or a few points only, he would be very rightly cast in damages. Lord Ellenborough used the word "fair" criticism. What is "fair" criticism? It is, surely, such criticism as can be defended in open court. One would by no means seek to suppress "fair" criticism, without which literature would become flabby, but it is very much to be desired that critics themselves should remember what " fair" criticism means. One or two actions at law would probably do more to improve certain current criticism than all the remonstrances in the world. W. B. vol. vm III.—WlLLOUGHBY V. KeGAN PAUL AND Co. High Court of Justice:—Queen's Bench Division. (Before Mr. Justice Hawkins and a Middlesex Special Jury.) Willoughby v. Kegan Paul, Trench, Trflbner, and Co. (Limited). In this action Sir Edward Clarke, Q.C., and Mr. A. M. Bremner appeared for the plaintiff, Sir John Willoughby; and Mr. Cock, Q.C., Mr. E. Glen, and Mr. J. H. Lindsay for the defendant company. This action was for damages for libels alleged to be contained in a book called " How We made Rhodesia," published by the defendant company. On the case being called on, Mr. Cock, Q.C., on behalf of the defendants, expressed his regret that the passages complained of had appeared in a book published by them. They acknowledged that there was no foundation for any suggestion against the plaintiff's character, and withdrew every imputation. They consented to pay the plaintiff the sum of .£200, and would withdraw the book. Sir Edward Clarke, on behalf of the plaintiff, stated that, while he had thought it neces- sary to clear his character as a military man and a man of honour, he was willing to accept the apology and the terms offered by the defen- dants. His Lordship said that he was glad the case had been so dealt with. It would have been im- possible for the plaintiff to have slept under the allegations made against him, but his character was now absolutely cleared. The record was then withdrawn. — Times, June 16. . IV.—Cost of Production. The following is an actual printer's estimate for printing a book 224 pages, or 14 sheets, in length, crown 8vo., small pica, 28 lines on a page, or 280 words. (N.B.—The MS. turned out to be 15 sheets in length.) The estimate is for 250 copies. The printers have their works in the country. £ s. d. Composition per sheet, .£1 5*. (This includes footnotes, of which there are some in every page) 17 10 o Printing, 48. 3d a sheet 2 19 6 Paper 2 12 6 Binding, at 4<f. a volume 434 •£27 5 4 e 2 ## p. 38 (#448) ############################################# 38 THE AUTHOR. Turning to the Society's " Cost of Production," p. 27, we find the following: Composition, .£1 7 s. 6d. a sheet 19 5 o Printing (see p. 63), 48. od. a sheet 2 16 o Paper, 9*. od. a sheet 6 6 o Binding, ts,d 4 3 4 £32 10 4 So that the printers'estimate is actually .£5 55. od. less than that of the Society. "We are constantly coming across such cases as this. Members of the Society who are proposing to pay for produc- ing their own books should make a note of this, and should look into their estimates with the greatest care. The secretary has the name of the firm. The following letter speaks for itself. Of course, it is an old story. We have exposed the game over and over again. But still it goes on. A manuscript is sent to a certain firm of advertising publishers. Whether it is read or whether it is not read, matters little, because the reply is always the same. It is to the effect that the reader thinks so highly of the work that the worthy firm are emboldened to make "the following favourable offer." There then comes a demand for as much money as they think they can safely ask. Should this be objected to, they proceed to offer lower terms. The invariable clause at the end of the letter is to the effect that "this is the best time of the year for publish- ing." Eeaders will observe that while this London firm generously offered to do the job for .£50, a local printer offered to do it for £18! Aspirants who receive such letters would do well to remember that the offer made has nothing whatever to do with the literary merits of the work, so that, in throwing the letter into the fire, as they ought to do, they need not therefore assume that their work is worthless. Let them proceed, instead, to try if they can find a respect- able publisher, and hear what he says. "June 11, 1897. "Iam tempted by the invitation in the columns of the outspoken Author to give you an experience I have had with an ' enterprising ' firm of pub- lishers. "The copy of the letter I received speaks for itself. Second thoughts came to the rescue, and prevented me from launching a book at the upset price of .£50. The MS. languishes in a drawer, and may remain there until it is moth- eaten. But I must confess the temptation was strong, and visions of fame at the expense of my shilling shocker haunted me for days. My fame is not yet come, nor will I risk publishing at my own cost; especially when I read your repeated and timely warnings. I may say a local firm agreed to print and publish 1000 copies of this magnum opus for £18. Even that didn't draw me; for what is worth publishing is worth acceptance at the hands of any decent publisher. All this goes to prove that my book in 'attractive covers' is not worth having. It is a pity other tyros do not see the matter in the same light.— I am, yours faithfully, "S. R." "Publishers, "London. "Dear Sir,—We now beg to reply to your letter of the 8th inst. Our terms for a is. book in attractive paper covers would be J50; £30 when you sign the agreement, and £20 when yon see the proofs. The edition to be 3000 copies—you could not well print less of a is. book. Two- thirds of the proceeds of sales to be your property, and the book to be advertised at our sole expense to the amount of £7. "This is the best time of year for is. books, and we could put yours on the market in a month from now. "Awaiting your instructions, "Faithfully yours, And here is another letter on the same subject referring to the same worthy gentlemen :— "May I add my chronicle of recent experience to those you have already published? "Some time ago I sent the MS. of a novel to a certain publishing firm. A little later I received an answer to the effect that the novel had im- pressed them 'favourably,' and that they there- fore offered me the following 'favourable terms' (The expression was theirs, but the italics are mine.) I was to pay, in ali, £88. Needless to say, I rejected the offer of terms so favourable— to themselves—and requested the return of the MS. _____ "G. E. M. G." V.—The Publisher's Vade Mecum. The following table is prepared for the use of publishers as a ready reckoner. It means the price paid by the retail trade, subject to certain discounts: 5 P-o- 10 p. c. I2i p.c. 15 P- 0. 1. d. 1. d. s. d. >. d. s. d. 6 3i 3* 3-ft 3A I 0 7& 11* 6i «H I 6 ioi ioi 2 0 « 3 1 2 1 ii I Ii 2 6 1 6\ 1 Si 1 S 1 4i 3 0 1 10 1 8f 1 8i 1 7i 3 6 2 2i 2 1 2 oi 1 ui 4 0 2 Si 2 4i 2 3i 2 2} 4 6 2 g{ 2 7i 2 <H 2 5* 5 0 3 «i 2 11$ 2 ioJ 2 oi 6 0 3 7l 3 Si 3 4i 3 3i I 6 4 8 4 5i 4 3i 4 2i 0 4 "i 4 8i 4 7 4 Si ## p. 39 (#449) ############################################# THE AUTHOR. 39 The calculations are based on sale price 13 as 12, but, as it is not the custom to give this dis- count on single copies, the average is, of course, very sensibly raised. NEW YORK LETTER. New York, June 16. THERE is as usual more gossip than impor- tant news at this period of the year. Whether the market is really any more depressed than it is on the average at the begin- ning of summer may be doubted, although a member of the firm of Roberts Bros., of Boston, remarked the other day that he he had never known things so dead. He lays it to the bicycle; but then we lay everything to the bicycle. He said that nothing would sell now except history and translations; and although the statement is absurd, it does point to the popularity of these two branches of the publishing business. Known writers, he admitted, might be published any time and pay something, but a new writer would only invite his own death by publishing before times changed. This same firm, which once stood high, has just returned a novel which it accepted two years ago. During those two years it has been writing every few months to the author telling why it was thought advisable to postpone publication a little longer. That is the kind of business that the respectable publishing houses here look upon as disreputable. Two men of wide experience in the book world have given ine within a short time directly opposite advice on the best time of year to pub- lish. A well-known author said: "Bring out your first volume in the spring; you won't sell quite so many copies, but you will get more notice. Most of the important books are published in the fall when the reviewers are too crowded for space. In the spring they are seeking something worth writing about, and if a new writer offers anything promising they will spread on his book." A week or two later a member of a large pub- lishing firm advised me to beware of the spring, for my own sake as well as for the sake of the publisher. The important thing in his mind was to start the book among the readers directly, instead of among the reviewers. Papers in various cities have taken up a letter written a month or so ago to the Dial of Chicago by John J. Chapman, attacking the magazines for their timidity. He said they preferred to give their readers what they know they will read, instead of doing what he thought they ought to do, giving the best literature they could get. A multitude of replies have defended the commercial point of view, and at the same time have pre- tended that the magazines do publish the best writing they can find. The facts are simple. All the prominent periodicals in this country are run, not for artistic or literary satisfaction, but for money. The editors are probably paid salaries ranging from 5000 dols. to 10,000 dols. on the most successful magazines, and there are several assistant editors and a host of subordinates. A magazine editor remarked to me the other day, "We charge ten cents for our paper, and we don't calculate to give our readers but ten cents worth." I suggested that there might be some satisfaction in having a paper run by men who were willing to make less and give more. He said that that was a boy's point of view, and that publishing a magazine was a serious matter when it was done by men. He had his dream, how- ever. When he was finally where he wanted to be financially, he would found an ideal magazine, and in it he would publish some of the best books which appear, as nearly all the best writing is destined for publication in book form. He thought that a first-rate magazine should be made up of serials. I do not know what editors receive in England, but it is hard to believe that it will ever be possible for the owners and editors of our periodicals to make them worth much from a literary point of view as long as they look upon them merely as business investments. There has been another change of management in the Forum; Dr. J. M. Rice succeeding Mr. Keet. It is an open secret that the best editor this or any similar publication has had in this country for a long time, Mr. Page, now of the Atlantic, left because the owners, who are largely Hebrews, wanted to see some money come out of the paper. It would interest me a great deal to know how many men have to make their living out of the Fortnightly and Contemporary, and what scale they have to live on. It is very hard to keep from talking about Mr. Munsey. He is the most daring and the most entertaining adventurer in the publishing world. In the June number of his magazine, in a personal chat with his readers, he discusses his aims and how he hopes to carry them out. He has been asking his readers to decide for him whether the con- tinued stories were worth while; and he says that the success of his magazine is, in his opinion, mainly due to the short, unsigned articles, espe- cially, I believe, what he calls " Storiettes." He has, however, undertaken to make himself neces- sary to the elect, whom he pretends to despise, somewhat on the principle that I explained in ## p. 40 (#450) ############################################# 4° THE AUTHOR. connection with the "Library of World's Best Literature." He is giving a series of articles on "My Favourite Novelists," signed by the best known names, and the criticism by Frank Stock- ton on Defoe and Dickens, in the current number, is very high-class work. This -will be followed by articles on the same subject by Mark Twain, Walter Besant, Marion Crawford, Richard Harding Davis, Paul Bourget, S. R. Crockett, Mrs. Burton Harri- son, James Whitcomb Riley, General Lew Wal- lace, and Bret Harte. The other publishers promise him bankruptcy. "Munsey succeeded first," said one, "because he paid nothing for his pictures or his articles; now he is beginning to thrash about—he is advertising, and that is a bad sign. Then the people are beginning to demand fees for their pictures and payment for their con- tributions." Mr. Munsey is serene, however, and remarks that the same prophecy was made about him when he began the ten cent, principle, If it were not for the fear of seeming to wish to ad- vertise him, I should like to talk indefinitely about this exaggerated representative of American publishing principles. The process of making contemporary Ameri- can writing familiar to the French goes on, and Madame Blanc is being most unjustly scolded for her part in it, on the ground that she is patronis- ing. La Revue de Paris has translated Hamlin Garland's "A Member of the Third House." M. Brunetiere will give his impressions of Americans in La Revue de deux Monde*; and he will also contribute a series of articles on French litera- ture to the Atlantic Monthly. It now looks as if books for libraries and educational institutions would be let in free under the new tariff, although it is not yet decided. The Macmillan Company have for- warded a letter to the Committee on Tariff Revi- sion, in which they say: "In the present law and for some time past there have been legal exemptions from the collection of a tariff on books in favour of libraries and educational institutions, and some of these, it is currently reported, have become regular smuggling agencies, importing free of duty, not only for themselves, but for any friends who want to buy, to the extent of their legal limit as to number, and in some cases without regard to that limit. The exempted institutions, which furnish naturally a large proportion of the book business of the country, can import through the booksellers, but, for whatever reason, nearly all have found it wise to avoid the booksellers, and that to such an extent as greatly to undermine the bookselling business of the country." They suggest that either exemption be done away with and the present duty continued, which might work hard- ship to educational institutions, or that the duty on books be made so low that there need be no exemptions at all. The librarian's annual report puts the number of books in the library of Congress at 748,115 —an increase of 16,674 for the year. There are 245,000 pamphlets. During the year there were 72,470 new copyrights—an increase of 4896, attributed mainly to the extension of the inter- national copyright system, which now includes eleven countries: Belgium, Chili, Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Mexico, Portugal, Spain, and Switzerland. Colonel Higginson and Professor H. T. Peck are among the writers who will spend the summer in Europe. Mr. Howells goes to Carlsbad. Norman Hapgood. NOTES FROM ELSEWHERE. June 21. THE friendly move to which I alluded last month has been much commented upon, and the hope has been expressed that I may be mistaken in supposing that the author of the letters was a dear confrere. My reason for this supposition was that the critics of the papers were abused by my pseudo-ego by name, and that their names are not generally known by the out- side world. The book in question has given offence to some people, and the journalists who are in the pay of these people have considered fair every means of discrediting it and of vilifying its author. Let me mention some instances. They are curiosities of criticism. In one case a Bradford paper informed its readers that the author of the book was not an Englishman, and, ergo, merely wrote it to vilify a nation alien to him. In the second case a Manchester journalist wrote a leader of more than a column's length on a statement invented by himself as my own, a statement which was the direct opposite of something I had said. When I drew his attention to the matter, he responded by printing as his authority what purported to be a quotation from the book. This quotation was made up of words and phrases picked here and there from the book and supplemented with phrases and words supplied by the writer. This is done, remember, in a leading provincial paper, and in the most prominent part of that paper. Another paper contented itself with announcing the book under a totally false description. Thus, published at 2*. 6d. with forty illustrations, it was described as published at 6*. with one illustration. ## p. 41 (#451) ############################################# THE AUTHOR. 41 A fourth informed its readers that the book was rendered practically useless by the careless way in which some of the sheets had been turned in printing and passed by the binder. Altogether, if any of my readers wish for novel experiences and a wider knowledge of the use to which the pen can be put, let me recommend them to publish a book dealing with social reform. That some such book as the one alluded to was necessary, would appear from a letter I received the other day from one of the unfortunate indi- viduals whose acquaintance I made when I was collecting the materials. This is a middle-aged man, a skilled worker, who works fourteen hours a day. He occupies a two-roomed cottage in a slum, and has only one child dependent on him. It occurred to me that a month in the country might save the child's life, for he is going to join his mother and brothers and sister, and I wrote to the father to ask him to let me have the boy down to the duchy. He answered: "I am very sorry to inform you that my social condition remains unchanged" (12*. a week at a skilled trade). "I am still rubbing against the roughest side of the world, and I suppose it will remain so to the end of the chapter. In fact, I have given iip all hope long ago. With regard to your offer to my little boy, I am very sorry indeed that I cannot accept it—not from choice, for T certainly would like to see the little fellow get such a treat; but the truth is I cannot keep him in anything like a presentable appearance." Sans commentaires, n'est-ce pas? A propos, this reminds me of the outcry which was raised by us literary folk at an offer made by a literary employer of £10 for 400,000 words. It was calculated and set forth with just indignation that at this rate of payment the literary craftsman would have to produce 166 words for a penny. We have living in England able-bodied men and women who at this very moment are producing 220 Flemish tacks hand-wrought, for that sum of one penny; each tack involving from twenty to thirty different manipulations. The question is, of course, which is more useful and valuable a commodity, the 166 words, or the 220 Flemish tacks? It should also be remembered that to pro- duce the 220 Flemish tacks, a certain outlay has to be made on fuel, repair of tools and rent. So we can console ourselves with the thought that the very worst sweating in the literary labour market is very much more lenient than in many other branches of industry. Here is a little drama of rural life which has been passing under my eyes recently, which I commend to the English Maupassant—or one of them. If people tell him that he has a morbid imagination, let him refer them to me. A village schoolmaster, who had lost his place by drunken- ness, came into a sum of money exceeding ,£1000. He placed this money in the bank, and announced in the public-house which he frequented that he intended to drink every penny of it. "And when it's all spent?" he is asked. "Then I shall hang myself." So he sets to work, and gets drunk regularly. He is often seen at mid-day lying in the ditch by the roadside; at nights he is wheeled home by brother topers in a barrow. The tree on which he intends to hang himself is designated, and one day, returning from the neighbouring town, he displayed the rope. He is pointed out to strangers, the story is told, and attention is called to the tree. It is an understood thing that, as soon as the money is all spent, the man will hang himself. Lately the money has been getting low, and the boys of the village now follow the man when he staggers homewards. This takes place in England of to-day. If French dramatic authors suffered formerly from the piracy of foreigners, they have been com- pensating themselves handsomely since the Berne Convention protected their property. In fact, unless the agents moderate their demands, the adapters in England and elsewhere will soon have to abandon the business as unremunerative. Fancy prices are the rule, and, in many cases, the performance of the adaptation has resulted in a dead loss. But dramatists the world over look to Paris for their light. I was much amused once to witness a transaction between an English dramatic author and the French dra- matic agent. My friend wanted to buy the English rights of a j>lay which had recently been produced in Paris, not because it had been a success—for it had been withdrawn after four performances—but because it contained one good scene, which could be admirably worked into a play which he was then writing. A similar scene, even more adaptable, was to be had in another French play, which had been produced at the same time. It was like buying a chair or a horse—all most business-like. "How much for so and so?" "Four thousand francs," said the agent. "That's a good deal." "You can take it or leave it." "You see, I only want one scene." "We can't cut up the material." "I thought perhaps Messrs. would accept ." "I can telephone to them at once if you wish, but I know it is quite useless." Then the agent telephoned. "Absolument impossible" was the answer—" absolutely impossible, as I told you." "Well, I'll see next door"—there was another agency on the same landing. "They have another play which would suit me even better." "As Monsieur likes." We went next door, and ## p. 42 (#452) ############################################# \2 THE AUTHOR. asked the price of the other play. "Eighteen thousand francs." So we returned to the first office, and there the business was completed. My friend got the rights, and has them still, for he was never able to make anything of his purchase to suit an English manager. The eighteen thou- sand franc goods, by the way, was disposed of the same day -next door, and cost the manager about as many pounds. When a young dramatic author writes a play in France he is certain that it will be read if he submits it to the management of one of the thidtres subventionnes, and that, if suitable, it will be produced. By graceful tradition it is custo- mary at the Francais and Odeon to grant his entrees to an author who has submitted a play even when this is not suitable, if it shows a certain standard of merit. In France there is every encouragement to write plays. This is perhaps the reason why so many good plays are written there. In England things are different, as I am told. A few days ago, I was driven by a violent storm to take refuge in a farmhouse. It was a big house, and the farmer seemed a prosperous agriculturist. His wife supplied me with tea and let me dry myself before the fire. She begged to be excused, as she had to attend to her butter; and as to the farmer, he had to absent himself also to do some- thing to the bullocks. So I asked the farmer's wife if she would lend me a book. "It doesn't matter what it is." "We have no books in the house." .And so it was. There was not a book of any sort, except the family Bible in the draw- ing room. They took in no papers. They had never heard of any of the great writers of England. The farmer had once read a storv about a miner. Et voilh! A day or two later it fell to me to escort a young lady home from an afternoon affair to a neighbouring town. She was very fond of reading. I asked her about her tastes. She had never heard of Dickens, she thought she knew a Mr. Reade, did he not let out bicycles at C ?and no, she had never read any- thing by Wilkie Collins. As to living authors— O, popularity and press cuttings !—there was not one of our great men whose name had penetrated so far. She might have read this book or that, she said, but she never troubled about the author's name. I do not think that this could be matched in France. May I, for this time, adopt a new signature? It is the way by which the writers of literary paragraphs in some of the English and American papers like to designate me when quoting from these pages. It is rather neat. "A Me. Shbeabd." P.S.—To-morrow we shall be able to send four ounces for a penny. What an impetus this will give to what the Americans call "the shooting of paper-bolts." Poor, poor editors! Four ounces for a penny! NOTES AND NEWS- THE death of Mrs. Oliphant will be to millions among those who speak and read our language the death of a personal friend, deeply loved. For nearly fifty years her busy pen has been running, her active brain has been at work. And her work has been always goo I: sometimes excellent: and sometimes of the very first order. There is little in English litera- ture that can surpass the greatness of conception, the skill of execution, the artistic atmosphere, the terror and the vividness of "The Beleaguered City," a book in which her imaginative power touched its highest point. Mrs. Oliphant wrote many books besides novels: they may be de- scribed as Impressions of History and Biography, rather than finished works—amoi;g them three monograms, on Dante, Cervantes, and Moliere, for her own series of "Foreign Classics for English Readers." These works may live or may die: probably they are already dead. The writer will be remembered for her novels. Out of these the world will select two or three, and the rest will be forgotten. It is the common lot: what more can a writer expect? Pity that so much good work should be lost: but posterity will be chiefly concerned with its own writers, its own art, and its own manners and customs. As for the two which will live, I venture to prophecy that they will be " The Beleaguered City " and "Salem Chapel." Mrs. Oliphant was a member of our Society from its foundation. She refused, however, a place on the Council on the ground of age- In the June number of The Autlwr a brief mention was made of a speech by Mr. Lecky— now, as all friends of literature are pleased to see, the Right Hon. W. E. H. Lecky—on the multipli- cation of books. We are bound to receive with the greatest respect any utterance of Mr. Lecky, but, surely, when he complains of the multiplica- tion of books he is confusing things. What would it matter, let us ask, if a hundred books a day were published? Simply nothing at all. In every branch of learning, science, and philosophy there are a few, and only a few, authorities: in the great field of history the writers whom the world will receive are limited to half a dozen or so; in poetry, the ## p. 43 (#453) ############################################# THE AUTHOR. 43 ■world will only read the works of a dozen living writers; in fiction there are about two hundred, or two hundred and fifty at the outside, who succeed in getting a hearing; in essays and criticism the number who obtain any vogue is certainly not more than twenty or thirty. What happens, then, with the books which, it is com- monly and foolishly stated, "flood the market"? Nothing happens. The circulating libraries take a few copies : the publisher's name has a certain power of recommending a few more: the book- sellers do not "stock" them: they die. By far the greater number of published books have no life at all: they find no readers and no purchasers: the reviews mention them: they die. They cost, for the most part, very little to produce; by their extremely limited sale they pay their expenses with something over. Take for instance, our old friend the average 6*. book. An edition of a thousand copies can be produced, advertising and all, for about .£65. The cost of production is covered, allowing a shilling a copy for the author, by the sale of 5 20 copies. What possible ■effect upon the vast world of English readers— even upon the smaller world of London—even, again, upon the still smaller world of literary London—by a tiny circulation of 520copies? It may be argued that a book may have so small a sale, and yet be a book destined to live and to produce a great effect. If so, the effect must be produced by a vast increase of circulation. But, indeed, there are very few such books. If a good book of any kind in any branch be produced, it is speedily singled out and thrust into notice and popularity. __t In another part of the June number was an account of Mr. Herbert Paul's article in the Con- temporary Review on the English novel. It is a very remarkable thing how all people, in all pro- fessions, especially the men who do not write novels, are always ready to write about the modern novel. For my own part, if I were an •editor, I would have an article every month, always from the pen of a man more or less distinguished, on the English novel. I should begin with the Archbishop of Canterbury, who should tell us what a novel ought to be: the Bishop of London would certainly be able to tell us what a novel is: the Premier would probably delegate Mr. Arthur Balfour to write on the subject for him. From the Presidents of the College of Physicians, the College of Surgeons, the Law Institute, the Institute of Civil Engineers, and other learned bodies a great deal of light and learning could be expected. In a word, as the modern art of fiction was thus continually being examined and dissected, I would openly recog- nise the abiding interest of the subject by devoting to it a monthly article, and, to repeat, I would invite none but men of distinction to con- tribute. After going on for twenty years, however, no one would be one whit nearer to understanding how it is done. For, indeed, the art of holding an audience cannot be taught; the mechanical part may be taught, the magical part is personal. Mr. Herbert Paul is reported to have said in his article that Charles Reade and Wilkie Collins have fallen into oblivion. That is a great mistake. With these authors, as happens to all, the world has made a selection. Both of them wrote a great many novels: both of them survive in two — Wilkie Collins in "The Woman in White" and "The Moonstone," Charles Reade in "The Cloister and the Hearth" and "It is Never too Late to Mend." Of the latter two a cheap edition issued the other day went through 150,000 copies of each in three weeks. That does not look like oblivion. Lovers of Reade, whom I myself consider a writer very near to the highest place among English novelists, will not allow many others of his novels to fall into oblivion. These two writers, however, illustrate exactly what is said above about Mrs. Oliphant. First, to delight your own generation; then, to leave two books or so which shall still delight generations to come—what happier lot cimld man desire? I hope that readers of The Author will give a little more than passing attention to the " Pub- lisher's Vade Mecum," which appears on another page. It is a kind of "ready reckoner," which shows what discounts made to the trade really mean. Those who have taken an interest in the denials of our figures will remember that we have always maintained that the sum of 3*. 6d. repre- sents the average price obtained by the publisher for his 6s. book: that this statement has been stoutly denied: that we have published in these columns proofs that the estimate is strictly correct. We have now the paper in daily use among many of them, at least, which shows that on the 10 per cent, discount—the common one up to the latest intelligence — and counting thirteen as twelve, the price to the trade of the 6s. book is 3*. 5^<Z. Now, single copies are not sold thirteen as twelve, nor do they obtain discount, except "for the account." Their price is from 3». Sd. to 3«. lo^d., which, of course, runs up the 3*. ${d. very materially. From the other figures before me, some of which have been already given in The Author, I am convinced that in all agree- ments for the 6*. book the average trade price of 3*. 6d. may be accepted. As regards the cost of production, our own book on the subject is fairly good, but it wants to be brought down to the ## p. 44 (#454) ############################################# 44 THE AUTHOR. present time. Paper has gone down in price very greatly-. In another column (pp. 37, 38) will be found a comparison between an actual printer's estimate and our proposed cost. It will be found on examination that the proposed cost of is. on large editions must be materially reduced. The following lines have been sent me by an American reader. They appeared some years since in " Putnam's Papers." At a library desk stood some readers one day Crying " Novels, oh, novels, oh, novels!" And I said to them, " People, oh, why do yon Bay 'Give ns novels, oh, novels, oh, novels?' Is it weakness of intellect, people," I cried, "Or simply a space where the brains should abide t" They answered me not, or they only replied, "Give ns novels, oh, novels, oh, novelB!" Here are thousands of books that will do you more good Than the novels, oh, novels, oh, novels! Yon will weaken your brain with such poor mental food As the novels, oh, novels, oh, novels! Pray take history, mnsio, or travelB or plays, Biography, poetry, science, essays, Or anything else that more wisdom displays Than the novels, oh, novels, oh, novels! A librarian may talk till he's black in the face About novels, oh, novels, oh, novels! And may think that with patience he may raise the taste Above novels, oh, novels, oh novels! He may talk till with age his round shoulders ore bent, And the white hairs of time 'mid the black ones are sent; When he handB his report in, still seventy per oent. Will be novels, oh, novels, oh, novels! There is complaint about the illiteracy of under- graduates. WheD have they been, as a rule, any- thing but illiterate, as a body? What time or leisure has the undergraduate for books, when he has athlet ics to consider first and the examinations next? The bookish boy at school is an extremely i-are person: at the university he is just as rare. When one's attention is wholly occupied by other things, what room is there for literature, or art, or anything? Perhaps a defence of youthful illiteracy might be set up. Thus: It is very good for young men to practise manly sports; it is especially desirable that those who read, for the highest honours and are certain to become the intellectual leaders of their time, should be physi- cally fit for the work; there is not room for the pursuit of more than two subjects with absorption; if athletics is one subject, the Senate House is the other. And what becomes of literature? Well, in the after years, when sports have lost their attraction, when the profession has been entered upon and the great heat of study is over, when the quiet country vicarage gives many idle hours— then the illiterate undergraduate becomes uncon- sciously a reader, a student in literature, and sometimes even a writer. Walter Besant. THE SOCIETY AS A PUBLISHING COMPANY. IS the consideration of the possibility that the I.S.A. shall be their own publishers going to die out, I wonder? May I make a pro- position? I do so with extreme diffidence, for I am obscure and almost unknown in the world of letters. Will not some influential person take up my proposal? England has its Royal Academy, founded for the purpose of raising the status of artists; to consolidate their efforts; to provide means for presenting their work to Ihe public. 'Why should not England have its Royal Society of Authors too? And why should not its Royal Society of Authors publish the works of its own members; decide the status of writers; consolidate their efforts, and thus provide means for presenting their work to the public? That Her Majesty- would give her gracious sanction to the title one cannot doubt. The Queen, who has throughout her glorious reign endeavoured to promote the welfare of her people, would assuredly not—in this the sixtieth year of her rule—refuse her royal sanction to any scheme brought forward for the aid and furtherance of literature and talent in her land. Why, then, should not the members of the I.S.A. join together and make this Society an abid- ing monument to England, and a commemora- tion of Her Majesty's long reign? The painter must produce his best work ere he dare hope to find it hung in the Academy. So let the author strive to accomplish something worthy his Society ere he may hope to have it published by them. Art is encouraged—and rightly—-in every country, and in every age. Art, says Schiller, found man a savage, and makes him lord of nature. But, unhappily, if we are to judge from many publica- tions of recent years, we may be allowed to question whether the art of the present day (literary art, at any rate) is helping to develop "lords of nature." I remember how proud of my country men and women I used to feel, years ago, while living in Paris, when I heard, as I often did hear, the words: "Ah! Oui, c'est une traduction Anglaise; certainment vous pouvez la lire." Alas, for my English pride! Only the other day I read that, since the publication of certain books, the Germans have found it necessary to forbid the perusal, by young girls, of English novels. I feel very strongly on this point. Literature is one of the highest arts. To attain to anything worthy in any art there must be noble endeavour. There very often is, of necessity, self-sacrifice, and it is right that it should be so. It is only through trial that we can show the spirit of the true ## p. 45 (#455) ############################################# THE AUTHOR. 45 artist; only through warfare that we can prove ourselves conquerors. We must accept the challenge if we would win the prize. Thus, in having to prove ourselves worthy to gain the help and countenance of a powerful society we should have to work. Let the "honour be won by good work and true—and by that alone. My suggestions are :— 1. That the I.S.A. unite and become a limited liability company. Shares of £i. 2. That works published by the Society be only such as tend to raise the tone of English literature. 3. That the members be limited to the number already on the list; new members enlisted only as old ones pass from the Society. 4. That an entrance fee of £1 be charged all new members, plus the annual subscrip- tion (unless the Committee sanction free entrance). 5. That a certain number (say fifty) of eminent writers be elected as members who have done honour to the cause of literature in England. These members to hold the highest honour as in L'Acadcmie Francaise. Is my scheme Utopian? I think not. With a few of our leaders at the head of such a move- ment, I feel convinced that before the end of this great Commemoration Year it would be almost, if not quite, un fait accompli. E. W. H. THE SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD: DAY USE. ITS PRESENT ALL readers of The Author will be much indebted to Miss Meyer for her excellent article in the June number on the subjunc- tive, and very grateful for the labour expended in stalking this wily mood through the pages of so- many standard works. With the assistance of some figures which she has kindly allowed me to use, it will be possible, I think, to prove that, contrary to what Miss Meyer wrote, we are "nearer to a clear and succinct rule than before." Repeating her former summary:— Approximate number of words Author. Book. in book. E. Dowden Life of Sonthey 67,000 T. Hardy Pair of Blue Eyes 99,000 Henry James ... Daisy Miller 56,000 Andrew Lang ... Custom and Myth 68,000 W. E. H. Lecky History of Rationalism, vol. 1 102,000 The Egoist 190,000 On Compromise 57,000 Social Rights and Duties, vol. H 71,000 Men and Books 99.000 Life of Coleridge 60,000 George Meredith John Morley ,.. Leslie Stephen... L. Stevenson D. Trail Total 869,000 We find that in the ten volumes selected are approximately 900,000 words, and that there are only fifteen instances of the subjunctive mood of any other verb than the verb "to be," twelve of which are distributed among only three of the books, and hence three of the authors. That, in fact, its use is "exceedingly rare." Therefoi-e, we shall not be wrong in saying to beginners — for whom these articles were commenced — Only use the subjunctive mood of the verb "to be." Writers of years' standing, yearning, and only then, to employ it with other verbs may use it once in a volume, although the propor- tion of authors who do not use it at all would tend to show that this is an unwarranted frequency. The next point to arise, is when to use "to be" in this mood? The following figures which I have re-arranged may serve as. a guide: The verb " to be" after:— Dowden . Hardy ... . James Lang Leoky Meredith .. Morley Stephen .. Stevenson Traill Total If +Sub. 13 26 18 23 12 32 22 28 32 12 218 -Sub. 3 '4 '5 '5 '4 54 '5 7 >5 4 '55 Whether + Sub. 4 -Sub. Though Although Unless 1 As it were" ## p. 46 (#456) ############################################# 46 THE AUTHOR. The point for consideration here is, is it not justi- fiable to recommend to beginners that if a form of words can only be used on an average twice in a complete volume of a hundred thousand words it should be omitted entirely, especially when its correct usage entails a consideration so careful as to prohibit its easy employment? Bearing in mind the practical good of a simple rule, I think the answer should be—yes! This being granted, a very great simplification of the results of the foregoing table follows: The subjunctive of "to be" should only be used after "if" Tt should not be used after whether, though, although, unless. The column headed "as it were" is added as an illustration of the existence of one of Professor Skeat's "petrified phrases." Now, as "if" is used so many times, both with and without "to be" in the subjunctive, it becomes necessary to try and find out the reason for this varying practice. Miss Meyer's un- published analysis shows the following:— The subjunctive of "to be" is used after "if" — in hypothetical in- stances with real contingency 213 times. Where a definite assertion is withheld 44 „ Total ... 257 „ The subjunctive of "to be " is not used after "if "—in hypothetical instances without real contingency 62 times. When the style is familiar 55 „ Total ... 117 „ Passing from these general statements to par- ticulars, I find the following instances of its detailed use, which may be of interest to some readers, and possibly of use to those fond of statistics: If" and Were Be Total la Wan Are Am Total 5 4 9 0 2 0 O 2 Hardy 26 0 26 7 6 2 0 14 James 18 0 18 1 8 7 0 "5 Lang 6 24 30 3 6 6 0 IS 5 16 21 4 9 1 0 14 26 6 32 28 9 8 9 54 12 •5 27 •3 0 2 0 IS 7 37 44 3 1 3 0 7 20 H 34 S 7 2 1 IS Trail 10 6 16 1 3 0 0 4 Total I3S 122 257 65 Si 31 10 155 In conclusion—passing over some inconsistencies ■as unnecessarily complicating the argument—will some of those in authority favour the pages of TJie Author with their views upon the following suggested rule, which seems at least to represent the •current use of the subjunctive mood among some of our best present day writers, and hence help those who are not yet standing upon the highest rungs of the ladder of ltterature? SuOaKSTED EULE. (in hypothetical instances, use the suhjnnc- ) or tiveof "to be" DISILLUSION. You might, perhaps, have loved me yet— As angels loved before they fell— Bnt on a day of Fate we met, And meeting broke the spell. The poet should be like a bird That sings in May where woods are green, Divined by glimpses, gladly heard, But never plainly seen. H. G. K. Only after "If" use not where definite assertion is withheld, in hypothetical instances, without real contin- gency, or where the style is fami- liar. F. Howaed Collins. BOOK TALK DE. SAMUEL SMILES has recovered from his accident of a year ago, and is prepar- ing a new book of a character identical with that of " Self-Help" and his other works. Mrs. Humphry Ward is at work on a new novel. Mrs. Hodgson Burnett is engaged upon a new novel for publication in the autumn. ## p. 47 (#457) ############################################# THE AUTHOR. 47 Mr. C. Arthur Pearson has become a publisher. He announces novels by Mr. H. G. Wells, Mr. Max Pemberton, Mr. W. W. Jacobs, Mr. Frankfort Moore, and Mr. G. B. Bargin. Madame Sarah Grand is writing a new novel, which will be a study of a woman's life from the cradle to the grave, and will probably introduce the subject of heredity. An account of a "Trip to Venus " has been written by Mr. John Munro, and will be published by Messrs. Jarrold and Sons. Mr. Lane announces a skit on Mr. Le Gallienne's romance "The Quest of the Golden Girl." The title will be "The Quest of the Gilt-Edged Girl," and the author, Richard De Lyrienne. Mr. Frederick Wedmore has prepared a selec- tion of "Poems of Love and Pride of England," which will be published early in July by Messrs. Ward, Lock, and Co. Mrs. Leith-Adams has written a novel entitled "Madelon Lemoine," which Messrs. Jarrold will publish. The late Mrs. Hungerford's last work, "The Coming of Chloe," will be issued early this month by Messrs. White. A story by Mr. Warren Bell will inaugurate the "Henrietta Volumes," a new library of fiction in paper covers which Mr. Grant Richards is publishing. Mr. Richards also publishes Mr. Grant Allen's new romance entitled " An African MiUionaire." Mr. David Hannay will write a volume on "The Later Renaissance" for the series on periods of European literature which Professor Saintsbury is editing and Messrs. Blackwood publishing. "Secretary to Bayne, M.P.," is the title of a story by Mr. Pett Ridge, to be published soon. Later on, " Mordemly," a novel treating of low life, will come from the same pen. Mr. Silas K. Hocking has completed a new story, called "God's Outcast," which will run in the Leistire Hour. Mrs. Annie S. Swan has finished a new Scotch story, entitled "The Curse of Cowden," which Messrs. Hutchinson will publish. Mr. Morley Roberts has a novel, entitled "Strong Men and True," in course of publication by Messrs. Downey and Co. Mr. Lewis Sergeant has written a work entitled "Greece in the Nineteenth Century," which will be published shortly by Mr. Fisher Unwin. Eighteen years ago Mr. Sergeant wrote "New Greece," which is long out of print, and so much as is applicable to the present time will be trans- ferred now to the new work. A large part of the new volume is devoted to the relations between Greece and the Powers during the last twenty years, and there is also an account of contempo- rary Greek literature. An account of the late Turco-Greek war by Mr. Clive Bigham, who was the Times correspondent with the Ottoman Army, will be published by Messrs. Macmillan, entitled "The Campaign in Thessaly." Mr. Demetrius Boulger is engaged upon a new "Life of Sir Stamford Raffles," for which he has the sanction and co-operation of the Raffles, family. The book will contain a large number of new letters and other documents, and will be issued by Messrs. Horace Marshall and Sons early in October. Mr. Leonard Huxley is making good progress, with the biography of his father. Mr. Andrew Lang's Christmas book for 1897 is to be called the " Pink Fairy Book." In the sonnet printed in The Author last month (on page 14), line three should have been " His own, or flout," not " flount." The Right Hon. (as he now is) Sir Herbert Maxwell, M.P., and Mr. F. G. Aflalo are to edit an Anglers' Library. The first volume in the series will be on "Coarse Fish," by Mr. C. H. Wheeley. Messrs. Lawrence and Bullen are the publishers. Messrs. J. M. Dent and Co. now become the publishers of the monthly review, Natural Science. The anniversary meeting of the Scottish branch of the Franco-Scottish Society will be held in Edinburgh from the 12th to the 17th inst. Among the papers to be read are "The Influence of Scottish Philosophy upon the French," by Professor Boutroux; "The Teaching of French Literature in Scottish and English Universities," by Dr. Sarolea; and "Le Mouve- ment Neo-Hellenique dans la Litterature Fran- caise," by Professor Croiset. "Through Finland in Carts," Mrs. Alec Tweedie's new book of travel, is now ready. It is published by Messrs. A. and C. Black. There are nineteen full-page illustrations. Mrs. Tweedie has not simply gone first to a hotel and then read up all the books about Finland; she has lived among the people, and learned their life and their ways of thought, and of manners. The volume contains her experiences and an estimate of a people very little known by Western Europe. ## p. 48 (#458) ############################################# 4« THE AUTHOR. Mr. Robert Sherard's new novel "Uncle Christopher's Treasure" has been re-christened. It will be published in the autumn by the Messrs. Pearson under the title of "The Magpie House." Mr. J. LI. Warden Page has completed his ''North Coast of Cornwall." It is to be pub- lished this month, in time for the tourists and the holidav-makers. Mr. W. Crofton Hemmons, of Bristol, publishes Mr. Page's work. All lovers .of the west country know Mr. Page's " Dartmoor" and the " Coasts of Devon and Lundy" (Horace iCox). The autobiography of Nelson, the Common- place Book of Robert Burns, and five original manuscripts of poems and novels by Sir Walter Scott, were sold by auction on the 15th ult. by Messrs. Sotheby, Wilkinson, and Hodge. The Nelson lot included not only the autobiography, but autograph letters to John McArthur, corre- spondence with Earl Nelson and Lady Nelson, a full-length tinted lithograph portrait (one-armed) a sketch of the ball which killed Lord Nelson, and a complete transcript of the "Memoir" for the press—thirty-three articles in all. The collection was bought for <£iooo by Messrs. Sotheran. A collection of twenty-three autograph letters from Nelson to his friend Admiral Sir Thomas Trowbridge fetched ,£280. Of the Scott manuscripts "The Lady of the Lake" 1810 realised £1290; a portion of " Tales of a Grandfather," <£io6; the introductory essay on "Popular and Ballad Poetry," "Halidon Hill," and "Doom of Devorgoil," =£62; "Old Mortality," <£6oo; the original manuscript of "Castle Dangerous," dictated by Scott to his amanuensis, W. Laidlaw, but with numerous corrections and additions in the author's hand, £32. The Burns Commonplace Book or Private Journal, commenced by Burns on April 9, 1787, and consisting of thirty-eight pages of the poet's handwriting, in capital preservation, sold for £365. Mr. James Payn is publishing, through Messrs. Downey, a new novel entitled "Another's Burthen." Mr. David Pryde, author of "Pleasant Memo- ries of a Busy Life," has written a study of life and character in the east of Scotland—or, rather, in the " kingdom " of Fife. It will be published l>v Messrs. Morison Brothers, Glasgow, under the title "The Queer Folk of Fife." The first volume in a series upon Historical Women will be published immediately by the Roxburghe Press. It will be "Victoria, Queen and Empress," written by Mr. Richard Davey. Mr. Wickham Flower has finished a little volume in the defence of an old reading in Dante's "Inferno," and the work will be published shortly by Messrs. Chapman and Hall. The fourth volume of the series of "Periods of European History," published by Messrs. Rivington, Percival, and Co., will be "Europe in the 16th Century," by Mr. A. H. Johnson, M.A., Historical Lecturer to Merton, Trinity, and Uni- versity Colleges, Oxford. It will be published immediately. Messrs. Hutchinson and Co. have in hand a volume of poems by Miss Helen Marion Burnside, with a title-page designed by the author, which will be issued in the autumn. Miss Burnside has also written two tales for children, entitled respectively "The Little V.C." and "The Adventures of a Postage Stamp," which will be published by Messrs. Thomas Nelson and Sons. The Queen has been pleased to accept the original copy of Surgeon-Colonel John Mac- Gregor's Jubilee poems, entitled "Victoria Maxima et Victoria Regina," which were specially mounted and embroidered by Mrs. MacGregor. Some of the poems were written for the present celebration, and some ten years ago, in honour of the previous Jubilee of 1887, when the author was on active service in Upper Burmah during the late Burmese War. We believe it is intended to publish them shortly in combination with other poems by the same author. Mr. Mark Twain's book on his tour round the world is finished, and will appear in the autumn. The scenes of Mr. Gilbert Parker's forthcoming novel are laid in the French-Canadian village of Bonaventure, and the period is that of the abor- tive rising under Louis Papineau, who aimed at establishing une nation Canadienne on the banks of the St. Lawrence. The two leading characters in the novel are Tom Ferrol, an attractive Irish rapscallion, and Christine Lavilette, a charming French-Canadian girl. The title of the book is "The Pomp of the Lavilettes," and it will be published shortly. The business of Messrs. Osgood, Mcllvaine, and Co., publishers, Lonr on, has been amal- gamated with that of Messrs. Harper Brothers, New York, and will in future bear the latter name. The Jubilee articles for the Illustrated London Ncics and the Queen were written by the editor of this paper. He also wrote for a Chicago firm a short volume on the Sixty Years' Reign. This work has been produced in this country by the ## p. 49 (#459) ############################################# THE AUTHOR. 49 Globe. It was written for American readers, who, as a general rule, are wonderfully misinformed on the government and social order of this country. ■Consequently, it contains certain passages which may appear superfluous to English readers. The editor is also under contract to deliver to Messrs. Chapman and Hall a story of the ordinary one volume length before the end of September. It will be finished, it is hoped, in the month of August. Mr. Walter Pollock, in collaboration •with Miss Lilian Mowbrey, has produced a roman- tic play in five acts, entitled "King and Artist" —William Heinemann. The period is the year 1540. Benvenuto Cellini is one of the principal (characters. CORRESPONDENCE. I.—Translitebation. THIS once thorny subject—which Sir W. Hunter rendered plain in India some twenty years ago — has been rearing its prickles in the European newspaper press since the recrudescence of Graeco-Turkish conflict. Almost every principal nation has its own way •of pronouncing vowels and consonants, and this leads to impenetrable darkness when the .correspondents and editors try to express, each in the fashion of his country, the sounds of names—mostly Arabic — of which they do not know the meaning. To make the matter worse, the representatives of the London papers attempt to spell Turkish names as they hear them pro- nounced by foreigners, until it becomes difficult, -even for well-educated people, to make out what may be the designation intended to be conveyed. We hear of Edhem Pacha and Sey Foola Beg, of Nedgib and Eedschid, and have to enter into abstruse reflection and calculation before we can ascertain what our well-intentioned informants wish us to understand. The evil proceeds from the varying use of letters. Thus, the French use ch for s/t, dj for j, e for a; the Germans express the Arabic jim by dsch; Italy has her own fashions, not very different from the French. Surely, it is desirable that some common system of transliteration should be adopted, by which an English or American reader could be guided to some dim conception of the names and titles of distinguished Orientals. The Russians transliterate like the French, and the English system is peculiar to ourselves, so that it may not prove easy to decide which of the various methods is to be adopted. But that is urely a point of convention; only let some efinite code be adopted, and scrupulously followed by all the journalists of Christendom. It will be of no importance whatsoever whether the mysterious words be transliterated after this or that fashion, so long as uniformity be pre- served. Surely a congress might sit and settle the details. H. G. K. [On this important subject perhaps the follow- ing experience may prove useful. Many years ago the Palestine Exploration Society found itself face to face with the same difficulty. Every man who worked for them in Syria followed his now method of transliteration in his reports. The result was bewildering. Finally, the committee resolved that the method adopted by Dr. Robin- son, the American traveller, should be followed in all their printed documents. The result was that their readers were no longer confused.—W. B.] II.—The Mockeby of Realism. Mr. Howard Collins's article on the subjunctive reminds me of an appeal that I made to you some months ago on the subject of an authority for the protection of the good old language com- monly called "the Queen's English." From Addison to Macaulay writers were content to follow certain acknowledged rules: words, of course, were added from time to time as new ideas arose or new objects were created, but the grammatical structure conformed to established standards, and—except in the case of royal or noble authors—one was usually able to under- stand what was meant. Setting aside Queen's Speeches, diplomatic despatches, and the like, where ambiguity might be intentionally caused, the adherence to these rules and standards brought the meaning of printed matter home to all men and women of average culture and intelli- gence. But it is no longer so in our modern days of universal "education." Literature now means novel-writing, and novels—if they are to be profitable—must be written for the third-class passenger and the board school alumnus; with what consequences we can see. As in the days of Horace: Soribimus indocti dooidqne. The mass and multitude of readers run as they read, and only ask to be amused; and that can be done by and as well as by- Thackeray or Meredith. Another curious result is the extraordinary etiquette as to topics. You may be almost as paradoxical and heterodox as you like if you will only maintain a discreet reserve and primness of manner. There is a convention, for example, that no reference is ever to be made to a certain P (1 ## p. 50 (#460) ############################################# 5° THE AUTHOR. portion of the human frame; motives may be Belfish and conduct lawless, but people must be painted in kit-cat. Dr. Conan Doyle has said of this that the modern fiction-writer never hits below the belt. But it is not altogether a ques- tion of hitting; a touch of friendliness is as bad. You may talk as much as ever you please about brain work or even of brain-fever; your charac- ters may have all sorts of sentiments in their breasts, and pulmonary phthisis has its allotted share of romantic pathos; the heart is supreme by old tradition, and even its diseases are ad- missible; the death of Svengali, has it not thrilled two continents? The legs and feet may be under a cloud in the United States, but are not quite unmentionable; in English fiction they are even cultivated. But the engine-room, the place of the machinery and propelling power, is everywhere tabu; excepting to those vulgar folk who talk of "pluck," and of "white-livered scoundrels," and call a spade " a spade." Yet, if you come to think of it, the region between the diaphragm and the pelvis contains the seat of all we do or suffer. A man could live awhile with tubercles on his lungs, heart- complaint and softening of the brain; but take away the healthy life of the region in question, and you will soon see a paralysis of the pre- sumptuous " higher " organs. It may not be amiss for the romantic school to describe the adven- tures of cherubs, but it is the most hollow mockery of realism to ignore the primary instincts which are the basis of all our actions. H. K. III.—The Need of a Literary Bureau. In conversation this week with an editor of a notable paper, we agreed as to the usefulness of an establishment where editors could at once lay their hands on what they wanted, and authors could find an immediate outlet and market for their work. Consider what time an editor might save by not having to wade through a mass of MSS. in order to discover suitable matter, and how the author would be benefited by knowing the exact periodical where his poem, article, dialogue, or story would be accepted. At present he gropes blindly in the darkness of uncertainty. The majority of writers, unless on the regular staff of a paper, heedlessly send their work about on a postal- roaming expedition, to seek a haven where it might be generously welcomed and paid for. What heartaches, disappointments, tribulations, the long-suffering community of scribblers might save if a competent distributing agency would only do this work for them! Looking at the matter from a commercial— often the necessary—standpoint, it seems to me that the rules which govern manufacturers of any commodity ought also to apply to the products of the brain. For instance, a manufacturer of nails deals with the wholesale house or middleman who supplies the shops, instead of selling his nails to the latter. Why, then, is there not a literary middleman who can at once dispose of an author's wares? In France such institutions are common. There are bureaus where even plays, songs, and musical pieces are distributed where they are needed; it is therefore surprising that what is deemed necessary in France should be completely ignored in this country. I believe the matter has been often broached in The Author, but as yet no one has had the courage or the spirit to carry out what would prove a boon to editors and contributors. The bureau could be made profitable, the editor and author paying a yearly subscription, whilst the latter would not grudge 10 per cent, com- mission to secure an immediate profitable customer. The Authors' Society might, I think, with their knowledge and experience easily further or bring this undertaking to a practical issue. They have helped, they have advised, they have protected the writers of books, and opened their eyes, to the greed of rapacious publishers; but to found and successfully inaugurate a practical institution of this kind would prove their crowning usefulness. Isidore G. Abcher. IV.—Mutual Help amono Writers. The communication from " An Occasional Con- tributor," in the June number of The Author opens up a wide field for possibilities of mutual self-help among the portion of the community— members of the Society and others—engaged in literary work. Why should not literary people, whether known actually personally to one another or not, communicate their various personal expe- riences, give and take advice, or otherwise, direct through the Society or post? Much disappoint- ment might be avoided, many of the pit-falls which beset the path of a young author might be escaped. Much mutual work might be accom- plished, many pleasant and useful literary friend- ships might be the result. Although in no way seeking an advertisement, or making any claim to a literary standing, yet the quarter of a century or so connection that I have had more or less with literary work may enable me to counsel usefully on many points those who are mere beginners or have had less; and that advice I should ever be ## p. 51 (#461) ############################################# THE AUTHOR. pleased to give. On the other hand, I am only :stul a, learner, and shall be till the end of my days, .and shall be just as glad often to ask and receive ;advice as T shall be to give it. Thomas W. D. Lisle. Amesbury, Salisbuiy. PERSONAL. AMONUMENT to the late Joseph Thomson, the African explorer, was unveiled at his native place—Thornhill, Dumfriesshire— last month by Sir Clements Markham, president of the Royal Geographical Society. Mr. William Holden, custodian of the Grenville Xiibrary at the British Museum, has retired on a pension, having passed fifty years in the service of the Trustees. Mr. Qeorge Smith is about to give a dinner to the contributors to the "Dictionary of National Biography," in celebration of the completion of the list of names. Vol. 52, issued last week, in- cluded the articles on Shakspeare, by Mr. Sidney Lee; Scott, by Mr. Leslie Stephen; and Seeley, by Professor Prothero. Mr. Henry James has become London corre- spondent with Harper's Weekly. Mrs. Olive Schreiner has been obliged by indisposition to leave London and to seek com- plete rest at a quiet seaside place. The Women Writers of England held their annual dinner at the Criterion Restaurant, London, on June 14; Mrs. Steel presided, and spoke upon the ethics of literature. There were many things in the commercial aspect of literature, she said, that even men acknowledged to be wrong, and which might be amended if women would be both bold and honest, now they had got their say. Miss Montresor proposed the toast of "Absent Friends," and Mrs. Creighton subsequently made a speech on the pleasures of research. The com- pany included also Mrs. J. R. Green, Mrs. Thackeray Ritehie, Miss M. A. Dickens, Mrs. Meade, Miss Mary Kingsley, Mrs. Clifford, "Edna Lyall," and Miss Adeline Sergeant. At the out- set of the dinner, after "The Queen" had been honoured, the following telegram was despatched: "A hundred and twenty women writers, at their -annual dinner, humbly and heartily congratulate Victoria, Queen, Empress, and authoress, on her Diamond. Jubilee." OBITUARY. MRS. OLIPHANT died on the 25th ult., at her house at Wimbledon, from cancer. Born at Walliford, near Musselburgh, Midlothian, in 1828, she began to write in 1849, when "Passages in the Life of Margaret Mait- land" appeared. She rapidly obtained a foothold among fiction readers, and subsequently traversed also the fields of popular biography and history. Altogether she had written about 100 books, among which may be mentioned " The Chronicles of Carlingford," " It was a Lover and His Lass," "The Prodigals," "Diana Trelawny," "Neigh- bours on the Green," "Sir Robert's Fortune," "Old Mr. Tredgold," "Life of Edward Irving," "Memoir of the Life of Laurence Oliphant and of Alice his Wife," "Memoir of Count Montalem- bert," "Francis of Assisi," "Jeanne d'Arc," "Historical Sketches of the Reign of Queen Anne," "Royal Edinburgh," "The Makers of Venice," "The Makers of Florence," "The Makers of Modern Rome," "The Literary History of England in the End of the Eighteenth and Beginning of the Nineteenth Century," and a "Child's History of Scotland." She also con- tributed " Molicre" and "Cervantes" to Black- wood's series of Foreign Classics for English readers, edited by herself, and "Sheridan" to the English Men of Letters Series. Only recently she published two stories, entitled "Two Ways of Life," and wrote a biography of the Queen for the Diamond Jubilee number of the Graphic. She was engaged upon a " History of the Blackwood Group," which was to run to three or four volumes, two of which are practically ready for publication. She was a frequent contributor to Blackwood's Magazine, in which many of her novels originally appeared. Mrs. Oliphant, whose maiden name was Wilson, was pre- deceased by her husband and two sons. RE-OPENING OF THE BRONTE. MUSEUM.- Apeil 10, 1897. Tf^HE following report, written for The Author, I has been unavoidably delayed. Readers will rather hear about the Bronte Museum late than never:— Moorside Haworth is said to be uncouth and rugged, but at least she has learned the elements of hospitality. Dr. Robertson Nicoll and Mr. Clement Shorter, not coutent with the hard work they have already done in the interests ## p. 52 (#462) ############################################# 52 THE AUTHOR. of Bronte lore, wished to add one more to their efforts; and Haworth generously put by her winds and rain for the time being, and gave them as cheery weather as they could have hoped for. A sympathetic crowd assembled in front of the museum doors at three o'clock. Mr. Shorter briefly declared the museum re-opened for the summer, after which everyone dispersed in the direction of the moors. Mr. Wade, the rector, was most courteous in his willingness to show the visitors the rectory. In the evening a well-attended meeting was held in the Baptist schoolroom. Mr. Brigg, in the chair, performed his duties cheerily and well, and, in introducing the author of "Charlotte Bronte and Her Circle" to the audience, he had a singularly pleasant task. Mr. Shorter struck a true note when he claimed to be at home amongst us. From the start there could be no doubt as to the reception in store for him from those who had read the biography, and I think we abandoned for the time being our prerogative as Yorkshiremen to express a little less than we feel. His speech, dwelling as it did on a subject of which he has shown himself the master, could not fail to be interesting; nothing could have been happier than the chatty way in which he talked to us, as a friend among friends. Mr. Shorter expressed a lively desire to see the Bronte biography re-written once for all, and that by a Yorkshireman and a literary artist. If Mr. Shorter himself is possessed only of the latter of these two essentials, it is surely our misfortune rather than his fault that another soil is respon- sible for him. Dr. Robertson Nicoll followed with a speech of rare power. There was something very con- vincing in the quiet, well-chosen periods in which he gave expression to his enthusiasm — an enthusiasm which has led him to do more for Bronte literature, perhaps, than any literary man of the age. Dr. Nicoll laid stress on the hard- ships through which the Bronte family passed; on the unfailing heroism and strength under trial exhibited by the three sisters; on the remarkable union of these with the power of feeling passion, the power of restraining passion, and the power of giving it an outlet in literary form. He gave credit to the moor-environment of Haworth for suggesting all that was strongest and best in the Bronte novels, and claimed that the sisters, despite accidents of birth, were essentially Yorkshire in character, habits, and associations. As the upshot of the meeting, one thing is abundantly clear—the Brontes live to-day as they never lived in their own time. There is nothing easier of diagnosis than mock enthusiasm, and at the same time there is no doubting the genuine fervour which once in a while we find reflected in the faces of an audience. Little Haworth, wild, provincial to the heart, has pro- duced literature that will only die with the language; of her ruggedness has been born strength, from her tenderness has sprung im- mortality. Halliwell Sutcliffe. A NOTE PROM BUCELE. THE following note may be read by those who doubt the existence or the importance of a love for literature among the people:— "The extension of knowledge being thus accompanied by an increased simplicity in the manner of its communication, naturally gave rise to a greater independence in literary men, and a greater boldness in literary inquiries. As long as books, either from the difficulty of their style or from the general incuriosity of the people, found but few readers, it was evident that authors must rely upon the patronage of public bodies or of rich and titled individuals. And as men are always inclined to flatter those upon whom they are dependent, it too often happened that even, our greatest writers prostituted their abilities by fawning upon the prejudices of their patrons. The consequence was that literature, so far from disturbing ancient superstitions and stirring up the mind to new inquiries, frequently assumed a timid aHd subservient air, natural to its subordi- nate position. But now all this was changed. Those servile and shameful dedications; that mean and crouching spirit; that incessant homage to mere rank and birth; that constant confusion between power and right; that ignorant admira- tion for everything which is old, and that still more ignorant contempt for everything which is new; all these features became gradually fainter , and authors, relying upon the patronage of the people, began to advocate the claims of their new allies with a boldness upon which they could not have ventured in any previous age." ## p. 53 (#463) ############################################# THE AUTHOR. 53 LITERATURE IN THE PERIODICALS. Woman's Place in the World of Letters. Mrs. J. B. Green. Nineteenth Century for June. Poetry and the Jubilee: A Temptation for Mil- lionaires. Richard Le Gallienne. Westminster Gazette for Jane a i. Self-Consciousness in Poetry. The Spectator of Jnne 12. School of Fiction. Mrs. Meade and Sir W. Besant. New Century Revietv for Jnne. The Real Monsieur D'Artaqnan. Sir Herbert Maxwell. Blackwood's Magazine for June. Oxford and Jowett. A. M. Fairbairn, D.D. Contem- porary Review for June. The Abuse of Dialect. Matmilla n's for Jnne. Our Men of Letters and Our Empire. W. Gress- well. Temple Bar for Jnne. A Plea for the Study of Sonnets. Emily G. Kemp. Temple Bar for Jnne. Notable Beview. Francis Thompson's " New Poems." Daily Chronicle for May 29. Woman remains essentially mysterious, even in her literary venture, says Mrs. J. R. Green; she does not come forward unprotected and bare to attack, but she covers her advance with a whole machinery of arrow-proof bides and wooden shelters, or seeks safety in what is known in Nature as protective mimicry. The problem of this precaution and disguise is not to be solved by merely accounting for a prudent demeanour, which may be explained by timidity, self-distrust, a sensitive vanity, and hatred of criticism. "To the truth first pointed out by Schopenhauer— that there is another and a greater force than Thought in the Universe, namely, the force of Will—woman remains the living witness." Here are her perplexities as Mrs. Green states them :— She is haunted by a twofold experience. Primitive emotions and instincts that rise from abysses of Nature where she herself is one with the world that lies below con- sciousness, carry with them an authority so potent and tyrannical that she is impelled to rank them above all functions of intelligence. On the other hand, a rude and ruthless discipline warns her that these are but the raw material with which Nature works, lopping off here, and cutting down there, everything that pnshes above the sanctioned level. By a thousand indications, too. Life mocks her with the awful panorama of emotion continually swept before the power of common realities of the world life shifting sand driven before the storm— nothing stable that is not comprehended. Nowhere is the bewildering civil strife of Nature, the battle that is with confused noise and garments rolled in blood, stranger or less intelligible than in the devastated field of woman's experience. With the exceptions, it may be said, of Mrs. Hutchinson, Mrs. Catherine Macaulay, and Mme. de Stael, woman has left on one side, or only- skirted, the fields of theological, metaphysical, and political speculation, an aloofness which is possibly of the same character as her detachment from the whole classic world. "The Modern Englishwoman has in no way been subdued to the civilisations of Greece and Rome; her cry still resounds: 'Let them see no wisdom but in Thy eternal law, no beauty but in holiness.'" Perhaps woman is never quite self-forgetful enough for frank expression of her feeling, save under the passionate impulse of poetry. True, such prose writers as Charlotte Bronte and George Eliot at the height of their argument overleap common bounds; "but," says Mrs. Green, " it may be doubted whether there is any woman save Christina Rossetti (and, within her own limits, Emily Bronte), whose sincerity has never faltered, and whose ardent soul has- constantly scorned to wear the livery of any pas- sion save its own." Woman is an anarchist of the deepest dye; she has allied herself with the poor, and all who like herself were seeking some- thing different from that which they knew, and the two great religions which have expressed tha feminine side of feeling, the Buddhist and the Christian, have been sustained by her ardour; Stoicism has been routed, and the enormous value supposed to attach to each separate being, the importance of life and death, have been given a prominence such as was never before known— and this has been mainly done by woman, who is herself perhaps Nature's chief witness to the truth that humauity is not the centre of the universe. And the future? The feminine as opposed to the masculine forces in the modern world are becoming more and more decisive in human affairs; but " if woman is to deliver her true message, or to be the apostle of a new era, she must throw aside the curiosity of the stranger and the licence of the anarchist. The history and philosophy of man must be the very alphabet of her studies, and she must speak the language of the world to which she is the high ambassador, not as a barbarian or foreigner, but as a skilled and fine interpreter. From culture she must learn deeper lessons than ' Taste,' and the Reason which in the last resort must give stability to the shadows projected by her instinct must be hon- ourably reckoned with." May not poor poetry presume to be " like things of the season gay 'r1" asks Mr. Le Gallienne. He is pleading for an adequate recognition, at this Jubilee season, of the fact that in nothing has the Victorian era juster reason to pride itself than in its literature. Novelists live in castles, build mansions for themselves, and are generally self-supporiing; for the most part poets must either be supported, or, in the process of earning their honest livings, surely and swiftly cease to be poets. The poet only wants to be fed—not for idleness, but, like every other worker, for the ## p. 54 (#464) ############################################# 54 THE AUTHOR. service he does the community. State support being out of the question—" a proposal more appropriate for the Millennium than the Jubilee" —Mr. Le Gallienne addresses his appeal less to the nation than to the nation's millionaires. To these he shows such a way of originality in the spending of their money as will lift them at once out of the mere rabble of millionaires. He puts it thus: ft year's rest for these men, 0 millionaires, a year's rest —to work in. How easy it were for you to give them all five years' rest—to work in, mind!—a whole life's rest. With the stroke of a pen yon conld endow all the genius that deserves and needs endowment; yon conld be the virtual founders of Twentieth Century English Litera- ture! .£50,000 invested at 4 per cent, would provide eight poets with JB250 a year for life; and what is £50,000, seriously speaking, to pay for the honour of doing so great a servioe to your country? . . . Have you not said that you would spend more on your stables than the sum I . ask? Or if one of you cannot Bee your way, how about a syndicate of Maecenases P The Spectator differs a little from Professor Courthope in the examples he has cited of the "vast growth of individual self-consciousness" as one of the main causes of the poetical deca- dence. The poets were Matthew Arnold, Algernon Swinburne, and Eudyard Kipling. As to the latter two, the Spectator "should not have thought that, whatever their faults may be, there was any exaggerated element of self-conscious- ness in either of them "; and as to Arnold, with whom the article deals principally, the writer argues that the "individual self-consciousness" in his poems was not of the kind fatal, or other- wise than exalting, to his genius as a writer, and that, in fact, Wordsworth is often guiltier of the fatal kind of self-consciousness — that which throws up the oddities and unmeaning eccentri- cities of individuals, instead of bringing out more fully the characteristics of human nature at large—than Arnold. As evidences that the self-consciousness is not of the kind which dwells on what is petty and egotistic in the poet's mind, the writer instances " Empedocles on Etna," and the lines in " The Scholar Gipsy " which express the craving of the Oxford student for a calm life. Pidgin English is discussed by Colonel Shaw (in an article in the New Revieie for May, which we had no space to notice last month), who locates the birthplace of this dialect as Canton. It is so easily learned that it i3 popular with the native hangers-on of the English. English merchants find it profitable too, because while it takes six years to learn the Chinese language (which has eighteen dialects, in addi- tion to the Mandarin, or Court, dialogue), Pidgin can be acquired in as many months—and it serves -their turn. At Hong Kong, in spite of official discountenance, Canton English still holds its own. At Canton and various coast settlements the Chinese have regular schools and classes in which it is taught, and it is believed that similar arrangements exist, under the rose, in our colony of Hong Kong itself. The vocabulary is made up of three classes of words: (1) words purely English; (2) words purely Chinese, a very small proportion; and (3) words of doubtful parentage. The word •' pidgin" means "business." Thus "joss-pidgin" is divine worship; "singsong pidgin," theatricals; "coolie-pidgin," work of a labourer; "too muchie pidgin," press of work. "My" stands for " I or me "; "you" is used as in English; "he" does duty for he, him, she, her, or it. There are no genders. The possessive adjectives and pronouns are formed by the addi- tion of the word "belong," so that "belong to pidgin" means "his or her business." "That" and " this " are used much as in English, but the former also takes the place of our "the." "Number one" is the phrase for excellence or superiority either in a person or a thing. Thus, the Bishop of Victoria is ordinarily described in Hong Kong as "that number one heaven-pidgin man." When the youth in the missionary school is puzzled by difficulties in the study of pure English, he is apt to seek refuge in the easier Pidgin, and it is told of one convert that he could not be made to understand the Psalm for the day: "Why do the heathen so furiously rage together:" until his European teacher rendered the line into Chinese, when as the meaning dawned upon him he broke out, to the great scandal of all present: "My savee: what for that Heathen man makee too muchie bobbely." The popularity of the dialect is remarkable, although in the Colonial Government schools at Hong Kong every possible effort is made in the opposite direction :— It is spoken not only by the English residents in com- municating with their servants and employees, but also by the merchants and visitors to China of all other nations. The Dutch captains who voyage to Hong Kong from Batavia, with little knowledge of our pure vernacular, are often excel- lent hands at Pidgin. The French and Germans make use of it with few exceptions, and learn it on arrival quite as a distinct study. In the New Century Mrs. Meade replies to criticism of the proposed '• school of fiction," holding that it would serve to weed o.it the incapable, the weak, and the commonplace novelists; and Sir Walter Besant states his opinion that a " School of Literature and Com- position" would raise the standard of literary art, and allow clever young writers to have a systematic study of English literature, style, logic, and the art of putting things. ## p. 55 (#465) ############################################# THE AUTHOR. 55 Sir Herbert Maxwell gives an account in Black- tcood's of the real D'Artagnan, from whose memoirs Dumas's famous trilogy was written. He was a great intriguer, a great lover, and a great warrior. "You will always be the same, Sir," said Mazarin to him; "the first petticoat— and serious matters fly out of the window." THE BOOKS OF THE MONTH. [Mat 24 to June 23—219 Books.] Adams, D. C. 0., and Carter. T. T. The Salnta and Missionaries of the Anglo-Saxon Era. First series. Mowbray. Allen, Grant Cities of Belgium. (Historical Guide). 8/6 net. Richards. Allen, James Lane. The Choir Invisible. 6/- Macmillan. Ames, P. W. The Mirror of the Sinful Soul. A translation by Queen Elizabeth when eleven years of age. 10 6 net. Afiher. Anglican Pulpit Library. Vol. VI:—The SnndajB after Trinity. 15/- H odder and Stoughton. Armstrong, Lord. Electric Movement in Air and Water, with Theoretical Inferences. 30/- net. Smith, Elder. Armstrong, G. F. S. Queen, Empress, and Empire. Poem. 6/- Marcus Ward. Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society. Art and Life and the Building and Decoration of Cities. 6/- Rivington, Percival. Avellng, F. W. Who was Jesus Christ? and other Questions. 6'- Kegan Paul- Aubyn, Alan St. The Wooing of May. 8/6. White. Baker, II. F. Abel's Theorem nod the Allied Theory, including the Theory of the Theta Functions. 2-1/- net. Clay. Bangs, J. E. The Pursuit of the House-Boat. 2/- Osgood. Barkiy, F. A. Among Boers and Basutos and with Barkly's Horse. 2 6. Roxburghe Press. Barton, D. P., and Cherry, K- R. The Land Law (Ireland) Act, 1896. Dublin: J. Falconer. Becke, Louis. Pacific Tales. 6/- Unwin. Bedford, Duke of, and Pickering, 8. U. Report on the Working and Results of the Woburn Experimental Fruit Farm since its Estab- lishment. 5/- Eyre and Spottiswoode. Berkeley, M. Empty Pockets and Other Stories. 1/6. E. Vaughan and Co. Besant, Sir Walter. The Rise of the Empire. 1/6. Marshall. Bishop, M. C. Memoirs of Mrs. TTrnuhart. 6/- Kegan Paul. Blaikie, W. B. Itinerary of Prince Charles Edward Stuart. 1745-6. Scottish Historical Society. Blavatsky, H. P. The Secret Doctrine. Vol. III. 15 - net. Thcosophical Publishing Society. Bolssevain, G. M. The Monetary Situation in 1897. Macmillan. Bold re wood, Rolf. My Run Home. 6/- Macmillan. Borlase, W. C. The Dolmens of Ireland. 105, - Chapman. Brandis, Sir D. Indian Forestry. Woking: Oriental University Institute. Briggs, Sir J. H. (the late). Naval Administrations, 1827 to 1892. 21.'-. Low. Brown, A. M. Moliereand the Medical Associations. 6 - The Cotton Press. Brunton,T. L. Lectures on the Action of Medicines. 10/6 net. Macmillan. Burden, H. C. Burdett's Hospitals and Charities, 1897. 6/- ScientihV Press. Burke, A. P. Family Records. 42/- net. Harrison. Burn and, F. C. The Z. Z. G. Round and About the Kentish Coast. 2 6. Black. Campbell, Robert (ed.). Ruling Cases. Vol. XL 33 - Stevens. Carlyle, Thomas. Montaigne and Other Essays, chiefly Biographical. Now first collected. Foreword by S. R. Crockett. 8 6 net. Gowans. Chamberlain's (Right Hon. J.) Foreign and Colonial Speeches. 3/6. Routledge. Charles, R. H. The Assumption of Moses. 7/6. Black. Chat field-Taylor. H. C. The Land or the Castanet. 5 - Gay and Bird. Chaytor, H. J. The Light of the Eye. 8 6. Digby, Long. Clark, A. C. Clinical Manual of Mental Diseases. 10 6. Balliere, Tindall. Cleeve, Lucas. Lazarus. 6/- Hutchinson Clutterbuck, G. W. In India; or Bombay the Beautiful. Ideal Publishing Union. Coates, Ante. Rle's Diary. 8/6. Chatto Cook, E. C. London and Environs. 3 6 net. Llangollen: Darlington and Co-. Copinger, Walter A The Bible and its Transmission. 106/- net. Sotberan. Corelli, M. Jane: A Social Incident 2/- Hutchinson. Courthope, W. J. Ode on the Completion of the Sixtieth Tear of the Reign of Her Majesty Queen Victoria. 2/6. Frowde. Crawford, Marion. A Rose of Yesterday. 6/- Macmillan. Crofton, F. B. (Nova Scotia). For Closer Union [of Britain and America]. Low. Crothers, T. D., and others. The Centenary of the Methodist New Connexion. G. Burroughs. Crow, M. F. (ed.). Elizabethan Sonnet-Cycles. 5/. Kegan, Paul. Dale, T. F. The Game of Polo. 21/- net. Constable. D'Aurevilly, J. A. B. (trans, by Douglas Ainslie). Of Dandyism and of George Brummell. 5 - net. Dent, Deland, Margaret The Wisdom of Fools. 6/- Longmans. Denny, G. A. 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Title A name given to the resource The Author Subject The topic of the resource The Author Description An account of the resource A digitised run of the Society of Authors' monthly periodical, The Author, 1890–1914, made available together for the first time. Currently users can browse issues and <a href="https://historysoa.com/items/browse?search=&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bjoiner%5D=and&advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=51&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Index&collection=&type=&tags=&exhibit=&date_search_term=&submit_search=Search+For+Items&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) 1897-06-01 Volume 8 Issue 1 Pages Page range in volume 1–28 Ngram Date Version of the date in YYYYMMDD format for use by the Ngram plugin 18970601 Ngram Text Version of the text with no HTML formatting for use by the Ngram plugin TLhe Hutbor* (The Organ of the Incorporated Society of Authors. Monthly.) CONDUCTED BY WALTER BESANT. Vol. Vni.—No. i.] JUNE i, 1897. [Pbice Sixpence. CONT MM NoOee», Ac, 1 From the Committee 8 Literary Property— 1. Copyright (Amendment) Bill * 2. Denmark and the Union 8 3. The Paria Conference 8 4. Literary Property In Russia 8 4. Tanchnitz Editions 8 New York Letter. By Norman Hapgood 9 Notes from a Duchy. By Robert H. Sherard 11 The Friends of Charles Lamb I2 Notes and News. By the Editor 1* The Baling Passion 1* Moods—Tenses—Voices ,5 ENTS. PA9K A Flemish Saga. By H. G. Koene U Subjunctive Mood: Its Present Day Dae 17 Books and their Keepers 18 Personal 19 From " Poems " by 8. L. E 21 A Suggested Beconstitution. By F. H. Perry Coste 21 Book Talk 22 Literature in the Periodicals 24 Correspondence —1. The Output of Authors. 2. The Moi-meme in Journalism. 8. The Criticism of "Dolomite Strongholds." 4. A Good Word for Editors. 5. Answers tc some of the Questions in "A Self-Eiamination Paper for Candid Critics." 2S The Books of the Month 17 PUBLICATIONS OF THE SOCIETY. 1. The Annual Eeport. That for January 1897 can be had on application to the Secretary. 2. The Author. A Monthly Journal devoted especially to the protection and maintenance of Literary Property. Issued to all Members, 6s. 6d. per annum. Back numbers are offered at the following prices: Vol. I., io«. 6d. (Bound); Vols. II., HI., and IV., 8«. 6d. each (Bound); Vol. V., 6s. 6d. (Unbound). 3. 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With Extracts from the Eeport of the Commission of 1878, and an Appendix containing the Berne Convention and the American Copyright Bill. By J. M. Lely. Eyre and Spottiswoode. is. 6d. 8. The Society of Authors. A Record of its Action from its Foundation. By Walteb Besant (Chairman of Committee, 1888—1892). i*. 9. The Contract of Publication in Germany, Austria, Hungary, and Switzerland. By Ernst Lunge, J.U.D. 2s. 6d. ## p. (#406) ################################################ 11 AD VER TISEMENTS. ®t)e $ociefp of Jtuffrors (gncotporateft). PRESIDENT. g-zeoirg-ie: isdiEiaEXJiTii. COUNCIL. S.I. I The Earl of Desabt. Austin Dobson. a. conan doyle, m.d. A. W. Duboubg. Pbof. Michael Foster, F.E.S. D. W. Feeshfield. Richard Garnett, C.B., LL.D. Edmund Gobse. H. Rider Haooard. Thomas Hardy. Anthony Hope Hawkins. , P.C. I Jerome K. Jerome. BuDYABD KlPLING. Prof. E. Bay Lankester, F.E.S. W. E. H. Lecky. J. M. Lely. Mrs. E. Lynn Linton. Eev. W. J. Loftie, F.S.A. Sir A. C. Mackenzie, Mus.Doo. Pbof. J. M. D. Meiklejohn. Hon. Counsel — E. M. Underdown Sir Edwin Arnold, K.C.I.E., C Alfred Austin. J. M. Barbie. A. W. X Beckett. Bobert Bateman. F. E. Beddard, F.E.S. Sib Henry Bergne, E.C.M.G. Sir Walter Besant. Augustine Birrell, M.P. Eev. Pbof. Bonnby, F.B.S. Eight Hon. James Bryce, M.P. Eight Hon. Lord Burghclere Hall Caine. Egerton Castle, F.S.A. P. W. Clayden. Edward Clodd. W. Morris Colles. Hon. John Collieb. Sib W. Martin Conway. F. Marion Crawford. Herman C. Mebivale. Eev. C. H. Middleton-Wakk. Sir Lewis Morris. Henry Norman. Miss E. A. Ormerod. J. C. Parkinson. Eight Hon. Lobd Pirbright, F.E.S. Sir Frederick Pollock, Bart., LL.D. Walter Hebries Pollock. W. Baptists Scoones. Miss Flora L. Shaw. G. B. Sims. S. Squire Sprigge. J. J. Stevenson. Francis Storr. Prof. Jas. Sully. William Moy Thomas. H. D. Traill, D.C.L. Mrs. Humphry Ward. Miss Charlotte M. Yonge. Q.C. A W. 1 Beckett. Sib Walter Besant. Egerton Castle, F.S.A. W. Morris Colles. ART. Hon. John Collier (Chairman). Sib W. Martin Conway. M. H. Spielmann. COMMITTEE OF MANAGEMENT. Chairman—H. Eider Haggard. Sir W. Mabtin Conway. D. W. Freshfield. Anthony Hope Hawkins. J. M. Lely. SUB-COMMITTEES. MUSIC. C. Villiers Stanford, Mub.D. (Chairman). Jacques Blumenthal. J. L. Mollot. Solicitors— f Field, Boscoe, and Co., Lincoln's Inn Fields, i, G. Herbert Theing, B.A., 4, Portugal-street Sib A. C. Mackenzie, Mub.Doc. Henry Norman. Francis Storr. DEAMA. Henry Arthur Jones (Cha A. W. a Beckett. Edward Bose. OFFICES: Secretary—G. Hebbeet Theing, B.A. 4, Pobtuqal Stbebt, Lincoln's Inn Fields, W.C. IP. WATT So SO 1ST, LITERARY AGENTS, Formerly of 2, PATERNOSTER SdUARE, Have now removed to HASTINGS HOUSE, NORFOLK STREET, STRAND, LONDON", W.C. Published every Friday morning; price, without Reports, 9d.; with Reports, Is. THE LAW TIMES, the Journal of the Law and the Lawyers, which has now been established for over half a century, supplies to the Profession a complete Becord of the Progress of Legal Reforms, and of all matters affecting the Legal Profession. The Reports of the Law Times are now recognised as the most complete and efficient series published. Offices: Windsor House, Broam's-bulldings, E.O HHE AET of CHESS. By James Mason. Price 5e. L net, by post 5s. 4d. London: Horace Cox, Windsor Houbb, Bream's-buildings, E.O. THE KNIGHTS and KINGS of CHESS. By the Eev. O. A. MACDONNELL, B.A. With Portrait and 17 Dlustra tionB. Crown 8vo.t cloth boards, price 2s. fid. net. London: Horace Cox, Windsor Bouse, Bream's-buildings, E.O. ## p. 1 (#407) ############################################## tTbe Hutbor* (The Organ of the Incorporated. Society of Authors. Monthly.) CONDUCTED BY WALTER BESANT. Vol. Vin.—No. i.] JUNE i, 1897. [Pbice Sixpence. For the Opinions expressed in papers that are signed or initialled the Authors alone are responsible. None of the papers or para- graphs must be taken as expressing the collective opinions of the Committee unless they are officially signed by G. Herbert Thring, Sec. THE Secretary of the Society begs to give notice that all remittances are acknowledged by return of post, and requests that all members not receiving an answer to important communications within two days will write to him without delay. All remittances should be crossed Union Bank of London, Chancery-lane, or be sent by registered letter only. oio Communications and letters are invited by the Editor on all subjects connected with literature, but on no other sub- jects whatever. Articles which cannot be accepted are returned if stamps for the purpose accompany the MSS. GENERAL MEMORANDA. FOR some years it has been the practice to insert, in every number of The Author, certain " General Con- siderations," Warnings, Notices, &c, for the guidance of the reader. It hag been objected as regards these warnings that the trioks or frauds against which they are directed cannot all be guarded against, for obvious reasons. It is, however, well that they should bo borne in mind, and if any publisher refuses a clause of precaution he simply reveals his true character, and should be left to carry on his business in his own way. Let us, however, draw up a few of the rules to be observed in an agreement. There are three methods of dealing with literary property :— I. That of selling it outright. This is in some respects the most satisfactory, if a proper price can be obtained. But the transaction should be managed by a competent agent. II. A profit-sharing agreement. In this case the following rules should be attended to: (1.) Not to sign any agreement in which the cost of pro- duction forms a part. (2.) Not to give the publisher the power of putting the profits into his own pocket by charging for advertisements VOL. VIII. in his own organs: or by charging exchange advertise- ments. (3.) Not to allow a special charge for " office expenses," unless the same allowance is made to the author. (4.) Not to give up American, Colonial, or Continental rights. (5.) Not to give up serial or translation rights. (6.) Not to bind yourself for future work to any publisher. As well bind yourself for the future to any one solicitor or doctor! (7.) To stamp the agreement. HI. The royalty system. In this system, whioh has opened the door to a most amazing amount of overreaching and trading on the author's ignorance, it is above all things necessary to know what the proposed royalty means to both sides. It is now possible for an author to ascertain approximately and very nearly the truth. From time to time the very important figures connected with royalties are published in The Author. Readers can also work out the figures themselves from the "Cost of Production." Let no one, not even the youngest writer, sign a royalty agreement without finding out what it gives the publisher as well as himself. It has been objected that these precautions presuppose a great success for the book, and that very few books indeed attain to this great success. That is quite true: but there is always this uncertainty of literary property that, although the works of a great many authors carry with them no risk at all, and although of a great many it is known within a few copies what will be their minimum circulation, it is not known what will be their maximum. Therefore every author, for every book, should arrange on the ohanoe of a success which will not, probably, come at all; but which may come. The four points whioh 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 whioh belong to the author. We are advised that this is a right, in the nature of a common law right, which cannot be denied or withheld. (3.) That there shall be no secret profits. (4.) That nothing shall be charged which has not been actually paid—for instance, that there shall be no charge for advertisements in the publisher's own organs and none for exchanged advertisements; and that all discounts shall be duly entered. If these points are carefully looked after, the author may rest pretty well assured that he is in right hands. At the game time he will do well to send his agreement to the secretary before he signs it. B 2 ## p. 2 (#408) ############################################## 2 THE AUTHOR. HOW TO USE THE SOCIETY. I. IiTVEBY member has a right to ask for and to receive Pj advice upon his agreements, his choice of a pub- lisher, or any dispute arising in the conduct of his business or the administration of his property. If the advice sought is snch as can be given beBt by a solicitor, the member has a right to an opinion from the Society's solicitors. If the case is such that Counsel's opinion is desirable, the Com- mittee will obtain for him Counsel's opinion. All this without any cost to the member. 2. Bemember that questions connected with copyright and publisher's agreements do not generally fall within the experience of ordinary solicitors. Therefore, do not scruple to use the Society first—our solicitors are continually engaged upon such questions for us. 3. Send to the office copies of past agreements and past accounts with the loan of the books represented. This is in order to ascertain what has been the nature of your agree- ments, and the results to author and publisher respectively so far. The Secretary will always be glad to have any agreements, new or old, for inspection and note. The infor- mation thus obtained may prove invaluable. 4. If the examination of your previous business trans- actions by the Secretary proves unfavourable, you should take advice as to a change of publishers. 5. Before signing any agreement whatever, Bend the pro- posed document to the Society for examination. 6. The Society is acquainted with the methods, and—in the case of fraudulent houses—the trioks of every publish- ing firm in the country. 7. Bemember always that in belonging to the Society you are fighting the battles of other writers, even if you are reaping no benefit to yourself, and that you are advancing the best interests of literature in promoting the indepen- dence of the writer. 8. Send to the Editor of The Author notes of everything important to literature that yon may hear or meet with. 9. The committee have now arranged for the reception of members' agreements and their preservation in a fireproof safe. The agreements will, of course, be regarded as con- fidential documents to be read only by the Secretary, who will keep the key of the safe. The Society now offers:—(1) To read and advise upon agreements and publishers. (2) To stamp agreements in readiness for a possible action npon them. (3) To keep agreements. (4) To enforce payments due according to agreements. THE AUTHORS' SYNDICATE. MEMBERS are informed: 1. That the Authors' Syndicate takes charge of the business of members of the Society. That it submits MSS. to publishers and editors, oonclndes agree- ments, examines, passes, and collects accounts, and, gene- rally, relieves members of the trouble of managing business details. 2. That the terms upon whioh its services can be secured will be forwarded upon detailed application. 3. That the Authors' Syndicate works only for those members of the Society whose work possesses a market value. 4. That the Syndicate can only undertake any negotiations whatever on the distinct understanding that those negotia- tions are placed exclusively in its hands, and that nil communications relating thereto are referred to it. 5. That clients can only be seen by the Director by appointment, and that, when possible, at least two days' notice should be given. 6. That every attempt is made to deal with all communi- cations promptly. That stamps should, in nil cases, be sent to defray postage. 7. That the Authors' Syndicate does not invito MSS. without previous correspondence; does not hold itself responsible for MSS. forwarded without notice; and that in all cases MSS. must be accompanied by stamps to defray postage. 8. That the Syndicate undertakes arrangements for lectures by Borne of the leading members of the Sooiety; that it has a "Transfer Department" for the sale and purchase of journals and periodicals; and that a " Register of Wants and Wanted" is open. Members are invited to communicate their requirements to the Manager. There is an Honorary Advisory Committee, whose services will be called upon in any case of dispute or difficulty. It is perhaps necessary to state that the members of the Advisory Committee have no pecuniary interest whatever in the Syndicate. NOTICES. THE Editor of The Author begs to remind members of the Society that, although the paper is sent to them free of charge, the oost of producing it would be a very heavy charge on the resources of the Society if a great many members did not forward to the Secretary the modest 6s. 6</. subscription for the year. The Editor is always glad to receive short papers and communications on all subjects connected with literature from members and others. Nothing can do more good to the Society than to make The Author complete, attractive, and interesting. Will thoBe who are willing to aid in this work send their names and the special subjects on which they are willing to write? Communications for The Author 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 Sooiety or not, are invited to communicate to the Editor any points connected with their work which it would be advisable in the general interest to publish. Members and others who wish their MSS. read are requested not to send them to the Office without previously communicating with the Secretary. The utmost practicable despatch is aimed at, and MSS. are read in the order in whioh they are received. It must also be distinctly under- stood that the Sooiety does not, under any circumstances, undertake the publication of MSS. The Authors' Club is now open in its new premises, at 3, Whitehall-court, Charing Cross. Address the Secretary for information, rules of admission, Ac. Will members take the trouble to ascertain whether they have paid their subscriptions for the year p If they will do thiB, and remit the amount, if still unpaid, or a banker's order, it will greatly assist the Secretary, and save him the trouble of sending out a reminder. Members are most earnestly entreated to attend to the following warning. It is a most foolish and may be a most disastrous thing to enter into an agreement binding for a term of years. Let them ask themselves if they would give a solicitor the collection of their rents for five years to come, whatever his conduot, whether he was honest ## p. 3 (#409) ############################################## THE AUTHOR. 3 or dishonest? Of coarse they would not. Why then hesitate for a moment when they are asked to sign them- selves into literary bondage for three or five years P Those who possess the "Cost of Production" are requested to note that the cost of binding has advanoed 15 per cent. This means, for those who do not like the trouble of "doing sums," the addition of three shillings in the pound on this head. In other words, if the cost of binding is set down in our book at eight pounds, to this must now be added twenty-four shillings more, so that it now stands at Jtg 48. The figures in our book are as near the exact truth as can be procured; but a printer's, or a binder's, bill is so elastic a thing that nothing more exact can be arrived at. Some remarks have been made upon the amount charged in the " Cost of Production" for advertising. Of course, we have not included any sums whioh may be charged for inserting advertisements in the publisher's own magazines, or in other magazines by exchange. As agreements too often go, there is nothing to prevent the publisher from sweeping the whole profits o a book into his own pocket, by inserting any number of advertisements in his own magazines, and by exchanging with others. Some there are who call this a form of fraud; it is not known what those who practise this method of swelling their own profits call it. FROM THE COMMITTEE. I. THE short Copyright Bill, drafted on behalf of the Society of Authors, is now in Lord Monkswell's hands. The fact that the International Copyright sections settled at the Paris Conference last year have passed into law in Germany was brought to the notice of the Committee at their meeting. The Committee were unable, owing to the short notice, to send a representative to the meeting of the Association Littcraire et Artistique Inter- nationale at Monaco at Easter. They, however, informed the secretary of the Association that they would be willing to express an opinion on any subject the Association chose to put before the Society. The three sub-committees are now complete, and consist of the following gentlemen :— Aet.—The Hon. John Collier (chairman), Sir W. Martin Conway, and Mr. M. H. Spiel- mann. Music.—Professor C. Villiers Stanford (chair- man), Mr. Jacques Blumenthal, and Mr. J. L. Molloy. Drama.—Mr. Henry Arthur Jones (chairman), Mr. A. W. A'Beckett, and Mr. Edward Bose. A bankruptcy petition has been presented against Messrs. Horace and Beresford Whitcomb as representing the Neic Saturday. The Society is acting on behalf of its members, and repre- sents claims amounting to between two and three hundred pounds. The course of events will be reported from time to time in The Author. II. Me. E. H. Lacon Watson v. Catholic Gazette (Limited). An interesting case, supported by the Society, came up for trial at the City of London Court on May 11. Unfortunately, the defendants did not appear, so the judgment was given by default; but it may be useful to members of the Society to state the facts of the case. The plaintiff was asked by the editor of the defendant paper to write an article, which article was written and accepted by the editor, for a sum agreed upon. Subsequently, the editor resigned his post, and, when the plaintiff wrote to the defendant paper, he received a reply that the defendant paper did not hold itself responsible, as the editor had no power to make financial arrangements. The plaintiff had no notice whatever of this, and brought the matter before the Society. The Society, on writing to the defendant paper, received the same response; and thereupon the plaintiff, with the support of the Society, com- menced action in the City of London Court. The defendants, on the case coming up for trial, did not appear, and judgment, as stated above, went by default. It would have been interesting to hear the defence of the defendants, as it is, without doubt, a recognised custom of all papers that the editor, as agent of the proprietor, is capable and respon- sible for the making of contracts that refer to the literary contents of the paper. The amount at stake was a small one, but the Society felt bound to carry it through, as a matter of principle was involved. m. A Copyright Case. It seems to me that the following facts should be made known, in the interest of all authors who are concerned in the question of copyright. On March 28 a poem from one of my books was printed in the Weekly Sun. No acknow- ledgment of its source was appended, and the name affixed was E. Nesbitt (the name, I believe, of another author). I wrote to the editor point- ing out these facts and asking for a cheque to the amount of my usual fee for the use of a poem. I received in reply a letter stating that it was an advantage to an author to have his poems " taken" by the TVceftly Sun, and that the editor " preferred ## p. 4 (#410) ############################################## 4 THE AUTHOR. to regard the advantage as mutual." To this I replied that the question of advantage need not be considered, as no acknowledgment of the source of the poem had been made, and the name was mis-spelled; and again I asked for a cheque. The reply from the Weekly Sun regretted Mr. Charles Watney's inability to en- dorse this suggestion. Then I wrote remarking that as yet I had claimed no damages, and named a day on which I should, unless I received a cheque, place the matter in the hands of my solicitor. By return of post came the cheque, together with the following interesting letter, in which Mr. Charles Watney plainly puts the alternatives— robbery or boycott. The boycott of the Weekly Sun is perhaps not important, but the prin- ciple is. The Weekly Sun, Temple House, Temple-avenue. London, E.C. April 19, 1897. Madam,—As I have no wish to protract this unpleasant- ness, I enclose the oheque for £2 2s. At the same time I take leave to reaffirm my view of the position, and, to avoid any recurrence of any incident of the kind, have (riven instructions that no future reference, either direct or indirect, shall be made to you or your works in the numerous publi- cations with whioh I am connected.—Tours truly, Chah. Watnhy. Comment is superfluous. E. Nesbit. Three Cables, Grove Park, Kent. LITERARY PROPERTY. L—Copyright (Amendment) Bill, [dbaft memoeandtjm.] THIS Bill is intended to amend the most serious defects in present law of copy- right. Its provisions do not materially differ from the provisions on the same points contained in the Bill introduced by Lord John Manners (on behalf of the then Government) in the House of Commons in 1879, and in the Bill introduced by Lord Monkswell in the House of Lords in 1891. Both those Bills were mainly founded on the Report of the Royal Commission on Copyright of 1878. Lord Monkswell's Bill passed a second reading in the House of Lords. The amendments are directed to the following points :— I. MAGAZINE COPYRIGHT. Since the passing of the Copyright Act, 1842, this kind of copyright property has probably increased a hundredfold in value and importance, both to authors and publishers, much literature of high merit being constantly published in the first instance in magazine form. The 18th section of the Act of 1842, which deals with the subject, is expressed in language so obscure as to be almost unintelligible, and defers the author's right of separate publication to the end of a period of twenty-eight years. It is proposed that that section should be repealed, and that the copyright should be vested in the author, subject to the following qualifications: (1) The proprietor of the magazine to have the sole right of publishing as part of the magazine. (2) The author not to publish separately until after the expiration of three years from publication. It is further proposed, as recommended by the Royal Commission (see report, paragraph 43), that the alterations should be retrospective. The entire copyright in encyclopaedias is vested in the publisher as before, but in a separate section. 11.—newspapers. It has been thought advisable to make the Copy- right Acts and the present Bill expressly apply to newspapers. It was at one time (see Cox v. Land and Water Co., L. Rep. 2 Eq., 324) con- sidered that the Copyright Act, 1842, did not extend to newspapers, but later decisions (see Walter v. Howe, 17 Ch. Div. 608; Trade Aux- iliary Co.'s Case, 40 Ch. Div, 625) have overruled Cox v. Land and Water Co., and have placed the applicability of the Act to newspapers beyond the possibility of doubt. in. LECTURES. The Lectures Copyright Act, 1835, gives to the lecturer the exclusive right of publication, but requires a preliminary notice to justices of the peace, and probably does not apply to sermons. It is proposed to repeal this Act, and to give the lecturer (including the preacher) copyright with- out any useless formalities, but permitting a newspaper report unless expressly prohibited by the lecturer. IV. ABRIDGMENTS. It is now easy without any infringement of copyright in a few weeks, by skilful abridgment, to appropriate the fruit of the labours of many years, and to compete with the original copyright, bought and published at a very great expense. This will be prevented by the simple enactment that copyright shall carry with it the right to abridge. The reputation of the author is also safeguarded by a provision that a disclaimer of his authorship of the abridgment shall, if required by the author, be printed on the title- page; and that the abridgment shall not be issued without the author's consent in cases where ## p. 5 (#411) ############################################## THE AUTHOR. 5 the author retains an interest in the sale (by royalties or otherwise) though not in the copy- right. V.—DRAMATISATION OF NOVELS. As there is no copyright in ideas, it is easy for any person to take the whole plot of a novel and practically reproduce the novel itself in dramatic form without any legal infringement of copyright, and a similar injury can be inflicted by the novelisation of dramas. It is proposed to convert these moral into legal infringements of copyright. Owners of dramatic copyright are also given a summary remedy against infringement which is much needed, as pirates are often difficult to detect, or are not worth the expense of an action in the High Court when detected; and the remedy is to be available against those who "per- mit " as well as those who "cause" the repre- sentation. VI. ASCERTAINMENT OF THE DATE OF PUBLICATION. The present term of copyright is for the life of the author, and seven years after his death, or forty-two years after first publication, whichever may be the longer period. To ascertain the date of first publication is always difficult and fre- quently impossible. It is proposed, therefore, that the British Museum authorities should com- bine with the publisher of every book in so certi- fying the date of "first publication" that no doubt" should be possible, and that a certified copy of the entry of the date of publication should be primdfacie evidence of that date in all courts. The British Museum, by the 6th section of the Act of 1842, is entitled to a free copy of every book published. The supply of these free copies has long been felt to be a considerable burden on the producers of large and expensive works, and it is submitted that the British Museum may fairly be asked to perform the small but useful service of certifying the date of a first publication. COPYBIGHT AMENDMENT BILL. Arrangement of Clauses. Definitions. 1. Definitions of "book " and " copyright." Copyright in Periodical Works. 2. Copyright in articles in periodical works. 3. Registration of articles by anthor. 4. Retrospective operation of clauses 2 and 3. 5. Registration by owner of periodical work. 6. Copyright in articles in encyclopedias. Copyright in Lectures. 7. Copyright in lectures as in book. Abridgements. 8. Abridgements without consent of copyright owner to be infringement of copyright. Dramatisation and Novelisation. 9. Dramatisation of novels to be infringement of copyright. 10. Conversion or adaptations of dramas to be infringe- ment of copyright. Summary Remedy for Infringement of Right of Repre- sentation of Drama. 11. Liability to fine of person representing drama without consent of owner of performing right. Date of Publication of Book. 12. Date of publication of book to be furnished to and certified by British Mnsenm. Repeal. Suspension in Colonies. Short Title. Com- mencement. 13. Repeal of Lectures Copyright Act, and sects. 18 and 19 of Copyright Act, 1842. 14. Power to suspend Aot, or any part thereof, in British possessions. 15. Short title. 16. Commencement of Aot. Schedules: 1. Enactments repealed. 2. Form of entry of periodical work. A Bill to Amend the Law relating to Copyright in Periodical Works, Lectures, Abridgments, and otherwise. Whereas it is desirable to amend the Law of Copyright in relation to Periodical Works, Lec- tures, Abridgments, and otherwise. Be it therefore enacted by the Queen's Most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the Authority of the same, as follows:— DEFINITIONS. 1. In this Act and in the Copyright Acts (i) "Book" shall include " newspaper." (ii) "Copyright" in the case of books shall include the exclusive right of translating, abridging, and (as regards works of fictiou in prose or in verse) of drama- tising the same, (iii.) "Copyright" in the case of dramatic works shall include the exclusive right of converting or adapting the same into any other •form of work whether dramatic or otherwise. COPYRIGHT IN PERIODICAL WORKS. 2. Where any article, essay, poem, or other work is first published in and forms part of a review, magazine, or other periodical, the copy- right in such article, e<say, poem, or other work shall, in the absence of any agreement in writing to the contrary, be the property of the author thereof. Provided that where the author is paid for the writing of such work as aforesaid by or on ## p. 6 (#412) ############################################## 6 THE AUTHOR. behalf of the owner of the review, magazine, or other periodical, then :— (i.) The owner of the review, magazine, or periodical shall, during the subsistence of copyright in such article, essay, poem, or other work, have the sole right of publish- ing the same as part of the review, maga- zine, or periodical, but not otherwise, (ii.) Neither the author nor his assigns shall print or publish such article, essay, poem, or other work in any form until after the expiration of three years from its first publication in the review, magazine, or periodical, and any printing or publica- tion contrary to this provision shall be an infringement of the rights of the owner of the review, magazine, or periodical. 3. The author of any such article, essay, poem, or other work as aforesaid, or his assigns, may, either before or after the expiration of the said term of three years, register the same at Stationers' Hall as a separate work, and shall thereupon be entitled to restrain and obtain damages for any infringement of the copyright therein as a sepa- rate work. 4. The provisions of sections 2 and 3 shall apply to articles, essays, poems, and other works first published in a review, magazine, or other periodical, whether such publication took place before or after the commencement of this Act, and in the case of articles, essays, poems, or other works first published before the commencement of this Act, the copyright and other rights therein shall as from the commencement of this Act be held and enjoyed in accordance with the pro- visions of those sections. 5. (i.) The owner of a review, magazine, or other periodical may register the same at Stationers' Hall, and shall thereupon be entitled to restrain and obtain damages for any infringement of his rights in the same or any part thereof (ii.) Registration of a review, magazine, or other periodical shall be in the form set forth in the second schedule hereto, or as near thereto as circumstances will permit. (iii.) It shall be necessary to register only the first number, volume, or part of a review, magazine, or other periodical published in numbers, volumes, or parts. ^ 6. Where any article, essay, poem, or other work is first published in and forms part of an encyclopaedia, or similar collective work, and the author is paid for the writing thereof by or on behalf of the owner of the encyclopaedia, the copyright in such article, essay, poem, or other work shall, in the absence of any agreement in writing to the contrary, belong to the owner of the encyclopaedia. COPYRIGHT IN LECTURES. 7. The author of any lecture shall be entitled to copyright therein as if the same were a book, subject to the following modifications and additions :— (i.) The first delivery of a lecture shall be deemed to be the first publication there- of. (ii.) So long as a lecture has not been pub- lished as a book by or with the consent of the author, the copyright therein shall include the exclusive right of delivering the same in public. (iii.) It shall not be necessary to register the copyright in a lecture which has not been published as a book by or with the con- sent of the author. (iv.) A report of a lecture delivered in public in the ordinary current edition of a news- paper, after the delivery of such lecture, shall not be deemed an infringement of the copyright unless the author, before delivering the same, gives public notice that he prohibits the same being reported, but no such report shall be deemed to be a publication of the lecture within the meaning of sub-sect. ii. (v.) The notice referred to in the last preced- ing clause may be given either by affixing the same to the door of the place where the lecture is delivered, or by advertise- ment in one or more newspapers published and circulating in the district. (vi.) The term "Lecture" shall include apiece for recitation, address, or sermon. ABRIDGMENTS. 8. (i.) It shall be an infringement of the copy- right in a book if any person shall with- out the consent of the owner of the copy- right print or otherwise multiply or cause to be printed or otherwise multiplied any abridgment of such book, or shall export or import any abridgment so unlawfully printed, or shall sell, publish, or expose for sale or hire, or cause to be sold, published, or exposed for sale or hire, any abridgment, knowing or having reasonable grounds to suspect that the same has been so unlawfully printed or imported. (ii.) Where the author of a book has sold the copyright thereof in consideration ## p. 7 (#413) ############################################## THE AUTHOR. 7 (whether wholly or in part) of a royalty, or a share of the profits to be derived froin the publication thereof, or is other- wise notwithstanding such sale possessed of a pecuniary interest therein, such book shall not, during the continuance of the copyright therein and so long as the author shall be entitled to such royalty, share of profits, or shall be so interested as aforesaid, be abridged by the purchaser of such copyright without the consent in writing of the author or his assigns. (iii.) If the owner of the copyright in a book to the abridgment whereof the consent of the author is not required under the pre- ceding proviso, intends to publish an abridgment thereof made by some person other than the author of the original book, he shall give notice of such inten- tion to the author, if living, by registered letter directed to his best known address, and shall, if so required by such author, either state or cause to be stated on the title-page of each part or volume of the abridgment that the abridgment is not by the author of the original book, or shall in like manner state or cause to be stated the name of the maker of the abridgment. (iv.) The author of a book shall be entitled to restrain and obtain damages for any abridgment published in contravention of the above provisions of this section. DRAMATISATION. 9. In the case of a book which is a work of fiction in prose or in verse, it shall be an infringe- ment of the copyright therein if any person shall without the consent of the owner of the copyright take or colourably imitate the title of such book, or take from such book any material or substantial part of the dialogue, plot, or incidents thereof and use or convert it into or adapt it for a dramatic work, or knowing or having reasonable grounds to suspect such dramatic work to have been so made, shall publicly perform the same or permit or cause the same to be publicly performed. 10. In the case of a dramatic work it shall be an infringement of the copyright therein if any person shall without the consent of the owner of the copyright take or colourably imitate the title of such book, or take from such book the dialogue, plot, or incidents thereof, and convert or adapt them into any other form of work whether dramatic or otherwise, or knowing or having reasonable grounds to suspect any work to have been so made shall print or otherwise multiply, or cause to be printed or otherwise multiplied copies VOL. VIII. thereof for sale or exportation, or shall export or import, or sell, publish, or expose for sale or hire, or cause to be sold, published, or exposed for sale or hire, any copies thereof, or shall publicly per- form such work or permit or cause the same to be publicly performed. SUMMARY REMEDY FOR INFRINGEMENT OF DRAMATIC COPYRIGHT. 11. If any person shall represent or cause or permit any dramatic work to be represented at any place of dramatic entertainment without the consent in writing of the owner of the performing right in such work, it shall be lawful for the owner of the performing right (without preju- dice to any action for damages or other remedy he may be entitled to) to apply in a summary manner to a court of summary jurisdiction in that part of the British Dominions where such representation has taken place or where the offender dwells, and such court shall, on produc- tion of the certificate of registration, order the offender to pay a penalty not exceeding twenty pounds and costs, and such penalty shall go to the owner of the performing right by way of compensation. Provided that not more than one penalty shall be recovered in respect of each representation. DATE OF PUBLICATION. 12. (i.) Upon the delivery of a book at the British Museum, the publisher shall therewith deliver a certificate setting forth the name of the book and the date of the first publication thereof, and such certificate shall be registered in a book to be kept by an officer provided for that purpose by the trustees of the said Museum. (ii.) Such officer shall upon payment to him of the prescribed fee not exceeding 2*. 6d. give a certified copy of any entry in such book to any person requiring the same. (iii.) Such certified copy shall be prima facie evidence in all courts of the date of the first publication of the work therein referred to. (iv.) The delivery of a book at the British Museum without such certificate as afore- said shall not be deemed a compliance with the provisions of the Copyright Act, 1842, and the publisher shall be liable to the penaltv provided by section 10 of such Act. REPEAL. 13. The Acts or parts of Acts specified in the first schedule hereto are hereby repealed as from the passing of this Act, but except as hereinbefore expressly provided such repeal shall not prejudice or affect any rights acquired previously to such c ## p. 8 (#414) ############################################## 8 THE AUTHOR. repeal, and such rights may be enforced and enjoyed as if such repeal had not been made. 14. (i.) If it shall at any time appear to Her Majesty to be expedient that this Act, or any part thereof, should not apply to any British possession, it shall be lawful for Her Majesty by Order in Council to declare that this Act, or any part or parts thereof specified in such Order, shall be suspended so far as regards such British possession, either generally or during such period as may be thought expedient. (ii.) Any such Order in Council may from time to time be revoked or altered by any further Order in Council. (iii.) Every such Order in Council shall, as soon as may be after the making thereof, be published in the London Gazette, and shall take effect as from the date of such publication. (iv.) A copy of every such Order in Council shall be laid before both Houses of Parlia- ment within six weeks after the issuing thereof if Parliament is then sitting, and if not, then within six weeks after the commencement of the next session of Parliament. (v.) No such Order in Council shall affect prejudicially any right acquired at the date of its coming into operation. 15. This Act may be cited as the Copyright (Amendment) Act 1896 ; and shall be read and construed with the Copyright Acts. 16. This Act shall come into operation at the expiration of one calendar month after receiving the Royal assent. FIEST SCHEDULE. ACTS REPEALED. Sessions and Chapter Short T.tle Extent of Repeal. 5 & 6 Will. IT. 0.65 5 & 6 Vict. c. 45. Lectures Copyright The whole Act. Sections 18 & 19. Act 1835. Copyright Aot 1842. SECOND SCHEDULE. FORM OF ENTRY OF A PERIODICAL WORK. Date of Publi- cation cf nrst vol., part, or number. Title of Work Name and address of owner. Name and address of Publisher. II.—Denmark and the Union. We learn with regret from Le Droit d'Auteur that the hopes recently entertained that the kingdom of Denmark would shortly enter the Berne Union are not likely to be immediately fulfilled. A considerable number of difficulties have arisen, in consequence of opposition to any protection of the foreign author, on the part of the same persons who raised difficulties in Sweden—proprietors of newspapers, editors, and theatrical managers. Their principal arguments are the same as usual, with the ordinary varia- tions upon the increased price that translations of foreign works would command. The Danish Press, and especially the Dannebora, has made a vigorous attack upon international literary agree- ments, insisting particularly upon the injury to public education and the general culture of the people that would result from Denmark's enter- ing the Berne Union. The result has been an unfavourable vote in the Danish Parliament. At the same time the supporters of international copyright do not despair of final success. III.—The Pabis Conference. France and Switzerland have now followed the German Empire in ratifying the Acts of the Paris Conference of 1896, reforming certain articles of the Berne Convention. IV.—Literary Property in Russia. The committee of the French Socicte des Gens de Lettres has for some years past been diligently engaged in making efforts to bring about some literary convention between France and Russia. At a meeting of Dec. 21, 1896, it resolved to accredit Mme. de Wasilief with a letter to the Russian Government, authorising her to resume previous negotiations undertaken with this aim. It has also been decided that the President of the Society (M. Henri Houssaye) should write to the Minister of Public Instruction to call his attention to the interests of literary property in Russia, and to ask him to consider whether it might be now opportune to commence negotiations on this subject in combination with the Minister of Foreign Affairs. It is worth ' while to remark that, apart from the particularly friendly feeling which has of late existed between France and the Russian Empire, France has been for some time past much more forward than the other western nations to pay due attention to the ever-increasing importance of Russian literature. V.—Tauchnitz Editions. It will be good news to authors whose works are published in cheap form by the firm of Tauchnitz to know that the Cusioms House authorities have at last awakened to a sense of ## p. 9 (#415) ############################################## THE AUTHOR. 9 duty. For many years copies of Tauchnitz •editions have been introduced wholesale into England, but 'within the last few weeks a special order has been issued to all Customs officers at Dover, Folkestone, Queenborough, and Harwich, to search carefully for any concealed books, with the result that hundreds of copies are daily confis- cated. A correspondent informs us that while crossing from Calais to Dover one morning last week he witnessed a whole portmanteau full of new Tauchnitz editions seized by the Customs officers, and five minutes later a lady was dis- covered with no fewer than eighteen of the neat little volumes carefully packed at the bottom of tier trunks. In fact, our correspondent says that in almost every person's baggage there seemed -one or two of the books.—Literary World. NEW YORK LETTER. New York, May 13. MBETTNETIERE'S five lectures in New York aroused more interest among * literary people than any event which has happened within my recollection. Not only did he draw very large audiences, which nhowei the wisdom of Columbia College in chousing a public hall instead of one of the University buildings for the lectures, but what he said was the text for a great deal of private conversation about many points connected with literary criticism, and with differences in culture between Paris and New York. In one of his lectures he hinted at some of the faults of criticism in this country, particularly its lack of disinterestedness and courage. In a democracy, he thinks, there is an especial need of the highest and fairest criticism to act as a tendency against the con- fusion in ideals which grows out of the increasing number and variety of readers and the greater literary output. There is an especial danger of levelling all reputations by constant mutual praise and laudation of local writers. No sugges- tion could be more deserved. Our literary men not only rejoice in praising each other, but some of them have expressed to me the opin'on, mingled with some reproach, that to speak of a living writer, especially of a living American writer, unless what you wish to say is distinctly laudatory, is at least a breach of taste. Perhaps our desire for a national literature is responsible in part for this position, but it is hard to believe that lower motives are not part of the cause. M. Brunetiere met a popular demand by speaking freely about Zola, condemning himwith the greatest earnestness and without the least reserve for his VOL. VIII falsity to French life and his lack of the per- manent elevated qualities of style. Asked in conversation the old question about Zola's admis- sion to the Academy, M. Brunetiere answered with a laugh, " It is possible; but it will not be my fault." The story, which I believe is told in the "G-oncourt Journals," was told in answer to this remark by the man to whom Daudet related it; that Zola came to him one day and said: "This is my fiftieth birthday, and after this I intend to live. You understand, I intend to live. You others have always lived, but I have spent my life in grinding. It is my turn now." And Daudet added: "That is the man who has been telling us for so long what life is." Sarcey M. Brunetiere dismissed in a sentence, as a man who never yielded an inch to the opinion of his fellow critics, but who reversed any belief if he fflt the notions of the crowd about to shift. The most interesting of his other judgments are in the main those that will be found in his books, although his high praise of Maupassant was a sur- prise. In social intercourse M. Brunetiere noticed that conversation was less sustained than in France. If a new person joins a small group, the subject, whatever it may be, is usually dropped, and, even if there is no interruption, after one topic has been talked about for a little while it seems to die of inertia, and there is silence until another is brought up. He noticed also less charity towards other opinions, more of a desire to discuss whether another opinion is true or false than to allow each person to do the best he can in bring- ing out the interest of his own point of view, for which a generous appreciation of the points of view of others is necessary. Frank Munsey is about to follow the lead of the owner of another 10 cent magazine (S. S. McClure) in founding a publishing house. It is announced that in the fall Mr. Munsey will begin the publication of books of the quality usually sold for 1 dollar, which he will sell for 25 cents, and that his first book will have a first edition of 250,000 copies. Extravagant as the assertion sounds, it borrows some plausibility from the success which Mr. Munsey has already had as the innovator and the most successful practitioner in the field of cheap magazines. The recent death of William Taylor Adams, whose pen name was Oliver Optic, led the Chap Booh into some moralising founded on the popularity of this writer, who received no attention from the critics, but perhaps is the most widely read of American authors, certainly the most popular writer of boys' books. From the age of thirty- four to that of seventy, he wrote about 130 volumes and more than 1000 short stories, and more than two million copies of his books have c 2 ## p. 10 (#416) ############################################# IO THE AUTHOR. been sold. The Chap Book gives a flippant and not very adequate explanation that he had the good fortune to be ignored by the critics, and it backs up this explanation with quota- tions from an Advertisers' Directory, show- ing that some magazines of which nobody has ever heard have larger circulations than any of the more prominent periodicals. For in- stance, Comfort, published in Augusta, was rated at 1,252,325; the Hearthstone, of New York, at 6oo,coo; the Delineator, at 500,000; and so on. One answer to this is, that these directories must found their estimates on the statements of the publishers, which are mostly unreliable; and another answer is, that circulations of such maga- zines are largely made up of copies to give away or throw away. The Ladies' Home Journal un- doubtedly leads all of our magazines. It is rated in Lord and Taylor's "Advertisers' Directory " atover 700,000, and it probably has at least half a million genuine purchasers. McClure's and the Cosmo- politan are given 300,000 each, and Munsey's 500,000, which is too much. Harper's Monthly is given 175,000, and it probably is gradually actually approaching 150,000. The Century is supposed to be now about even with it, with Scribner's a little behind. Mr. John Corbin, one of the editors of Harper's Monthly, was dis- cussing the other day the demands of our three leading illustrated magazines. Harper's Monthly wants articles which they call " vital "—that is, which connect themselves with the practical inte- rests of a large number of people; and literary form is frankly very secondary. In carrying out this principle, it touches partly on the field of the English reviews in welcoming summary treatment of political, economical, and social questions; but within this field it will take nothing which appeals mainly to the literary man and the scholar. Scribner's Magazine, Mr. Corbin said, was lighter, caring more for literary form; the Century had no settled policy what- ever, but had made its great hit on the sensa- tion of its war articles, and was now losing it and looking about for another sensation. The editors of Harper's, on the other hand, never allow the magazine to be thrown on to one of these sudden and short waves of interest, for fear that when that subsided it would be necessary to find another sensation to save it. They believe that a greater permanent circulation will be built up by keeping almost exclusively to interests which are at once general and somewhat perma- nent, although slight variations with the current of feeling in various parts of the country are allowed. This magazine especially, with others to some extent, is becoming more and more like monthly newspapers of the better class, both in the subjects of their articles and the mode of treatment, at the same time that the dailies, especially in the Saturday and Sunday editions, become more and more like magazines, both in their general articles and in certain special literary features, such as the space now given to serials. It is impossible in a cursory letter to do justice to the most important book of the past month. In the " Literary History of the American Revo- lution," just published by G. P. Putnam's Sons, readers on both sides of the water will find much about one of the two most interesting periods of our history, which has not been accessible before. The Revolutionary period differed from that of the Civil "War, among other things, in having a more full and varied literary expression, and Professor Tyler has given us generous extracts from it, together with a clear narrative to connect them. I have already said that we have no such interesting single group of writers as the Fede- ralists, and those that immediately preceded them had much of their vigour and genuine- ness. In this first volume of Professor Tyler's History, which covers a period from 1763 to 1776, James Otis, John Adams, Philip Freneau, John Trumbull, John Dickinson, Josiah Quincy, Alexander Hamilton, Benjamin Franklin, James Paine, and Thomas Jefferson are a minority of the interesting personalities to which life is given in this volume. That time was very much alive, and none of the other histories that have covered it have given it a kind of treatment which will satisfy a literary interest as well as this. Of course, it is incomplete, for the thoughts and feelings which found their expression in the writings covered by this book- were concentrated in a few dramatic external events, which are here kept in the background, so that the reader to whom the book will be most satisfactory is the one who already knows the political history of the time. English readers will doubtless be pleased to see that the Tories are treated with fairness as the most respectable Conservatives of the times, including the majority of clergymen, physicians, lawyers, and teachers. Two or three literary men have, in my hearing, expressed a desire to make a novel out of the Salva- tion Army, which offers exceptional temptations in the picturesque. Mary A. Denison has just pub- lished a love story called "Captain Mollie," with Lee and Shepard of Boston, but it totally fails to take advantage of the Salvation Army motif, being utterly colourless The copyright provision punishing the piracy of plays has just had its first test in a suit brought by Klaw and Erlanger against Louis Robie, who is charged with stealing songs from "In Gay New York " and using them in a variety enter- ## p. 11 (#417) ############################################# THE AUTHOR. tainment called " The Bohemians." There was an indictment, and about a week ago the defendant was held in the United States Court for trial. This is regarded as a test case. Norman Hapgood. NOTES FROM A DUCHY. NOBODY in St. Ives could give me any information about Mr. Pearce, the Cor- nish novelist about whom Sir George Douglas wrote last month. The fact is we are not great readers down here. "Nobody buys books here," said the bookstall man. Halfpenny papers go well. I suppose, absorbed as we are with the wonderful beauties of Nature, we have no time or no wish to think. Hence the demand for halfpenny papers. One can read them with- out any mental fatigue whatever. Rudyard Kipling once said that he bought Answers every week " because there are times when a man doesn't want to think." Kipling, by the way, was asked his opinion on Torquay before he left, and he said that with 30 per cent, less moisture it would be the prettiest place outside Paradise, a characteristic remark of which the Torquay people are taking advan- tage for publicity purposes. I heard that Mr. Kipling used to visit the railway bookstall every day and " have a look round." The railway book- stall has its fascination to most of us. In Camborne, to revert to Mr. Pearce, I heard his work enthusiastically talked about, with special reference to the Esther novel. I was told that Mr. Pearce was a Newlyn man, who lived in London, where he was engaged in clerical work; that he was about thirty-five years old, and that he wrote, not professionally, but pour passer le temps. Madame Alphonse Daudet's book, "Notes sur Londres," has been translated into English by Marie Belloc, and will be published in London this season. I was over at Fowey a few weeks ago. It is without exception the most beautiful and most interesting seaport I have seen anywhere. I envy "Q.," but after his fine descriptions of his home I shall not attempt to descrilje it. I was fortunate enough to see " Q." also with his little boy, who, if children's faces reveal anything of the future, will be an artist of the pen or pencil. What a happy life " Q.'8" must be. From what the papers are saying down here everybody is very glad that it is he who is to finish " St. Ives." In my perambulations about the district I came, the other day, across an inn at St. Hilary, called "The Jolly Tinners," which has the following sign: Come all true Coinish boys walk in, Here's brandy, beer, rum, Bhrnb, and gin; Yon can't do less than drink Buocess, To copper, fish, and tin. Fish, perhaps, but not all the votive beer in the world, I am afraid, will bring back success to copper or tin. Slave labour in the Straits Settle- ments has killed the tin mining industry in Cornwall. "Jolly Tinners," indeed! Why, the other day, in Camborne, a jolly-faced woman told me that all the earnings of a life of hard work had been invested in tin mines, and that the only dividend she drew was "trouble and tears for dinner, and tears and sorrow for tea "; and she wiped her eyes on her apron as she spoke. All the profits of her business went in meeting the calls on her worthless shares. I have received from Annemasse, in La Haute- Savoie, a copy of a journal called L'Avant Garde, which describes a new language—"the universal and instantaneous language, an invention for pro- nouncing, reading, and writing all languages in the world at first sight, with their pure accent "; and gives, or, rather, says that it gives, " imme- diate and irrefutable proofs" of this in French, English, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Servian, &c. It seems that all that is wanted to enable everybody to read, write, and pronouce any lan- guage in the world—though not to understand it nor speak it—is the universal adoption of the new " Universal Phonographic Alphabet," which consists of forty-two letters. These are the ordi- nary letters of the alphabet, the additional letters being made up by the help of accents and italici- sation, whilst one or two letters turned upside down represent other sounds than when standing on their feet. This alphabet is supposed to re- present all the sounds which the human voice uses in articulation. People who have found Volapuk and other universal languages wanting, might study this new system, which is evidently being worked with some energy by the " body of professors." Particulars can be obtained at the office of the journal. Several people have written to mo about my story of the two unfilial daughters and their father at the inn at Verton, and in answer to the general inquiry I want to say that it is quite true in every detail. The point about these women which interested and pleased me most was their absolute ignorance of and indifference to all matters outside their narrow sphere. It must be an ideal existence. Animal spirits arise from the animal state, and, as far as I know, animals never "worrit" themselves about anything or anybody ## p. 12 (#418) ############################################# 12 THE AUTHOR. in whom or which they have no direct and imme- diate concern. My good Bretonnes had never heard even of M. Carnot. Very well; when we were passing through hours and days of grief at his cruel fate, they were quietly pickling their walnuts or salting butter for the winter, and rejoicing to think how nice they would be. And in this there was no selfishness. They narrowed their interests, and thus reduced the chances of having to Buffer for oihers. I sometimes fancy that hermits have no other object in view when they retire to mountain tops or lonely caves. What was curious about the Bretonnes was that they dwelt neither on mountain tops nor in lonely caves, but within three-quarters of an hour of one of the biggest ports in France. A novel personal experience in the literary world. A book of mine has recently been pub- lished. Some days after its publication the editors of various papers receive letters signed with my name, full of personal abuse of the gentle- men who act as their literary critics. The letters were never written by me, nor is the handwriting in any way like mine, though the signature is imitated. I heard of this friendly move from one of the critics. He had written a favourable notice of the book in question, and had sent it in. Said his editor to him, " If you knew what that man has been writing about you, I do not think you would want to do him a good turn." The critic wrote to ask me what I had been "up to." I answered that I had written no letters to editors, other than for money. He then procured the letter, and recognised that the writing was not mine, though the signature was a good imitation. I have since heard of other similar letters. Can this be anything else than an attempt to wreck my book at the outset, by provoking editors and critics very naturally and reasonably to put it under tabu? And what can one say of the cher confrere, the brother writer who can act like this? Robert H. Sheraed. THE FRIENDSJ^CHARLES LAMB. "Let me not lose my friends," he prayed, when pain And horror of great darkness veiled his way; And when an afterglow of peace held sway, "To all dear friends be thanks " was still his strain. Pathos touched sharpest in the wild refrain Of " old familiar faces " passed away: Laughter rose sweetest at the close of day When comrade voices eohoed his again. And Fate itself, grown kind, fulfilled desire— Even death consigned to no unfriendly grave This spirit, trained to noblest, gentlest ends: Still rose new hearts to listen, love, admire, And each new decade more than brethren gave To him who, dying, murmured " names of friends." "Murmuring in his last moments the names of his dearest friends, he passed tranquilly out of life."—Ainger's "Charles Lamb," (Men of Letters series), p. 165. M. C. V. NOTES AND NEWS. THE Bill printed in another column was originally started with a view of doing away with the 18th section of the Act of 1842, and gradually developed into its pre- sent form. The sub-committee of the Authors' Society have acted throughout with Parlia- mentary counsel (Mr. James Rolt of Lincoln's- inn), and have had also the assistance of their solicitors, Messrs. Field, Eoscoe, and Co. They have discussed the Bill fully with the sub-com- mittees of the Publishers' and Copyright Associa- tions. With some exceptions (especially clauses 4 and 13) the Bill has received the approval of the Publishers' Association. There are, however, some points on which the Copyright Association are not absolutely in accord with the Society. These points will no doubt be discussed when the Bill is in Committee. In another column will be found a letter on the ruling passion in the mind of the youug writer. It is, of course, the desire to be published. He wants to be published. Sometimes he believes in himself; then there is hope for him. Sometimes he is diffident about his own work, yet has put into it all the strength, and knowledge and power that is in him; then there is hope for him. Sometimes he thinks that his production is as good as that of many people who do get published. In other words, he knows that he has written rubbish yet wants it published. Then there is no hope for him. Sometimes—and this is very frequently the case—he fondly imagines that all the books in the advertised lists are bringing to their authors large fortunes, and he writes in the expectation of making a large fortune for himself. Then there is no hope whatever for that writer. In any case, however, the one thing which he desires is publication. Now, since the best thing for the bad writer is to learn that he cannot hope to- Bucceed, and since the best thing for the good writer is to get a chance, the publisher who brings out the first work of a new writer confers so great a boon upon that candidate that we ought not to be too careful about the first agreement, if it only makes provision for success and for equi- table terms in new editions. Readers of this paper, who are for the most part members of the Society, would do well to impress upon young ## p. 13 (#419) ############################################# THE AUTHOR. '3 writers: (i) that very, very few of the advertised books are successful in any sense of the word: (2) that it is generally the height of folly to suppose that what good publishers refuse bad publishers can cause to succeed, because for good or for bad publishers ulike there is but one public: (3) that it is therefore as a rule a certain waste of money to pay for production. Messrs. Archibald Constable and Co. write from 2, White- hall-gardens: "At the request of Mrs. F. A. Steel we wish to let the public know that she does not derive any benefit of any kind whatever from the publication of her book' In the Tideway,' beyond the lump sum we agreed to pay her for a seven years' lease from the date of publication. This lease is dated three years back, and as it contains no clause specifying either prioe or manner of appearance, we have not consulted her as to either." The above letter appeared in the Times. It explains itself. Mrs. Steel, in 1894, sold, on a lease for a limited term, a story of about 30,000 words. She sold all rights, and the publishers were fully entitled to produce the book in any form, or at any price, they pleased. They have chosen to produce it at the price of 6s. The case is not, therefore, at all one of author v. publisher, but of bookseller and public v. publisher. It is not, either, a case of right and wrong. It is simply a case of what the public expect to get for a 6*. book, and what, in the interests of authors, as well as of themselves, publishers should offer as a 6*. book. It is, one would think, understood that such a book should give a certain amount of solid reading. But of late there have appeared several cases in which a short story of, say, 30,000 words or so, has been priced at 6s. A notable case was that of Olive Schreiner's "Trooper Halket." Of course, it may be argued that, in giving 6«. for so short a work, the buyer may be tempted by the name and the reputation of the author. Perhaps; but in very few instances. In most cases the course seems to be a mistake on the part of the publishers, and a mistake which canDot be otherwise than pre- judicial to the commercial value of a book. We cannot have a Literary Weights and Measures Act, but we can recognise the broad principle that 6s. or 4s. 6d. is a substantial sum to pay, and that most people cannot afford to pay so much for one short hour's reading. The ordinary 6*. book generally contains from 70,000 to 200,000 words, the average being about 100,000. The following letter makes an offer which may perhaps overwhelm the writer with an avalanche of acceptances and requests. The Secretary has his name, and will forward it to any member on application. The letter is written in the best spirit—one that we have long advocated—that of encouraging people of the literary profession to put away their foolish shyness and false shame and to communicate to each other through the Society their own experiences. If "An Occasional Contributor " would be so good as to follow up this letter by suggesting some practical plan for such interchange, he might do great good. "I have only just seen the February number of The Author, when I came across a letter by 'Well-wisher' (Correspondence 4), asking if any of your town readers would look up articles in a reading-room. I should be happy to do this free of charge, as I have to go to a reading-room anyway for the purpose of looking up my own articles and stories. It strikes me, too, that it would be a good thing if occasional contributors, like myself and 'Well-wisher,' had more oppor- tunity of interchanging views with regard to the prices paid by various papers and the possibilities of acceptance. I have contributed to various monthly and other papers, and as 'Well-wisher' has evidently done likewise, I should be glad to relate and receive experiences. "An Occasional Conteibutob." A letter of which the following is an extract appeared in the Times of May 20: It has long been felt as a matter of regret by many men and women associated with Liverpool, that the city possesses no memorial of Felicia Hemans, a native of that city, who also resided there when many of her best writings were produced. On May 14 a preliminary meeting was held in Liverpool to consider the question of a local memorial to Felicia Hemans. It was Resolved " That the memorial Bhould take the form of a prize associated with the name of Felioia Hemans, to be awarded for the composition of a lyrioal poem." It is considered that from £2$o to £300 will be required, and towards this amount several subscriptions have been promised. Contributions will be received by Mr. A. Theodore Brown, 26, Exchange-street East, Liver- pool, or by Mr. W. H. Picton, College-avenue, Crosby, near Liverpool." This letter was signed by Mr. Mackenzie Bell and Mr. W. H. Picton. It is late in the day, but it could not be too late to create some memorial to Felicia Hemans. Her short life of forty years terminated sixty-two years ago, in the year 1835. This is a period long enough to prove what enduring powers lie in her work. At the present moment there is but one opinion: that she is one of the sweetest and simplest of English poets, that her poems are still widely read and known, and that her influence is wholly good. The memorial will take the form of a prize to be awarded for the composition of a lyrical poem. This object can ## p. 14 (#420) ############################################# '4 THE AUTHOR. be attained by the raising of a small sum of from ^£250 to .£300. I wish the promoters would make it .£2000 so that the prize might be a substantial help to some young poet. Liverpool has reason to be proud of her sons, if we consider only the names of the committee. How many readers will recognise this "Por- trait," and will know who drew it? I am Sir Oracle; when my tongue wags, Ay! and my beard, let no man call his soul His own, or flount me with the filthy rags Of an opinion free from my control. Let Shelley chatterers style my gait a roll, And witless upstarts criticise my "bags"; I am English-Saxon, rough as mountain crags, One grand, historic, rude, Belf-centred whole. Ancient is modern, modern ancient too, I have said so myriad times. Who doubts it? Fool! I want some nincompoop to state his view. I'd smash him flat as Fronde or Martin Rule. Yea, by my balidom! Certes! God wot! I am the Oxford Witenagemot. We have often advocated the prohibition of introducing Tauchnitz books into this country, hitherto without effect. At last, it appears, the Customs House officers have been ordered to do their duty. These books, which are pirate copies in this country, have been brought into the country every year by hundreds of thousands. The importation, which is usually conducted by travellers for their own private bookshelves, is a direct injury and loss to the author and owner of the property—how great a loss it is difficuly to com- pute. For certainly it does not follow that if a Tauchnitz copy is prohibited, a much dearer copy will be bought—that is not contended. But almost every copy of every readable book is lent by its owner, and it is fair to suppose that out of the twenty or thirty who read it one would prob- ably buy it. But all private book-shelves presently fall to the eecond-liand bookseller. There are many such shops where there are rows of Tauch- nitz books. The sale of Tauchnitz books must be prohibited as well as their importation. Indeed, I am astonished that booksellers have not imported them in quantities and sold them openly as new books and latest editions. I beg especial attention to the last paragraph of Mr. Sherard's letter. It describes an entirely new departure in venom and spite. He says that he has recently published a book, presumably his book on "White Slaves," which has been reviewed in many papers. Apart, it would seem, from any consideration of the review itself, whether it was favourable or the reverse, some infamous person has been sending to the editor of every paper a letter, signed with Mr. Sherard's name, abusing the critic of his book. One hopes that the perpe- trator of this spiteful forgery is not himself a man of letters. If so, the famous book on the " Quarrels of Authors" must be brought up to date. Mean- time an advertisement or two in the papers warning editors might produce a good effect. Walter Besant. THE RULING PASSION. IN the columns of The Author frequent mention is made of, and warning given on, the folly of paying for publication; and in almost every case, I venture to think, it would be well were the warning taken. I cannot agree with those who assert that it is "contemptible conceit" or egotism that makes a writer willing to sacrifice almost anything, some- times everything, in order to see his work in print. Bather let us take the broader, more generous view of sympathy with the worker. "In looking back," says Jeffrey—that stern critic—" I can hardly conceive anything in after life more to be envied than the recollection of that first outburst of intellect, when, freed from scholastic restraint, and throwing off the thraldom of a somewhat servile docility, the mind first aspired to reason and question nature for itself; and, half wondering at its own temerity, first ventured its unaided flight into the regions of adventure to revel uncontrolled through the bright and boundless realms of literature and science." And so it is with every worker who possesses true "grit." There are, of course, genuine writers and not genuine—as in everything there is genuine and spurious; and he who feels that he possesses the noble gift of inspiration, who has a profound love of literature, an earnest sincerity in his work, may surely be forgiven if, in that first burst of enthusiasm, he commit the folly of presenting to the cold, calculating eye of the critic, or the often unsympathetic gaze of the public, his innermost treasured thoughts. My own case. Since childhood the thought had possessed me: "I will write a book." I wrote that book. Through much tribulation and burning of the midnight oil did I write it, yet my days were days without leisure. My work was a loved and cherished secret. Each day as it grew I lived more and more in a land of dreams—an ideal world. My characters ## p. 15 (#421) ############################################# THE AUTHOR. '5 became as living beings who awaited me in the quiet of my own room. Was not I lonely? asked my friends. Lonely? I laughed gaily. How could I feel loneliness while exchanging golden hopes with creatures of my own creation! At length the day arrived that saw the end of my labour. My " book," thought I, should go forth and speak to the world, while I remained unknown. I wrote to my chosen publisher—and be it understood he was one of the first and foremost in Her Majesty's dominions. Audacity? Conceit? Egotism? As you will. I know it was none of these. In due course I received a courteous note from Messrs. and Co. My MS. was refused. My loved work came home; it rests with me still. Looking over it now I know what a debt of gratitude I owe to the honourable firm of pub- lishers who " regretted they could not undertake the publication of my book." Smarting under my "failure" (so called), I wrote to a man whose advertisement appeared in that stately and fashionable paper, the Morning Post. It ran as follows: "A. well-known firm of London publishers is prepared to publish approved MSS., &c." Those who have had an experience like unto mine will understand my feelings when, after having hastily written and sent up a story of About 25,000 words, I received the following: "I have read this MS. with considerable inte- rest, and I like it. Kindly send more," &c. Nice comforting words; words to flatter and "tickle the ears" of any aspirant to literary fame. Need I add more? I fell among thieves. I ■was caught in a trap dexterously laid. The more ■easily was I snared when this publisher, because •of his " considerable interest" in my MS., offered to share half expenses and all risks! The result? Not sweet to the taste; in sooth, very bitter. Earperientia docet. I had bought my experience—how dearly none but myself will ever know—ere I chanced upon the I.S.A. And now I would ask, Can nothing be done to stamp out of existence these fraudulent publish- ing houses? Finns which are a disgrace to any community, and which trade on the inexperience of young writers—cannot their dealings be made public? I read with keen pleasure the proposal made in the February number of The Author by " An Old Bird," that the I.S.A. should " show the world of letters how a book should be turned out on true business lines," &c. I cannot but think that the proposal might be carried out with incalculable benefit to writers, and with honour, as well as lucrative returns, to the Society. I, for one, entirely hope that the "Old Bird's" eyes, and many others, may be gladdened in the near future with a sight of "I.S.A." upon many a title-page. E. W. H. MOODS -TENSES-VOICES. CYNICISM is a selfishness, a shallowness, a silliness, a sourness, or a sham. Idealism may be a matter of sunshine, or only a manner of moonshine. Materialism is a blindness, a hollowness, a hopelessness, or a truthfulness. Optimism is religious, scientific, selfish or super- ficial. Pessimism is dyspeptic, irreligious, unscientific, or unwise. Realism may be sunny, stormy, or only shady. Common criticism discovers little, but invents much. Proper criticism finds merit, while the common- place only finds fault. Wisdom is less a matter of reasoning than a manner of understanding. Were there no misunderstanding, there would be no misfortune. The wise suspend their judgment, while the unwise only strangle theirs. No one fully knows the Past, realises the Pre- sent, or understands the Future. Some romance never did happen, some never could, some never ought. Fallacies for the Past, facts for the Present, fancies for the Future. The Past may be perfect in fancy, but must be imperfect in fact. Perfection ever lies in the Future. Capacities, like conceits and reputes, are ever in process of change. Opportunities, like microbes, are often imper- ceptible, but always inexhaustible. Social reputes are as overcoats, and personal conceits as undershirts. Greatness is not a matter of fame, but a manner of force or of grace. Cons, ience is a common mean between Chance and Providence. Both humour and reverence are phases of sane sympathy. Faith may madden and truth may sadden, but Love must strengthen and sweeten. Religion may be feminine and science mascu- line, but shams must be neuter. Moods may be emotional, rational, or wilful. Morbid moods make trying tenses. ## p. 16 (#422) ############################################# i6 THE AUTHOR. Sanity simply suggests sweet sympathy. Moderate truth must inspire; the immoderate may irritate. The manly voice is not fog horny, nor the womanly steam-sirenish. Higher art transfigures common things with uncommon thoughts. Impression may be a matter of gift; expres- sion must be a manner of growth. To be loved is to be encouraged; to love is to be raised. Phinlay G-lenelg. A FLEMISH SAGA. THOSE who are acquainted with the suburb of Brussels known as the Commune of Ixelles, must have observed at the foot of the causeway leading to the city a flower-garden on the bank of a piece of ornamental water. In the midst of the glowing beds of geranium and mignonette, heliotrope and rose, is a weeping willow shading a singular monument of masonry. It consists of a sort of portico, in the centre of which are two bronze statues of a man and woman seated, the woman leaning on the man, who looks straight before him with a rapt and visionary gaze. Symbolical carvings surround them—a spinning-wheel, a dog, and other graven images; on the man's breast hangs a small bag, and over all is a medallion showing a pure and thoughtful profile surmounted by the iegend " Charles De Coster." Among the many English who pass by, there are few who understand the meaning of this memorial. But to the Belgians it is a place of reverent honour. Hither came, one beautiful summer morning in 1894, a company of more or less distinguished men to unveil the newly-built monument, and to hear an eloquent address by M. Camille Lemonnier. In this discourse were rehearsed the praises of a man who had died, obscure and almost alone, the author of a work hardly noticed in his life-time, but now pronounced by enthusiastic compatriots to be the "Bible of Flanders." Of De Coster himself there was little to say. Born in on Munich, Aug. 20, 1827, he lived poor and solitary till May 7, 1879, when he succumbed to tubercular disease in a small apartment over a greengrocer's in Ixelles. His last moments were cheered by the presence of M. and Mme. Hector Denis—M. Denis being known even beyond the boundaries of his own little land as a distinguished member of the Left in the Belgian Senate, and a devoted friend of the labouring poor. It is by his work, long neglected, that De Coster deserves a loving record. Borrowing the name of the Ger- man jester of the Middle Ages, he has created him anew as the incarnation of his country's genius, placing him—by a bold anachronism—in the sixteenth century, among the fields and streets of Flanders, full of the havoc of the Spanish persecution and the bold resistance of the kindly but tenacious burgesses and peasants. The book at its first appearance was too novel in conception, perhaps too sumptuous in form, to catch the public. A bulky quarto volume, it was illustrated with numerous etchings by the best artists of that most artistic country, and had but a slow circula- tion. In his spirited discourse, M. Lemonnier, speaking in somewhat sorrowful tones, said: "The author was unnoticed in his own day"; "he died unappreciated "; "no glory smiled upon his pillow"; "all appeared at an end—his life and its oblivion." But "Death touched nothing but what was perishable; the turf of his grave opened, and a luminous soul arose—the soul of his country—the lark singing to the free heavens." Round the speaker stood men more fortunate in their own day: Maurice Maeterlinck; the great sculptor of modern Flanders, Julien Dillens; the Liberal Senator, Edmond Picard, author of " La Vie Simple "; Charles Buls, the famous Bourg- mestre who shared with King Leopold the honour of bearing the insults of a misled mob a few years ago; Professor Pergameni, of the Brussels University, and many others of local distinction, in whose persons a repentant public made atone- ment. The publisher, M. Paul Lacomblez, who was one of 1 he company, made haste to bring out a handsome reprint of the book, without the etchings, and at a popular price; the original work is now food for the wealthy bibliophile. It is impossible to give in a few words any just idea of the literary merits of the "Roman d'Ulenspiegel." It stands alone as the national expression of Flemish patriotism, and this sets it beyond comparison with historical romances of a purely pleasurable character, like "Quentin Durward" or "The Cloister and the Hearth." In its language and its incidents it breathes the very spirit of the dawn of modern European life. Chaotic in form, archaic in expression, it gives but a secondary place to that passion of a boy and girl which is the recognised essence of an ordinary romance. The narratives of sorrow and cruelty peculiarly belonging to the place and time are related with grim realism, while a light of idealism breaks out here and there which gives occasional glimpses of epic inspiration. In the end, after adventures sometimes bloody and often gross and crude, the hero is purified and raised above the common world. In vain do his enemies heap the light sand above what they deem to be his dead form. Leaping up with a laugh, Ulen- spiegel asks, "' Can you bury me, the genius of the ## p. 17 (#423) ############################################# THE AUTHOR. 17 mother-country? She also seems to sleep, but die she cannot.' And he fared on singing his sixth song, but his last—no man knows where he sang it." De Coster, too, has leapt to life after his teem- ing burial, and literary history can hardly show such another resurrection. H. G. Kbenk. SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD-ITS PRESENT-DAT USE. rr^HE correspondence on this subject in The \ Author is interesting as having brought into prominence what one correspondent has called the absence of any " self-conscious rules of grammar " in the English language. While I have not the smallest claim to speak as an authority on the matter, yet it seemed to me that none of the rules adduced by various correspondents were framed in sufficiently comprehensive terms to in- clude all cases where the subjunctive mood is used both in accordance with the cumbrous and complex rules of the grammar books, as well as in the pages of the " most approved authors of the day." To these pages then,following Professor Skeat's advice, I betook myself, thinking that it might, perhaps, be possible to deduce from them a fairly clear and com- prehensive canon as to the use of the subjunctive mood in English. Readers of the correspondence in TAe-i^MfAormayperliaps be interested to hear of my results—if, indeed, they can be called results, for I must at once confess that I am no nearer the "clear and succinct rule " which Mr. Howard Collins de- sires, than I was before starting on my enterprise. The authors I selected were: Mr. George Meredith, Mr. Lecky, Mr. Andrew Lang, Mr. Henry James, Mr. Leslie Stephen, Mr. H. D. Traill, Mr. John Morley, Mr. Hardy, Professor Dowden, and R. L. Stevenson; and after stalking subjunctives throughout the pages of one of each of the above- named authors' works, the only point on which I seem approximately clear is that the use of the sub- junctive in any verb except the verb "to be," is exceedingly rare. Of my ten authors, four, i.e., Mr. George Meredith, Mr. Lecky, Mr. Andrew Lang, and Mr. Henry James, never use any other verb in the subjunctive ; three, i.e., Mr. Leslie Stephen, Mr. H. D. Traill, and Mr. John Morley, have a single instance each; while R. L. Steven- son, Mr. Hardy, and Professor Dowden yield respectively six, four, and two such instances. Mr. L. Stephen's solitary instance of a verb other than the verb "to be" in the subjunc- tive mood, "even though it contain" (" Social Rights and Duties," vol. II., p. 161), is the more perplexing when we observe what might almost be called his callous indifference to the claims of that mood in other passages. Thus, he writes: "What difference does it make whether the brain . . . has a fixed resemblance to ... or be . . . the product," &c. {Ib., p. 9). "^If the honourable gentleman means to say . . . But, if his meaning be simply," &c. (Ib., p. 160). "It might be a question . . . whether the pleasure . . . be really so great, &c. . . . It is certainly also a question whether his expen- diture was ethically right " (Ib , p. 110). Similar instances might be multiplied. Mr. Lecky—whose sentences in his "History of Rationalism" are seldom cast in the hypothetical form—has, on p. 11, vol. I.: "Those who lived when the evidences of witchcraft existed in profusion . . . must surely have been as competent judges as ourselves, if the question was [and his argument goes to prove that it was not] merely a question of evidence ;" and again (lb., 433), where the case is purely hypothetical: "//"some great misfortune were to befall a man . . . if the physician declared [here there is no special form for the subjunctive] . . . if concealment was only possible by a falsehood, there are very few moralists who would condemn," &c. Mr. Andrew Lang (" Custom and Myth," p. 239) has: "If this was the cast*, surely the presence of those elements . . . should have been indicated. ... Is nothing said about the spirits of the dead ... in the Vedas? Much is said, of course. But were it otherwise," &c. Mr. Hardy (" Pair of Blue Eyes," p. 333) writes: "The gentle-modest would turn their faces south if I were coming east, flit down a passage 1/1 was about to halve the pavement with them." Mr. Henry James, in the volume entitled "Daisy Miller," never uses the subjunctive in the present tense, although he appears to discriminate care- fully between "was " and " were." Mr. Morley's "The most that the individual can do is to seek for himself, even if he seek alone" ("On Compro- mise," p. 101) is somewhat puzzling when com- pared with his: "Even if he thinhe it does mom harm than good" (76., p. 223); nor does his " if it be valid (lb., 174) explain itself side by side with "If the principle of such conformity is Hood for anything at all " on the following page. On the other hand, he appears to be consistent in his use of the past subjunctive. Mr. Meredith likes the subjunctive mood (of the verb " to be "), nevertheless we meet with: "It is a lute to scatter songs to his mistress; a rapier it she obstinate" ("Egoist," p. 12). "If it is necessary" (lb., p. 60), where there is both futurity and contin- gency, "Yet if my friend is not the same," &j. (Ib., p. 132, where the case is purely hypothe- tical). Contrast these with: "For any maltreat- ## p. 18 (#424) ############################################# i8 THE AUTHOR. ment of the dear boy Love . . . you [i.e., the reader], if you be of common soundness" {lb., p. 300), "If it be a failing" (lb., p. 86), and "If this line of verse be not yet in our literature" {lb., p. 5). Professor Dowden, in his "Life of Southey," only twice uses the indicative after "if," and here again, it seems difficult to dis- criminate between, e.g., "If the ice were fairly broken he found it natural to be easy and familiar" (lb., p. 90), and "If to these melody icas added, he had attained" (lb., p. 193), &c. And while " except," "if," and "whether" are all followed by the present subjunctive, we find: "There was nothing in the poem that could be remembered with shame unless it is shameful to be generous," &c. (p. 170). I have, I fear, only made confusion worse confounded by my re- searches. But should any one object to our use or non-use of the subjunctive we can at least feel that the onus probandi rests with the accuser. Summary. . I Approximate number of words Author. Book. in book. ■George Meredith The Egoist 190,000 W. E. Lecky ... History of BationaliBm, vol. 1 102,000 Andrew Lang . .. Custom and Myth 68,000 Leslie Stephen... Social Eights and Duties, vol. II 71,000 T. Hardy Pair of Blue Eyes 99,000 E. Dowden Life of Southey 67,000 E. L. StevenBon. Men and Books 99,044 H. D. Traill Life of Coleridge 60,000 Henry James ... Daisy Miller 56,000 John Morley .. On Compromise 57,000 -Positive instances. Subjunctive moods. To be. Words to one sub- junctive. 2800 .. 3800 .. 2300 1400 2300 .. 3200 .. 1900 2900 2200 .. 2500 2S3oI ■ • 2043 • ■ 5370 • • 2957 ■ • 1543 • • 55oo • • 16750 .. 4280 .. 6666 2800 ■ • 1055 BOOKS AND THEIR ZEE PEES. [i.- Present. George Meredith 11 W. E. Leoky ... 11 . A. Lang 20 L. Stephen 36 T. Hardy..- 3* . E. Dowden 5 E. L. Stevenson. 5 H. D. Traill 5 . H. James — J. Morley 16 III.—Negative Instances. George Meredith 50 ... 11 ... 32 ... 93 W. E. Lecky ... 7 ... 2 ... 10 ... 19 A. Lang 13 ... 4 ... 6 ... 23 L.Stephen 15 ... 3 ... 28 ... 46 T. Hardy 11 ... 6 ... 1 ... 18 E. Dowden 1 ... 3 ... o ... 4 E. L. Stevenson. 6 ... 11 ... 8 ... 25 H.D.Traill 2 ... 2 ... 5 ... 9 H. James 2 ... 16 ... 2 ... 20 J. Morley 29 ... o ... 25 ... 54 * 2 "if so be." t After " though." I Average, B. E. Meyer. An Interview with Me. J. T. W. MacAlistee. "fT^HE index of a book should be made by the I author; anybody can do the rest of it." This curious saying, not Mr. Mac Aba- ter's, rang in the ears of the interviewer when, in his talk with the honorary secretary of the forthcoming International Library Conference, he came to the point of discussing questions that stand between librarians and authors. "It should be a rule," replied Mr. MacAlister, " that every book should be provided with a good index. To publish a book without one ought to be reckoned an offence." Another offence lies in the framing of titles. "Titles," said Mr. MacAlister, "should set forth clearly the nature of the books, instead of being merely fanciful, as they often are. It would amuse authors," he continued, "to find to what an extent librarians have to make new titles for their works. First we have to catalogue the title which the author has given to the book, but that has to be constantly followed by other titles which are absolutely necessary to make the ordinary reader understand what the book is about." Mr. MacAlister selected at random the follow- ing titles, which are meaningless to the average library user:—Buskin's "Ethics of the Dust," "Crown of Wild Olive," "Eagle's Nest," " Queen of the Air," " St. Mark's Best;'' Dr. John Brown's "Horse Subseeivae," Birrell's "Obiter Dicta," MacMichael's "Goldheaded Cane," Kinglake's "Eothen," MacDonald's " Orts," Miller's "Cruise of the Betsey." Again, "The Despot's Champion" is the title of a life of Claverhouse; "Through the Long Day," "Shadows of the Past," and "Faint, yet Pursuing," are also biographies; "In an Enchanted Island" is an account of Cyprus; while " Through the Long Night " is a pleasant specimen of the indefiniteness of many titles of novels. While on the subject of book-titles the inter- viewer ask-d Mr. MacAlister's opinion of the proposal made in The Author by Mr. F. Howard Collins, to the effect that the Society of Authors should compile a list of all the book-titles that had been used, in order that a writer would be saved from selecting a title which is already appropriated. Mr. MacAlister did not think sued an undertaking would be seriously worth while. "Bemember," he said, " that such a case of the same title being selected over again cannot happen where a very famous or important book is concerned. When it does occur, it argues that the forerunner in the title is a ' dead' book. The British Museum catalogue can always be discussed by the ## p. 19 (#425) ############################################# THE AUTHOR. 19 author, and, besides, Stationers' Hall people are very good in that way. To compile such a list as is proposed would be a gigantic task, and a very expensive one, but it would be like employing a Nasmyth hammer to crack an egg." The issue of old books under new titles is a practice more common than is generally supposed. "This may be said to be exclusively a trick of the novelist's," Mr. MacAlister remarked; "it is unknown in other fields of authorship. Thus a book which has been unfortunate as 'The Maid Forlorn ' will reappear after a decent interval as 'How to Prepare an Underdone Mutton Chop,' and the librarian buys the new book, as he thinks it to be, not knowing that it is on the shelves already in another dress. Of course it is com- mon for a story that has appeared as a serial to be published in volume form under a new title; that is quite different. But when a book that has failed under one title gets a new title-page stuck in and is then put on the market as a new book, it is simply a piece of dishonesty." [At this stage several cases were instanced.] "Authors do not realise either," said Mr. MacAlister in answer to another question, " how often their books sere printed on wretched paper. It would not be fair to mention names, but some well-known editions of popular novels are issued on paper so notoriously bad that librarians do not bind them after they have been in use a year or two. The difference in cost between a paper that will last one hundred or two hundred years and one that will, like the present average, hardly last fifty must be very trifling. Any author who seeks a lasting reputation cannot afford to overlook this matter, although I suppose the question of paper will lie principally with the publisher." On July 13 to 16 the second International Library Conference will be held in the Council Chamber of the Corporation of London. Libra- rians from all civilised parts will foregather here, under the presidency of Sir John Lubbock. Delegates—in the majority of cases representing the Government of these countries—will be present from France, Germany, Italy, Austria, Spain, Holland, India, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Af nca. Largest contingent of all, 300 American librarians will absent themselves from the States for two months with the avowed objects of becoming acquainted with as many English librarians as possible, seeing English methods of library administration, and visiting as many places of historic and literary interest as they can. Since its formation twenty years ago, the Library Association of the United Kingdom has grown from a membership of scarcely 200 to one of upwards of 500. The American librarian thinks he has a good deal to learn in England, but, on the other hand, this feeling is fully reciprocated by his British confrere with regard to America. Both from the Government and through private munificence, the American libraries have received much larger gifts than those of Britain. But, as Mr. MacAlister pointed out, the British experiment of establish- ing libraries by the will of the people, and having them voluntarily supported by the rates, has in many respects produced a better effect by leading the people to take a more personal interest in them. "At the same time," continued Mr. MacAlister, "we should be very glad indeed if public spirit in this country could induce the Government to do something for public libraries. They have done nothing so far." "We have not attained to the Bibliographical Professorships yet?" "No, but there is an approach to it in the Sandars Readership in Bibliography at Cambridge. Mr. Sandars was a member of our association who bequeathed a considerable sum, the interest of which was to be devoted to the payment of the lecturer. In America, of course, there are fully equipped library schools, with lecturers attached, and degrees in librarianship. We have hopes that when a new teaching and examining University is established in London there may be a chance of getting the new authorities to recognise the importance of the subject. It is only in London that there is sufficient material to give practical illustrations to students." PERSONAL. MR. LECKY, M.P., presided at the Book- sellers' Dinner on the 8th ult., and in proposing "Literatureand Science,"said that the first thing that would strike one was the enormous multiplication of books. The power of spinning something in the nature of a book from the slenderest possible materials with the greatest possible haste was an accomplishment which the present age had brought to a perfec- tion that no other generation had ever attained. It might be said that there was no great harm in writing a book which no one was obliged to read, and, indeed, the sale of some works had the positive advantage of making the lives of their authors somewhat more easy than they otherwise would be. But, after making all allowances, he still felt bound to say that contemporary litera- ture would probably be much better if it were somewhat less voluminous and somewhat more ## p. 20 (#426) ############################################# 20 THE A UTHOh. choice. He did not wish to speak in a desponding way about literature. If poor books were greatly multiplied it did not mean that good books were less numerous. Nothing was more remarkable than the silent, steady sale of good books long after people had ceased talking about them. Tuesday, May n, was a ladies' night of the New Vagabond Club, when five to six hundred guests sat down to dinner in the Holborn Restau- rant. Mr. Hall Caine, who presided, in giving "The Ladies," said that the reign all were going to celebrate had been pre-eminently the reign of woman. Some rumours they heard of masculine jealousy that women were competing, perhaps too successfully, with some of them in the pro- fessions, but he did not believe that any man worthy of the name ever yet owed a woman a grudge because she was beating him in his craft, and he appealed to them to see that when a woman crossed their path in her struggle to live she should have fair play and every chance and every help that a man's hsmd could give her. Lecturing at the Royal Institution on "Romance," Mr. Anthony Hope Hawkins said that the leading characteristics of romance as a quality in literature were, first strong emotion; second, a high pitch of abstraction; and third, self-assertion. Every novel which dealt with love was not romance. For example, there was a large class of novels which gave pictures of the life that was about them every day, and in which love played, so far as the incidents went, a leading part. But the love was not a subject; it was rather a datum. That was not of necessity untrue to life, but it might be anything in the world except romance. Novels with "love" for their theme failed in that respect. The love-making was itself mechanical. It did not rule the book. They were, in fact, constrained to believe that the author did not understand his theme, or had confused the theme with the auxiliaries. That was why those books were not romances. There was no power, no imagination in them. The " problem novel" and the "realistic novel" were not in the nature of romances, for, instead of simplicity and confidence, they found in them complexity and self-distrust. He admitted that it was not always so easy to draw the line between the novel and the romance. For example, in "Tom Jones," "Vanity Fair," and " Pendennis," there would be found matter of a romantic character. Generally speaking, the reader should ask what was the theme, and by that he should judge. Let them take the story of "The Three Musketeers." They would exclaim, "Here is romance!" Why Y Because, in spite of all its complexity, they found running through the whole book and inspiring it that one strong simple passion or emotion which ruled the lives of the leading characters, and, above all, that of the great hero D'Artagnan. Dumas's trilogy of the Musketeers was a romance of the joy of action. Those men did not so much care as to what they were at, but they must be at something. At the same time, he did not say there was nothing in " Tom Jones" or "Pendennis" of a similar kind. It would be, perhaps, correct to say that the great English writers used their heroes to gratify the world, and the great Frenchman used the world to gratify his heroes. The romancist was not the worst companion that a reader would find speaking to him words of truth. The New York Critic of April 10 announces the result of its prize competition for the best list of the best twelve American short stories. The prize has gone to Mr. J. W. George, of St. Louis, who has selected two stories by Hawthorne, two by Irving, two by Poe, and one each by Dr. Hale (" The Man Without a Country," of course), Bret Harte, Frank R. Stockton, Thomas Nelson Page, Thomas Bailey Aldrich, and Mary E. Wilkins. The editors add that they do not offer this "as an ideal list, be it observed, but merely as, on the whole, the best of those submitted." Some 500 lists were received, and they publish, also, another list, containing only one story by a single author—the authors selected being T. B. Aldrich, H. Bunner, F. R. Stockton, Mary E. Wilkins, Edgar Allan Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Bret Harte, Mark Twain, E. E. Hale, G. W. Cable, and Richard Harding Davis. Mrs. Linnaeus Banks, the novelist, died at Dalston, on May 4, in her seventy-sixth year. Her best known stories are "God's Providence House" (the historic building in Chester which escaped the plague) and "The Manchester Man." Like the author of "Uncle Tom's Cabin," Mrs. Banks was well advanced in life before she began to publish any remarkable work. "God's Providence House" appeared when she was forty-five, and "The Manchester Man" about a decade later. As Miss Isabella Varley she had, however, written and published verses in Manchester newspapers as early as her sixteenth year. Her first collection of poems, "Ivy Leaves," appeared in 1844. Mrs. Banks was a native of Manchester, and her works were especially popular in Lancashire. It is told of the late Mrs. Banks that, when negotiating for the serial publication of one of her novels, she felt herself somewhat worsted in the bargaining. She accepted the terms, but, by way of revenge, exclaimed, "' It is naught, it is ## p. 21 (#427) ############################################# THE AUTHOR. 2 1 naught, saith the buyer; but when he is gone his way then he boasteth.'" The publisher was greatly pleased with the cleverness of the quota- tion, and his estimate of Mrs. Banks's work by no means suffered in consequence of her witty protest. Mr. Theodore Bent, the indefatigable explorer of South-East Africa and Arabia, died, on May 5, of malarial fever and pneumonia, at the age of fifty-two. His works included "The Cyclades; or Life among the Insular Greeks" (1885); "Ruined Cities of Mashonaland" (1892); and "Sacred Cities of the Ethiopians" (1893). FROM "POEMS" BY S. L. E. An jEolian Harp. From harp strings strained before the wind Strange music issues forth; It comoth now from east and west, And now from south and north. At first a sweet, low, moaning wail, Pathetic, fitful, mild; Then, gathering strength—the sound bursts forth In music strong and wild. We listen breathless; joyful strains Must crown this fitful play. Alas! the mnBic drops and falls, And, moaning, dies away. The song of life, the Christian song, Begins full oft in pain; Then, gathering strength, bursts forth in song, Begins a heavenly strain. Begins—a hopeful prelude gives Of heavenly music here; But soon ib quenohed in death—the theme Is for another sphere. There will earth's wild, tumultuous notes, And discords here too strong, Be gathered up in one complete, One rapturous, perfect song. A SUGGESTED RECONSTITUTE. AT the recent annual meeting of the Society I brought forward a proposition for the direct election of the Council by the whole body of the members of the Society. Sir W. Besant asked me to put my suggestions into writing for publication in The Author, and this request I now comply witb. Of course we all know that, at present, the Council, however generally representative it may be, is in no sense elective; for the members of the Society have no voice in the choice of their "representatives." No doubt, in the early days of the Society this arrangement was judicious, for the great body of members were ignorant and helpless, whilst a few leading spirits alone had any adequate knowledge of the needs and true interests of the Society. It was therefore well that those who so generously devoted time and labour to promoting the interest of their fellow authors should be given a free hand in their choice of colleagues; in other words, it was perhaps well that the infant Society should be governed autocratically. But it is obvious that the rigime which is good for infancy is highly unsuitable for adolescence, and that sooner or later the Society must be released from leading strings and allowed to govern itself and to exercise the franchise; and I think that many members agree with me in hold- ing that the time for a Reform Bill has now arrived. Last year an attempt was made to introduce a small elected element into the Society, but this attempt resulted in failure. The reason for this failure I alluded to at the annual meeting, but it is unnecessary to repeat my remarks here, since we are looking forward and not back- ward. I proposed that the whole Council shall be directly elected by the Society, each member serving, say, three years, and a third of the Council retiring every year. For the purpose of election the Society should be divided into faculties, each faculty electing a proportionate number of councillors. For instance we should require a faculty out of Fiction, Poetry, Music, Education, Physical Science, and so on. It would be neces- sary to fix a minimum number of members for each faculty, and as a basis for negotiation I suggest that no faculty should be constituted with fewer than 100 members. Where the writers upon any subject were too few to claim a faculty for themselves, they should be classed with writers on allied subjects into a joint faculty, just as at London University the graduates in music, being too few to claim a faculty of their own, are classed for voting purposes with the graduates in science. Thus it might be necessary, at present, to put sociologists, historians, and legal writers into one faculty; to class dramatists, poets, and all other writers on aesthetics together; to put psychologists into the Physical Science faculty, and so on; but these are all matters of detail that can easily be arranged. Similarly when a writer belongs equally to two subject-faculties he should be allowed to decide in which he would be classed for voting purposes. One point I must especially emphasise. It is absolutely essential to this scheme that each faculty, whether including 100 or 400 members, should elect the same number of representatives, ## p. 22 (#428) ############################################# 22 THE AUTHOR. for the Society is concerned with the interests of every branch of literature, and not merely with the interests of a majority of its present members. We must here adopt the old political principle that interests and classes, not simply heads, must be counted. Unless this system be adopted it is clear that one slightly dominant faculty might outvote the others, and "nobble" the whole machinery of the Society in the interests of one class of writers only. This, of course, would soon lead to a secession of the other members, and the foundation of a rival Authors' Society, and that would be a disaster which we must avoid at all hazards. Therefore we must make it a tine qua nun that each faculty elect the same number of representatives. One word more and I have done. The elec- tions must be real and not formal. Everyone who has belonged to any of our scientific societies knows that, although theoretically their consti- tution is a pure democracy, yet actually it is a pure oligarchy, for the outgoing council always nominate their successors, and the society goes through the farce of filling up ballot papers which never include the names of any rival candi- dates, for it is considered "bad form " to oppose the council's nominees. Against this un-English abuse we must make stringent safeguards, and I therefore propose that, at each election there shall be at least two candidates for every vacancy, so that the election must necessarily be real. I pro- pose that the initiative shall be left with private members of each faculty, but that if in any faculty there be fewer than two candidates pro- posed for each vacancy, the Council, or preferably individual members thereof, shall propose suffi- cient candidates to make up the required number; but otherwise the Council should nor, interfere in the elections. Such is, in brief, the outline of the Reform Bill which I have the honour of laying before the Council and my fellow-members of the Society; and I hope that the English spirit of popular government and an unrestricted fran- chise will be amply strong enough in the Society to ensure its adoption. F. H. Perky Coste. BOOK TALK. THE Jubilee celebrations are causing a healthy stoppage for a week or two in the free flow of new books. As one result, the autumn season will perhaps prove to be an unusu- ally busy one this year. The Royal Asiatic Society will commemorate the completion of the sixtieth year of the reign of Queen Victoria by founding a gold medal for distinguished scholarship, to be awarded trien- nially for the best work on an Oriental subject in the English language. A series of small books upon the "Imperial" platform is projected by Messrs. Horace Marshall and Sons, entitled "The Story of the Empire," edited by Mr. Howard Angus Kennedy. The series will begin with a volume by Sir Walter Besant on "The Rise of the English-Speaking Race"; to be followed by volumes on South Africa, by Mr. E. F. Knight; on Australia and New Zealand, by Miss Flora Shaw; and on Canada, by Mr. Kennedy. These books will be all short; and, it is hoped, attractive and instructive. Mrs. Alfred Baldwin's " Story of a Marriage" has been added to Messrs. Macmillan's Colonial Library. "Daughters of Thespis: a story of the Green Room," is the title of Mr. John Bickerdyke's new novel. The publishers are Messrs. Simpkin, Marshall and Co., Limited. The same author has recently published through Mr. L. Upcott Gill, 170, Strand, an illustrated six-shilling volume entitled "Wild Sports in Ireland." It includes descriptions of the author's considerable yachting, wildfowling, and fishing experiences on the large Shannon lakes. "False Gods," a novel by Mrs. Albert S. Bradshaw, has just been published by Messrs. Henry and Co. Two poems by Mrs. Albert S. Bradshaw have been taken by Messrs. George Routledge and Co. for publication in the "Fernandez Reciter," just published. Miss Bertha Thomas has written a series of stories presenting various pictures of modern English society. The book, entitled "Camera Lucida; or, Strange Passages from Common Life," will be published by Messrs. Sampson Low and Co. Mr. Guy Boothby's new story, "The Fascination of the King," is about to be published by Messrs. Ward, Lock, and Co. Mr. Clark Russell has written "A Tale of Two Tunnels," which Messrs. Chapman and Hall will publish. Mr. Hume Nisbet and Mr. Alan St. Aubyn each has a new work of fiction in course of publi- cation by Messrs. White. Mr. Marion Crawford has written a novel entitled "A Rose of Yesterday," which Messrs. Macmillan will publish. ## p. 23 (#429) ############################################# THE AUTHOR. 23 Mr. Lane is publishing this month two volumes —one of prose and one of verse—of the works of Col. John Hay, the new American Ambassador to the Court of St. James's. The books are "Castilian Days " and " Poems." Mr. Tom Gallon's novel, "Tatterley," is being adapted for the stage by Mr. Norman Forbes. Professor Miall, of Leeds, has written " Thirty Years of Teaching," a volume which Messrs. Mac- millan will publish shortly. Professor George Adam Smith, of the Free Church College, Glasgow, has undertaken to write the biography of the late Professor Henry Drum- mond. The possessors of material connected with the subject are invited to send it to Professor Smith, 22, Sardinia-terrace, Glasgow; or to Messrs. Hodder and Stoughton. The Indian prince and famous English cricketer, K. S. Ranjitsinhji, has written a book upon the game. It will be published by Messrs. Black- wood. "The Diary of Master William Silence " is the title of a study of Shakespeare and of Elizabethan sport, which Mr. Justice Madden, of the Irish Bench, has written. It will be published by Messrs. Longmans, Green, and Co. The long-expected Life of Lord Tennyson will be published on Oct. 6, the fifth anniversary of the poet's death, by Messrs. Macmillan and Co. "Are We to go on with Latin Verses?" This inquiry is the subject of a pamphlet by the Hon. Edward Lyttelton, head master of Haileybury College, which Messrs. Longmans will publish. Mr. W. M. Rossetti has selected and edited a volume of "Poems " by the late Mr. J. Lucas Tupper, who was a contributor to the Germ in 1850. The volume will be published by Messrs. Longmans. Miss Ella Fuller Maitland is publishing a col- lection of her verses, under the title " The Song Book of Bethia Hardacre." A volume of poems by Mr. F. W. Bourdillon, some of which are new, while others appeared anonymously in Oxford some years ago, is to be published by Messrs. Lawrence and Bullen. The title will be "Minuscula: Lyrics of Nature, Art, and Love." Mr. Henry Craik, C.B., is writing a history of Scotland from the Union, which will deal in special detail with the 100 years following 1745. General Maurice, C.B., is writing a volume on "National Defence" for Messrs. Macmillan's English Citizen series. The rebuilding of the London Library will be begun next month. A number of Spanish books have been added to the collection lately, but the library is still deficient in the literature of the Romance languages. At the 107th anniversary dinner of the Royal Literary Fund subscriptions were announced to the amount of nearly <£iooo, headed by the sixtieth donation of £100 by Her Majesty the Queen. Lord Lister, who presided, said that Literature was an uncertain calling by no means rewarded according to its deserts. To a man of high literary culture and exquisite sensibility, the mercy extended through this fund blessed those who gave and those who but for that would have been lost to the world. A fine copy of the extremely rare quarto, the "Excellent History of the Merchant of Venice" (1600), was sold at Sotheby's for ,£315. This is the highest sum ever realised for a first edition of one of Shakespeare's plays. Mr. Vere Foster is printing the correspondence of the two Duchesses of Devonshire, in which there will be letters of Fox, Sheridan, Gibbon, Moreau, Napoleon, the Emperor Alexander I. of Russia, and others. The work will be entitled "The Two Duchesses." Mrs. Patmore is engaged writing a memoir of her husband. She will be assisted in the work by Mr. Basil Champneys and Mr. Frederick Greenwood. Mr. Champneys has also designed the monument to be erected over the grave of the poet in Lymington Cemetery, and per- mission has been granted by the authorities for trees to be planted near the spot. To the expense of the latter object all who wish to do so may send contributions to Rev. Father O'Connell, The Presbytery, Lymington; or to Mr. F. G. Stephens, 10, The Terrace, Hammer- smith, W. Messrs. Swan Sonnenschein have brought out a one-volume storv, entitled "A Princess of Islam." The author is Mr. J. W. Sherer, C.S.I., whose chapters ou the great Mutiny formed a feature in Col. Maude's book published in 1895. The new story is mainly devoted to the domestic life of the Indian Muslims — a curious and interesting subject. A curious illustration is to hand (says a corre- spondent) of the small equipment of historical knowledge requisite for a successful journalist. Here is an editor who in expressing sympathy with the Greeks observes that the best soldiers are subject to panic when ill led! Under a Wellington or a Nelson, Tommy is "practically invincible; at Fontenoy or Bunker's Hill he runs." ## p. 24 (#430) ############################################# 24 THE AUTHOR. The writer ought surely to have known that as much valour was shown by the private soldiers at these two fights as at Waterloo. If any use was to be made of the argument it would have been more to the purpose to compare the Royalists and Roundheads at Naseby. But this, doubtless, is "ancient history," which journalism, we know, disdains. "The Note-book of Tristram Risdon " |(i6o3- 1628) has long lain buried in the richly-stocked library of Exeter Cathedral. It is a companion to the well-known "Chronological Description or Survey of the County of Devon," published in 1714, and contains much information which closely concerns Devonshire genealogists. Mr. James Dallas, F.L.S., Curator of the Exeter Museum, has transcribed the MS., and the volume is about to be issued by Mr. Elliot Stock. Two hundred and fifty copies only will be printed for subscribers. Headon Hill's new novel "By a Hair's Breadth," which begins to run in Cassell's Maga- zine this month, will be published in volume form when it has finished its serial course, simulta- neously in London and New York. The English publishers will be Messrs. Cassell and Co., and the American rights have been acquired by Messrs. Dodd, Mead, and Co., of New York. —> • «^ LITERATURE IN THE PERIODICALS. The Literature or the Victorian Era. H. D- Traill. Fortnightly Review for June. The Apotheosis op the Novel under Queen Victoria Herbert Paul. Nineteenth Century for May. Canton English. Colonel Wilkinson J. Shaw. New Revievi for May. Shall English Become a Dead Language? Review of Reviews for April; Spectator for May 1. Stevenson as a Writer. Mr. George Moore in Daily Chronicle for May 12; E. Le Gallienne in Westminster Gazette for May 19. Canadian Poetry. John A. Cooper. National Review for May. A Poet op Spring [Herriok],—Temple Bar for May. On the Theory and Practice op Local Colour. W. P. James, Macmillan's for May. The day of estimates of Victorian literature is upon us. Mr. Lang, indeed, opened the ball a few months ago. Dr. Traill contributes a more lengthy review to the new Fortnightly. Except for the triumph.* of the Romantic and Naturalist movement in English poetry, the literature of the nineteenth century, he says, will mean exclusively the literature of the Victorian Era. The two decades—1837-1857—which witnessed the birth of the works of Tennyson Browning, Carlyle, Macaulay, Dickens, Thackeray, and Ruskin, was a dazzling period which need fear no com- parison with the most famous periods of English history. From 1857 to 1877 the tide of literary produc- tion was steadily receding. Only, it produced Mr. Swinburne—beside whom Dr. Traill declines to place Rossetti or Matthew Arnold. In fiction, George Eliot's advent might, at first sight, appear to retrieve the literary credit of the period, but "we should be careful not to mistake the ap- proval of the critical and cultured English society for a popular pronouncement. The middle Vic- torian Era is not really the age of Tennyson in poetry and George Eliot in prose fiction; it is the age of Trollope as a novelist and of Martin Tupper as a poet"—and "one need not cast about for any severer criticism on the taste of the time." The reaction, as regards fiction, may be said to have begun when Mr. Blackmore gave "Lorna Doone to the world; and certainly, from the middle of the seventies to the present time, the art of the novelist has displayed a vitality, a strength, a many-sided activity, on which we may justly pride ourselves. They have witnessed Mr. Hardy's elevation to a foremost place among English novelists; Mr. Meredith's emergence from the shadow of an almost lifelong neglect; and the career of Stevenson. The last— "the youngest, and much younger than the eldest "—has naturally exercised the greatest influ- ence. To him we owe the new romantic move- ment, whose only serious competitor for popularity at the present day is the "Kailyard " school. As to this latter band of writers, Dr. Traill observes: "Time may be trusted to sift out the Scotch novelists who are novelists first and masters of the Doric afterwards from those with whom this order of procedure is reversed; and it will be in- teresting to note which of them will prove his substance and solidity as a wi-iter by remaining in the sieve." Dr. Traill also notices a remarkable improve- ment in workmanship during the last dozen years, which has made it difficult, in the case of dozens of novels which are issued from the press every year, to discover the delineating line between the merits of their form, and the merits or demerits of their matter. In a concluding passage he has a word of mordant reproof for some present-day criticism: If the democratic movement has made for the wider diffusion of the literary faculty, it has, on the other hand, infected the published estimates of literary productions with the peculiar and characteristic vices of democracy— with its vehemence, its ignorance, its inconsistency, its insatiable thirst for the sensational, its vulgar admiration for artistic vulgarity, its utter laok of measure and reserve. From the exaggerated eulogy, the shameless reclame which ## p. 25 (#431) ############################################# THE AUTHOR. attends even the most moderate of contemporary successes in literature, sober criticism revolts . . and it needs a determined fair-mindedness on the part of the critic to refrain from judging the whole literary movement of the time by these repellent incidents. "The novel threatens to supersede the pulpit. . . Perhaps few of us realise the extent to which the novel is a growth of the present reign. If we put aside the great and conspicuous in- stances of Defoe, Richardson and Fielding, of Fanny Burney, Jane Austen, and Walter Scott, there is scarcely an English novelist now read who died before Her Majesty's accession to the throne." Thus Mr. Herbert Paul. The weight of responsibility that has been shown to result from this serious view which is taken of themselves by the new class of novelists does not, however, wholly recommend itself to Mr. Paul. "Those who love, Uke Horace, the golden mean, may look back," he says," with fondness to the beginning of Her Majesty's reign, when novelists had ceased to be pariahs and had not become prigs." The poli- tical novel is among the more or less literary products of the Victorian age, and chief of poli- tical novelists is, of course, Mr. Disraeli. But how far is either the political or the historical novel (which may be considered as a variety of the political) legitimate or desirable r "I must confess to thinking," Mr. Paul answers, "that a novel should be a work of the imagination, and that it must stand or fall upon its own merits, without reference to any external standard what- ever. A novel which only interests those who are interested in the subject of it does not, if this view be correct, belong to the highest class." The "novel with a purpose" is also a product of the Victorian age. Dickens began it when he ran a tilt at the Poor-law in "Oliver Twist," and con- tinued it when he attacked the Court of Chancery in "Bleak House." Charles Kingsley's novels had a great practical influence in the promotion of sanitary improvement; although their earnest- ness was not conducive to literary perfection. And if novels with a purpose are to be written at all, they could hardly be written more wisely than Charles Reade, whose purposes were in every respect benevolent and praiseworthy, wrote them —Charles Reade whom, by the way, Mr. Paul classes with Whyte Melville and Wilkie Collins as authors who have fallen into oblivion. Mr. Paul is happy, too, that the school of Dickens is at last dying out. Their dreary mechanical jokes, their hideous unmeaning caricatures, their descriptions that describe nothing, their tears of gin and water, provoke only unmitigated disgust. But Dickens is absolved from responsi- bility for the long lingering train of weak imitators. His position is "unassailed and unassailable. He must always remain an acknowledged master of fiction and a prince of English humourists." Mr. Stead's alarm for the language is not shared by the writer in the Spectator. Mr. Stead pictures one language being spoken in London, another in Chicago, and a third in Melbourne, the users of these dialects being mutually un- intelligible. He proposes that to avert the danger of our race being struck with the curse of Babel, a sort of academy of editors and men of letters should be formed, who would keep the language true and make our words and phrases keep line. Assuming for the moment that the danger feared by Mr. Stead doesexist, the Spectator replies that this suggested remedy would be worse than the disease, and they would rather see the English language grow so disunited that it would cease to be a single language, than see it perish by being confined in an academic strait-waistcoat. The beauty of any language is its freedom and adaptability; when it has become fixed and rigid it is dead. Again, no committee could tell whether a word is a good word or a bad word, or whether it is wanted or not. Thousands of words which we now consider absolutely essential to the language were, when they were first introduced, described as quite unnecessary and the mere surplusage of pedantry or affectation. Each word must take its chance. But all this is beside the question, for the Spectator writer does not admit the need for an academy for the English language; he denies the proposition that the English race in its various habitations is taking to unintelligible dialects. "We have never met a newspaper article in modern English, much less a printed book, whether hailing from America or Australia, which, if not deliberately intended to- be a skit on current local slang, was not perfectly intelligible to every educated man who uses the English language as his mother tongue." Free trade in words has kept the language steady. Books written in the Elizabethan age are still perfectly intelligible. The language will broaden and deepen, and yet remain as clear as ever. CORRESPONDENCE. I.—The Output op Authors. IFIND it stated in The Author for May i that I confess to having written two of my books at the rate of 7000 words a day. I made no such confession. I said that while I had two of my earlier books in hand I must have written as much as 7000 words a day, but that that included ## p. 26 (#432) ############################################# 26 THE AUTHOR. a mass of journalistic work—a very different thing from invention. H. G. Wells. Heatherlea, Worcester Park, Surrey. II. —The Moi-meme in Journalism. Students of literary methods cannot fail to have remarked the extensive growth of late of the moi-meme style of contribution, whether as applied to books, the drama, parliamentary reporting, or even the telegraphic views of "our own " or " our special." Is this new departure a healthy one? I venture to think not. The advantage of a lavish employment, over initials, of the personal pronoun is by no means apparent. Rightly or wrongly, a feeling is engendered that the impartial duties of a writer towards the organ he represents are being sacrificed upon the altar of egoism. Thus the small, not infrequently very insignificant, " I myself" flouts the more potent editorial " we " in quite a cheeky fashion. As a matter of fact, the general public are apt to resent individual opinions as above indicated, and fail as a rule to even identify such contributors, save when pseudonyms or initials are of established reputation. Anonymity in journalism, apart from book reviewing, seems to me the wisest course for all parties concerned. Cecil Clarke. Authors' Club, S.W. March 17. _ III. —The Criticism of "Dolomite Strongholds." That "the works of members should not be criticised in The Author" is a healthy rule, and I was glad to see it formulated, on p. 287, in the last number. But, in the previous number (p. 264), I am sorry to see that Sir William Martin Conway has managed to insert a very damaging criticism of a member's book, which he names in full—"' Dolomite Strongholds,' by J. Sanger Davies "—and the attack is none the less effective because it is brought in " to illustrate" Sir W. M. Conway's novel views of the moral obligations which should govern his reviewing, or should not. What necessity was there for giving the full title and author's name? The " illustra- tion" in no way needed it. Of course, as Sir W. M. Conway declares that he has "reviewed with open hostility . only three books," I am not seeking a reason for the supposition that he intended, in this case, "to kill the book if he can," although members of the Alpine Club did once suggest something. But why trouble your readers, who are chiefly non-climbers, with a climbing criticism of my book? Sir William Martin Conway informs them: "The book is not a good. one from the point of view of an expert climber." The opinion, as an opinion, is a perfectly legiti- mate one, especially coming from one who pro- jected and announced a little book of his own upon the same group of mountains, with the aid, how- ever, of another hand. But why drag in this, or any other opinion, with full title of book and the author's name, into an illustration in a letter to The Author? True, there was a balancing clause, that he "praised" the same book in a popular weekly because it was " quite amusing," &c.; and, from the context, I may gain the further comfort that the readers of popular weeklies, "being possibly the fools they are," will get "no false notions of any importance " from my book. But I must decline to see the compensation even in this " praise," and I trust that there will be no further criticism of the works of any member of the Authors' Society in the pages of The Author. J. Sanger Davies. IV.—A Good Word for Editors. I recently sent a short story to one of our current publications, and received a cheque from the editor for just twice the amount asked. Though the fee named was a modest one, it was at a rate of payment that is, I believe, often used. That the story may have been worth more than the author asked for it makes no difference to the liberality of the transaction, but helps to prove that editors are not all mean and grasping. Why do I write this? Justice is my plea. May 17, 1897. Margarita. V.—Answers to some of the Questions in "A Self-Examination Paper for Candid Critics."—[The Author for May.] 1. I have only read " Robinson Crusoe " in Ger- man, where the hero figures as Crusoe Robinson. I never make any remarks upon the book, affec- tionate or other. 3. I published an article in the National Review for July, 1890, showing the "Vicar of Wakefield" to he one of the coarsest and most grossly absurd stories in English litera- ture. 5. Ranke's "History of the Popes," of course. —Contemplating the ruins of St. Paul's with a view to sketching them. Who doesn't know that? ## p. 27 (#433) ############################################# THE AUTHOR. 27 6. Give the article. Will any do? 4. (b.) I have a ri^ht to draw comparisons between any two novelists that are comoarable. Does M. C. V. intend to insinuate that, for instance, George Eliot, Mrs. Gaskell, Mrs. Oliphant, and, say, Mrs. Humphry Ward, are not comparable to Jane Austen, or that the female novelist of the present day is "incomparable "? In either case I disagree with him. Frederic H. Balfour. THE BOOKS OF THE MONTH. [April 24 to Mat 22—240 Books.] "Actinotus." The Power of (he Pane. 3/6. Sonnenschein. Adcock. A. St. John. East-End IdyllB. 8/6. Bowden. Alexander, Mrs. Mrs. Crichton'B Creditor. White. Anonymous. America and the Americana. Heinemann. Anonymous: A. O. M. Two Brothers. Gardner. Anonymous: M. R. S. OptimuB, and Other Poems. 2/6. Sonuenschein. 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Duplicates of Circulars by the latest S OPINIONS Of CLIENTS— Distinguished Author:—"The most beautiful typing I hive ever seen." Lady of Title:—"The J work was very well and clearly done." PROVINCIAL Editor :—" Many thanks for the spotless neatnesB and beautiful accuracy." 5 MISS GENTRY, ELDON CHAMBERS, 30, FLEET STREET, E.C. Typewriting by Clergyman's Daughter and Assistants. MISS E. M. SIKES, The West Kensington Typewriting Agency, 13, Wolverton Oardens, Hammersmith, W. (Established 1898.) Authors' MSS. carefully and promptly copied. Usual Terms. Legal and General Copying. Typewritten Circulars by Copying Process. Authors' Reffrknues. — WRITINQ ACCUEATELY AND PROMPTLY EXECUTED. postage paid, please give trial. MISS RAINES, 11, Falconer Chambers, Scarborough. 6* At/ I PASTE STICKS Crown 8vo., cloth boards, price 6s. HATHERSAGE A Tale of North Derbyshire. CHARLES EDMUND HALL, Author of " An Ancient Ancestor," &c. London: Horace Cox, Windsor House. Bream's-buildings, E.O. =18. GILL, TYPE-WBITINO OFFICE, 35, LUDGATE HILL, E.C. (ESTABLISHED 1883.) Authors' MSS. carefully copied from Is. per 1000 words. Duplicate copies third price. Skilled typints sent out by hour, day, or week. French MSS. accurately copied, or typewritten English translations supplied. References kindly permitted to Sir Walter Besant; also to Messrs. A. P. Watt and Son, Literary Agents, Hastings House, Norfolk-street. Strand, W.C. THE AUTHOR'S HAIRLESS PAPER-PAD. (The Lkadenhall Press Ltd.), 50, Leadeuliall Street, London, E.C. Contains hairless paper, over which the pen slips with perfect freedom. Sixpence each: 5«. per dozen, ruled or plain. Royal 8vo., price 16s. net. Sporting Days in Southern India: BEING REMINISCENCES OP TWENTY TRIPS IN PURSUIT OF BIG GAME, CHIEFLY IN THE JflADRAS PRESIDENCY. Lieut -Col. A. J. 0. POLLOCK, Royal Scots Fusiliers. WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS BY WHYMPER AND OTHERS. CONTENTS.—Chapters L, IL, and III.—The Bear. IV. and V.—The Panther. VI., VII., and VIII.—The Tiger. IS. and X.—The Indian Bison. XL and XII —The Elephant. XIII.—Deer (Cervidaj) and Antelopes. XIV — The Ibei. XV. and XVI.— Miscellaneous. London: Horaoe Cox, Windsor House, Bream's-buildings, E.C. Printed and Published by Horace Cox, Windsor House, Bream's-buildings, London, E.C. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Author, Vol. 08 Issue 01 (June 1897) Subject The topic of the resource The Author, Vol. 08 Issue 01 (June 1897) Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015049239455" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015049239455</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Publication Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 1897-06-01-The-Author-8-1 publications The Author https://historysoa.com/files/original/4/303/1898-The-Author-8-index.pdf 801e69a0f551b897766292e0ffd28172 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 Society of Authors Publications Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context publications Publication Date The date of an event (in YYYY, YYYY-MM or YYYY-MM-DD format) 1898 Volume 8 Publisher(s) When used for publications, publisher of the periodical or book. When used for people, list of publishers they worked with during their lifetime The Society of Authors Horace Cox Location The location of the event or organisation London 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 Index to The Author, Vol. 08 (1898) Subject The topic of the resource Index to The Author, Vol. 08 (1898) Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015049239455" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015049239455</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Publication Index Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 1898-The-Author-8-index publications The Author https://historysoa.com/files/original/5/302/1897-05-01-The-Author-7-12.pdf 3267678123e4295fd66cd1b387f81ada 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 The Author Description An account of the resource A digitised run of the Society of Authors' monthly periodical, The Author, 1890–1914, made available together for the first time. Currently users can browse issues and <a href="https://historysoa.com/items/browse?search=&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bjoiner%5D=and&advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=51&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Index&collection=&type=&tags=&exhibit=&date_search_term=&submit_search=Search+For+Items&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) 1897-05-01 Volume 7 Issue 12 Pages Page range in volume 301–336 Ngram Date Version of the date in YYYYMMDD format for use by the Ngram plugin 18970501 Ngram Text Version of the text with no HTML formatting for use by the Ngram plugin XI b e Hutbor* (The Organ of the Incorporated Society of Authors. Monthly.) CONDUCTED BY WALTER BESANT. Vol. VII.—No. 12.] MAY 1, 1897. [Price Sixpence. CONTENTS. PASl Notices, Ac 301 The Management of The Author 303 Literary Property— 1. Secret Proats 307 S The Meaning of Koyalties 311 3. Copyright in Photographs 311 4. Copyright Legislation in America 312 ?». An Example from Aberdeen 313 6. An Author's Protest 314 The Society as Publishers. By Thomas W. D. Lisle 314 New York Letter. By Norman Hapgood 315 Notes from Elsewhere. By R. H. Sherard 317 Notes and News. By the Editor 319 A Wholly Imaginary Dialogue 320 A French View 321 The NoTels of J. H. Pearce. By Sir George Douglas 32 > New Poetry 324 Book Tit'es: a Proposal. By P. Howard Collins 324 Literature in the Periodicals 325 Correspondence —1. The Subjunctive Mood: its Present Day Use. 2. Episcopal Stylo. 3. Corruptions of the Langmgc. 4. Stories Wanted. 5. The Casual Contributor. 6. The House where Byron was Bom. 7. A Biography of Joseph Strott. 8 The Length of the Short Story. 9. Wanted a Strike. 10. Aa American Publisher's Account. 11. A Register of Title*. 12. A Self Examination Paper for Candid Critics. 13. Stories riot Wanted 14. Who should be Publishers' Beaders? 3->7 Book Talk S3 > A Belgian Literary Competition 334 Obituary 334 The Books of the Month 335 PUBLICATIONS OP THE SOCIETY. 1. The Annual Report. That for January 1897 can be had on application to the Secretary. 2. The Author. A Monthly Journal devoted especially to the protection and maintenance of Literary Tropei-ty. Issued to all Members, 6s. 6d. per annum. Back numbers are offered at the following prices: Vol. I., ios. 6d. (Bound); Vols. II., III., and IV., 8s. 6d. each (Bound); Vol. V., 6s. 6d. (Unbound). 3. Literature and the Pension List. By W. Mokeis Colles, Barrister-at-Law. (Henry Glaisher, 95, Strand, W.C.) 3*. 4. The History of the Societe des Gens de Lettres. By S. Squire Spriqge, late Secretary tc- the Society, is. 5. The Cost of Production. In this work specimens are given of the most important forms of type, size of page, &c, with estimates showing what it costs to produce the more common kinds of books. Henry Glaisher, 95, Strand, W.C. 2s. 6d. 6. The Various Methods of Publication. By S. Squire Sprigge. In this work, compiled from the papers in the Society's offices, the various forms of agreements proposed by Publishers to Authors are examined, and their meaning carefully explained, with an account of the various kinds of fraud which have been made possible by the different clauses in their agresments. Henry Glaisher, 95, Strand, W.C. 3*. 7. Copyright Law Reform. An Exposition of Lord Monkswell's Copyright Bill now before Parlia- ment. With Extracts from the Report of the Commission of 1878, and an Appendix containing the Berne Convention and the American Copyright Bill. By J. M. Lely. Eyre and Spottiswoode. is. 6d. 8. The Society of Authors. A Record of its Action from its Foundation. By Walter Besant (Chairman of Committee, 1888—1892). is. 9. The Contract of Publication in Germany, Austria, Hungary, and Switzerland. By Ernst Lunge, J.U.D. 2.?. 6<1. ## p. 300 (#360) ############################################ 11 AD VER TISEMENTS. Iflje goriefp of Jluffjors (gncorporafeb). Sib Edwin Arnold, K.C.I.E., C.S.I. Alfred Austin. J. M. Barbie. A. W. X Beckett. Robert Bateman. F. E. Beddard, F.R.S. Sir Henry Bergne, K.C.M.G. Sir Walter Besant. Augustine Birhell, M.P. Rev. Prof. Bonnet, P.B.S. Bight Hon. James Brtce, M.P. Right Hon. Lord Burohclere, P.C Hall Caine. Egerton Castle, P.S.A. P. W. Clatden. Edward Clodd. W. Morris Colles. Hon. John Collier. Sir W. Martin Convvat. F. Marion Crawford. PRESIDENT. GEOBGE MEBEDITH. COUNCIL. The Earl of Desart. Austin Dobson. A. Conan Doyle, M.D. A. W. Duboubg. Prof. Michael Foster, F.R.S. D. W. Fheshfield. Richard Garnett, C.B., LL.D. Edmund Gosse. H. Rider Haggard. Thomas Hardy. Anthony Hope Hawkins. Jerome K. Jerome. Rudtard Kipling. Prof. E. Ray Lankester, F.R.S. W. E. H. Lecky. J. M. Lely. Mrs. E. Lynn Linton. Rev. W. J. Loftie, F.S.A. Sir A. C. Mackenzie, Mas.Doc. Prof. J. M. D. Meiklejohn. Hon. Counsel — E. M. Underdown Herman C. Merivale. Rev. C. H. Middleton-Wake. Sir Lewis Morris. Henry Norman. Miss E. A. Ormerod. J. C. Parkinson. Right Hon. Lord Pirbright, F.R.S. Sir Frederick Pollock, Bart., LL.D. Walter Herries Pollock. W. Baptists Scoones. Miss Flora L. Shaw. G. R. Sims. S. Squire Spriooe. J. J. Stevenson. Francis Storr. Prof. Jas. Sully. William Moy Thomas. H. D. Traill, D.C.L. Mrs. Humphry Ward. Miss Charlotte M. Yonqe. Q.C. COMMITTEE OF MANAGEMENT. A W. X Beckett. Sir Walter Besant. Egerton Castle, F.SA. W. Morris Colles. Chairman—H. Rider Haggard. Sir W. Martin Conway. D. W. Freshfield. Anthony Hope Hawkins. J. M. Lely. SUB Sir A. C. Mackenzie, Mua.Poe. Henry Norman. Francis Storr, COMMITTEES. MUSIC. C. Villiers Stanford, Mua.D. (Chairman) Jacques Blumenthal. J. L. Molloy. ( Field, Roscoe, and Co., Lincoln's Inn Fields. ^ G. Herbert Thring, B.A., 4, Portugal-street. Secretary—G. Herbert Turing, B.A. OFFICES: 4, Portugal Street, Lincoln's Inn Fields, W.C. ART. Hon. John Collier (Chairman) Sir W. Martin Conway. M. H. Spielmann. Solicitors DRAMA. Henry Arthur Jones (Chairman). A. W. X Beckett. Edward Rose. IP. "W"^.TT &c SO INT, LITERARY AGENTS, Formerly of 2, PATERNOSTER SQUARE, Have now removed to HASTINGS HOUSE, NORFOLK STREET, STRAND, LONDON. AV.C. WINDSOR HOUSE PRINTING WORKS, BREAM'S BUILDINGS, E.G. Offices of ''The Field,'' "The Queen." "The Law Times," &e. Mr. HORACE COX. Printer to the Authors' Society, takes the opportunity of informing Authors that, having a very large Office, and an extensive Plant of Type of every description, he is in a position to EXECUTE any PRINTING tht-y may entruat lo his care. ESTIMATES FORWARDED, AND REASONABLE CHARGES WILL. BE FOUND. ## p. 301 (#361) ############################################ XT b e H u t b o t\ (The Organ of the Incorporated Society of Authors. Monthly.) CONDUCTED BY WALTER BESANT. Vol. VII.—No. 12.] MAY i, 1897. [Price Sixpence. For the Opinions expressed in papers that are signed or initialled the Authors alone are responsible. None of the papers or para- graphs must be taken as expressing the collective opinions of the Committee unless tliey are officially signed by G. Herbert Thring, Sec. THE Secretary of the Society begs to give notice that all remittances are acknowledged by return of post, and requests that all members not receiving an answer to important communications within two days will write to him without delay. All remittances should be crossed Union Bank 0/ London, Chancery-lane, or bo sent by registered letter only. Communications and letters are invited by the Editor on all subjects connected with literature, but on no other sub- jects whatever. Articles which cannot be accepted are returned if stamps for the purpose accompany the MSS. GENERAL MEMORANDA. EOR some years it has been the practice to insert, in every number of The Author, certain " General Con- siderations," Warnings, Notices, Ac, for the guidance of the reader. It has been objected as regards these warnings that the tricks or frauds against which they are directed cannot all be guarded against, for obvious reasons. It is, however, well that thoy should be borne in mind, and if any publisher refuses a clause of precaution he simply reveals his true character, and should be left to oarry on his business in bis own way. Let us, however, draw up a few of the rules to be observed in an agreement. There are three methods of dealing with literary property:— I. That of Belling it outright. This is in some respects the most satisfactory, if a proper price can be obtained. But the transaction should be managed by a competent agent. II. A profit-sharing agreement. In this case the following rules should be attended to: (1.) Not to sign any agreement in which the cost of pro- duction forms a part. (2.) Not to give the publisher the power of putting the profits into his own pocket by charging for advertisements VOL. VII. in his own organs: or by charging exchange advertise- ments. (3.) Not to allow a special charge for " office expenses," unless the same allowance is made to the author. (4.) Not to give up American, Colonial, or Continental rights. (5.) Not to give up serial or translation rights. (6.) Not to bind yourself for future work to any publisher. As well bind yourself for the future to any one solicitor or doctor! (7.) To stamp the agreement. III. The royalty system. In this system, which has opened the door to a most amazing amount of overreaching and trading on the author's ignorance, it is above all things necessary to know what the proposed royalty means to both sides. It is now possible for an author to ascertain approximately and very nearly the truth. From time to time the very important figures connected with royalties are published in The Author. Readers can also work out the figures themselves from the "Costof Production." Let no one, not even the youngest writer, sign a royalty agreement without finding out what it gives the publisher as well as himself. It has been objected that these precautions presuppose a great success for the book, and that very few books indeed attain to this great success. That is quite true: but there is always this uncertainty of literary property that, although the works of a great many authors carry with them no risk at all, and although of a great many it is known within a few copies what will be their minimum circulation, it is not known what will be their maximum. Therefore every author, for every book, should arrange on the chance of a success which will not, probably, come at all; but which may come. The four points which the Society has always demanded from the outset are :— (1.) That both sides shall know what an agreement means. (2.) The inspection of those account books which belong to the author. We are advised that this is a right, in the nature of a common law right, which cannot be denied or withheld. (3.) That there shall be no secret profits. (4.) That nothing shall bo charged which has not been actually paid—for instance, that there shall be no charge for advertisements in the publisher's own organs and none for exchanged advertisements; and that all discounts shall be duly entered. If these points are carefully looked after, the author may rest pretty well assured that he is in right hands. At the same time he will do well to send his agreement to the secretary before he signs it. H H 2 ## p. 302 (#362) ############################################ 3°2 THE AUTHOR. HOW TO USE THE SOCIETY. i. li\VERY member has a right to ask for and to receive t'J advice upon his agreements, his choice of a pub- lisher, or any dispute arising in the conduct of his business or the administration of his property. If the advice sought is such as can be given best by a solicitor, the member has a right to an opinion from the Society's solicitors. If the case is such that Counsel's opinion is desirable, the Com- mittee will obtain for him Counsel's opinion. All this without any cost to the member. 2. Remember that questions connected with copyright and publisher's agreements do not generally fall within the experience of ordinary solicitors. Therefore, do not scruple to use the Society first—our solicitors are continually engaged upon such questions for ns. 3. Send to the office copies of past agreements and past accounts with the loan of the books represented. This is in order to ascertain what has been the nature of your agree- ments, and the results to author and publisher respectively so far. The Secretary will always be glad to have any agreements, new or old, for inspection and note. The infor- mation thus obtained may prove invaluable. 4. If the examination of your previous business trans- actions by the Secretary proves unfavourable, you should take advice as to a change of publishers. 5. Before signing any agreement whatever, send the pro- posed document to the Society for examination. 6. The Society is acquainted with the methods, and—in the case of fraudulent houses—the tricks of every publish- ing firm in the country. 7. Remember always that in belonging to the Society you are fighting the battles of other writers, even if you are reaping no benefit to yourself, and that you are advancing the best interests of literature in promoting the indepen- dence of the writer. 8. Send to the Editor of The Author notes of everything important to literature that yon may hear or meet with. 9. The committee have now arranged for the reception of members' agreements and their preservation in a fireproof Bafe. The agreements will, of course, be regarded as con- fidential documents to be read only by the Secretary, who will keep the key of the Bafe. The Society now offers:—(1) To read and advise upon agreements and publishers. (2) To stamp agreements in readiness for a possible action upon them. (3) To keep agreements. (4) To enforce payments due according to agreements. THE AUTHORS' SYNDICATE. MEMBERS are informed: I. That the Authors' Syndicate takes charge of the business of members of the Society. That it submits KSS. to publishers and editors, concludes agree- ments, examines, passes, and collects accounts, and, gene- rally, relieves members of the trouble of managing business details. 2. That the terms upon which its services can be secured will be forwarded upon detailed application. 3. That the Authors' Syndicate works only for those members of the Society whose work possesses a market value. 4. That the Syndicate can only undertake any negotiations whatever on the distinct understanding that those negotia- tions are placed exclusively in its hands, and that all communications relating thereto are referred to it. 5. That clients can only be seen by the Director by appointment, and that, when possible, at least two days' notice should be given. 6. That every attempt is made to deal with all communi- cations promptly. That stamps should, in all cases, be sent to defray postage. 7. That the Authors' Syndicate does not invite MSS. without previous correspondence; does not hold itself responsible for MSS. forwarded without notice; and that in all cases MSS. must be accompanied by stamps to defray postage. 8. That the Syndicate undertakes arrangements for lectures by some of the leading members of the Society; that it has a "Transfer Department" for the sale and purchase of journals and periodicals; and that a " Register of Wants and Wanted" is open. Members are invited to communicate their requirements to the Manager. There is an Honorary Advisory Committee, whose services will be called upon in any case of dispute or difficulty. It is perhaps necessary to state that the members of the Advisory Committee have no pecuniary interest whatever in the Syndicate. NOTICES. THE Editor of The Author begs to remind members of the Society that, although the paper is sent to them free of charge, the cost of producing it would be a very heavy charge on the resources of the Society if a great many members did not forward to the Secretary the modest 6s. 6d. subscription for the year. The Editor is always glad to receive short papers and communications on all subjects connected with literature from members and others. Nothing can do more good to the Society than to make The Author complete, attractive, and interesting. Will those who are willing to aid in this work send their names and the special subjects on which they are willing to write? Communications for The Author 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. Members and others who wish their MSS. read are requested not to send them to the Office without previously communicating with the Secretary. The utmost practicable despatch is aimed at, and MSS. are read in the order in which they are received. It must also be distinctly under- stood that the Society does not, under any circumstances, undertake the publication of MSS. The Authors' Club is now open in its new premises, at 3, Whitehall-court, Charing Ctosb. Address the Secretary for information, rules of admission, Ac. Will members take the trouble to ascertain whether they have paid their subscriptions for the year P If they will do this, and remit the amount, if still unpaid, or a banker's order, it will greatly assist the Secretary, and save him the trouble of sending out a reminder. Members are most earnestly entreated to attend to the following warning. It is a most foolish and may be a most disastrous thing to enter into an agreement binding for a term of years. Let them ask themselves if they would give a solicitor the collection of their rents for five years to come, whatever his conduct, whether he was honest ## p. 303 (#363) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. 303 or dishonest? 0£ course they would not. Why then hesitate for s moment when they are asked to sign them- selves into literary bondage for three or five years? Those who possess the "Cost of Production" are requested to note that the cost of binding has advanced 15 per cent. This means, for those who do not like the trouble of "doing sums," the addition of three shillings in the pound on this head. In other words, if the cost of binding is set down in our book at eight pounds, to this must now be added twenty-four shillings more, so that it now stands at J89 4*. The figures in our book are as near the exact truth as can be procured; but a printer's, or a binder's, bill is so elastic a thing that nothing more exact can be arrived at. Some remarks have been made upon the amount charged in the " Cost of Production" for advertising. Of oourse, we have not included any sums whioh may be charged for inserting advertisements in the publisher's own magazines, or in other magazines by exchange. As agreements too often go, there is nothing to prevent the publisher from sweeping the whole profits o a book into his own pocket, by inserting any number of advertisements in his own magazines, and by exchanging with others. Some there are who call this a form of fraud; it is not known what those who practise this method of swelling their own profits call it. THE MANAGEMENT OF "THE AUTHOR." I. f~W "^HE following circular, which explains itself, I was sent to the Committee on April 1: "Frognal End, Hampstead, April 1st, 1897. "It is quite clear to me that without the appro- val of the Committee, renewed or expressed from time or time, it must become impossible for me to continue as editor of this paper. It is their paper; it is the organ of the Society; the Committee have therefore, a full right to the control of the journal on general principles. "I therefore take the opportunity of the ap- proaching conclusion of the seventh volume to invite the opinion of the Committee on the subject. "My own view as to the work specially laid down for such a paper is that it must be the absolutely fearless advocate of authors' rights in literary properly. With this object I have kept steadily before me the three great principles of the Society —principles which, I am well aware, must be fought out for a long time before we get them passed into universal practice. "The principles are briefly— (1) The book belongs to the author, and not to the publisher, unless the author cedes it. (2) The author has the right of knowing what any proposed agreement gives to the pub- lisher compared v ith what it gives the author. (3) He has the right to audit any accounts submitted to him. "In support of these principles I have endea- - voured to pour into the pages of The Author all the light that can be obtained upon everything connected with the publishing of books, e.g., the cost of printing; the cost of paper; the meaning of corrections; the cost of binding; the price to the trade; the price to the distributing agencies; the money spent in advertising; the meaning of royalties, &c. All these things have appeared in these pages over and over again. They have drawn me into endless controversies, which I have been left to fight out quite alone. Pub- lishers have denied the truth of the figures even when I had the bills in my hands and was actually copying them. I have had to offer publicly to carry on their printing by myself at the figures given in the paper. Less than a year ago one publisher wrote to the papers giving certain figures as regards the trade which his own firm were actually compelled, in a "secret and confidential" circular to the trade, to disown the very next day! This I at once discovered and denounced. "At the same time I have published almost with every number some proposed agreement, with comments. The publishers concerned have generally met these facts with silence. Of late their defence has been that the facts are stated without names—a suggestion that the facts are inventions. In this respect, however, The Author goes as far as can be expected. It publishes the exact facts, leaving the persons concerned to announce themselves—but their modesty always keeps them in the background—and with the offer that the Secretary is ready to give the names concerned to any members who wish to learn them. "I have made arrangements for a monthly letter from Paris and from New York, chiefly on subjects which concern our own affairs. I have admitted correspondence freely from our own members, thinking it wise, even when grievances are imaginary, to let them be ventilated. There are also columns concerning new books, in which members have the right, which they exercise freely, of inserting announcements of their own books. Criticism I have found necessary to exclude entirely. "The columns on "Literary Property" are devoted to all kinds of questions concerning this great subject. I think we can fairly boast that nothing has ever before been done for literary property compared with what has appeared in The Author. Of ourse I acknowledge most readily that the valuable opinions of Counsel, such as those of Mr. H. H. Cozens-Hardy, Q.C.Mr. ## p. 304 (#364) ############################################ 3°4 THE AUTHOR. Blake Odgers, Q.C., Mr. James Rolt; certain most useful papers by Sir Frederick Pollock, and other documents, have been presented by the Committee as contributions to the maintenance of literary property. "1 submit to the Committee that it is not enough to print such things as the meaning of agreements, royalties, &c, once for all. They are quickly forgotten; interested persons are always ready to try it on again; the facts must be reprinted over and over again. We are dealing with a set of men brought up in sharp business habits, whose perpetual aim is to get his work from the writer on terms favourable to themselves. What some of us call fraud, and some call trading on ignor- ance, some of these people call sharp business. If The Author has done any good in the past, that good will quickly vanish and be forgotten unless the paper is continued on the old lines, and the figures and facts repeated from time to time. "I submit again, as proof positive that The Author is doing great good, the fact that many persons concerned are continually denouncing the paper, showing that they regard it as a paper of the greatest importance, and that they read it with the greatest jealousy; and are either crying out that its facts are not true, or, if they cannot do that, are scheming and working underhand for its suppression or alteration. "I therefore lay before the Committee this statement, and invite their consideration of the whole question. To my own mind, it is clear that the maintenance of the Society's principles can- not be even attempted unless we have such an outspoken organ carried on quite fearlessly. But I cannot continue any longer to advocate these principles unless I am assured of the approval and the support of the Committee. I have therefore sent round this circular, and I propose to absent myself from the meeting on Monday in order that the Committee may either discuss this question then, or may name another day for the discussion. "Lastly, I beg that this letter may be taken as my resignation of the editorship of The Author, but that I am willing to be re-elected, provided the Committee approve of my conduct, of the paper in the past, and are ready to support me in its conduct for the future on the same lines. Walter Besant." II. The Committee, at their meeting of Monday, April 5, passed the following Resolut:on in reply to this circular: "The Committee < nauimously desire to retain you in the position of editor. Speaking generally, they accept the principle of your three points. They thank you for your efforts on their behalf, and they look forward to a continuance of those efforts in the future. "Whilst recognising fully the responsibility of an editor, and the necessity for freedom in the management of his paper, the Committee, anxious to meet your views in every way possible, yet feel sure that you will not wish them to abdicate all influence over the paper, or to refrain from ex- pressing to you any considerations that may occur to them in regard to the views expressed or the line adopted in what is, and is publicly stated to be, the official organ of the Society of Authors." III. The completion of the seventh volume of The Author may properly be made an occasion for examining into some of the services which it has rendered to the cause which it maintains. This cause is the definition and defence of Literary Property in the interests of those who create it, and those to whom it belongs until they part with it. The class of those to whom this kind of pro- perty is a real and a very important matter has very largely increased of late. On every side we see experts creating most valuable property in their own subjects: writers on education, writers on medicine, law, science, music, art, putting forth books for which there is an ever-increasing public; writers of new travels, new histories, new bio- graphies, widely in demand; writers of plays which may be mines of gold; writers of fiction for which there is an unprecedented demand. To all these writers The Author is addressed. We shall show here why it should be regarded as a paper which it is not only desirable but neces- sary to keep up. Apart from what it has done, the hostility with which it is regarded by certain persons is in itself a guarantee that it is doing a good work. For The Author, like the Society to which it belongs, considers publishers from the one point of view which is dignified and sensible. It speaks of them as so many men of business—a manner of consideration which ought to offend no honest man—liecause they are, and always will be, men whose business it is to make money by producing and selling literature. That is to say, t heir work is to get books that sell, to acquire the control or the administration of such works on favourable terms, whether with the bookseller at one end or with the author at the other end. The Author's Society and The Author have examined into the various agreements by which authors are induced to part with their rights: they have ## p. 305 (#365) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. 3°5 proved what these agreements mean. Not only in the pages of this journal, but also in the book entitled "Methods of Publishing," they have exposed the true meaning of these agreements, and pointed out that in many cases they mean a surrender of almost everything to the pub- lisher. This exposure has met with the most violent animosity; the figures have been denied over and over again in the most impudent manner; attacks of the most venomous kind have been made in the papers; these attacks, however, always answered, continually renewed and answered again, have proved of the greatest value to the Society. Another class which has proved curiously hostile to the Society and its organ is that nume- rous body of literary people who hang about publishers' offices. Some of them are paid for touting for their employers—a dignified occupa- tion indeed for a man of letters; some are paid for doing any kind of work that is wanted; some are occupied in compiling books, which they sell for trifling sums; some are employed in editing and writing introductions for books; some are poets of small demand who are unpractical persons easily deceived into the belief that there is no such thing as literary property; some are readers; some look for the chance of getting an article accepted in the firm's magazine; all are dependents, and in that capacity regard writers who are not dependent with greeu eyes. This large class of literary men regards the objects of the Society with a strange jealousy. One hears, from time to time, what they say, and how they feel on the subject of Literary Property, of which they have themselves obtained so small a share. It is proposed, therefore, to set forth some of the contributions made by The Author towards the maintenance of literary property. Let us take the first volume only. Of what may be called "solid matter in this volume there are papers from Counsel learned in the law on Copyright in Lectures and Sermons: on the proposed American Copyright Law: on the Society's new Copyright Act: on Copyright in Magazine Articles: a valuable paper by Wilkie Collins on American Copyright: and on Canadian Copyright. There are exposures of agreements and "cases" by the dozen, with the figures and the proof of what is meant: other "cases" between editor and author, also by the dozen: the exposure of bogus publishers: the corre- spondence between the Society and the late Mr. W. H. Smith: papers on the Colonial Book Markets and American Piracies : the controversy in full between the Editor and the Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge: a statement of what is meant by royalties: analyses of lists of new books: all kinds of proposals for future development: and, what is more than all, a firm, clear view maintained in the face of those who, either for interested motives or from ignorance or from muddleheadedness, were continually then, as they are now, trying to obscure the issues, and to draw a herring across the scent. Various methods of publishing, especially the so-called " Half Profit" system: the "Commis- sion Book ": Literary management of all kinds: the Agent: the hostility to the Agent: law reports of literary cases: Collaboration: Literature and the State: the Civil List: national distinctions for literary men: Literature in the colonies r Accounts and communications of other literary societies in America, France, and Germany. Also the Literature of the Magazines, with hundreds of questions and difficulties which have- sprung up around this important subject, such a£ the length of time which a contributor should allow to the editor before accepting or refusing: before printing and publishing: before paying. In this very important branch the paper has done good service, not only in securing payment—in some cases by threats of law—but also in recalling to certain editors of the lower kind the fact that even to contributors courtesy is due. An impor- tant legal decision was obtained under the chair- manship of Sir Frederick Pollock, in the case of Macdonald v. The National Review, when it was held that to send a contributor the proof of his paper must be considered as acceptance. The Author has exposed many tricks of unscru- pulous publishers. Thus, for instance, the " Half Price " trick. The way is this. A clause in the agreement assigns the author a certain royalty; but "if the price of the book is lowered 10 one- half or under" the royalty shall be half. It seems plausible, and as it will certainly be tried on again—all the tricks are—it is well to repeat the case here. It was a two volume novel published at 21s. The author was to receive a royalty of 15 per cent., i.e., 3*. i$d. a copy. Now the sole buyers of the two volume novel were the libraries. They paid, as a rule, from 9*. to I is. a copy. By lowering the price to 10s. 6d. the publisher lost nothing: but he had to pay the author is. 6-?itd. instead of 3*. i\d. Thus he gained about 1*. 6d. on every copy. The paper has shown up the nature of tricks connected with printer's corrections. It is now possible for the author by keeping his first proofs to test the charge under this head. For instance (vol. 4, p. 234): Corrections are generally charged either at i«. or is. 2d. an hour. This means an hour's work of the compositor. Ho can, as a rule, substitute one word for another in three or ## p. 306 (#366) ############################################ 3°6 THE AUTHOR. four minutes ; or say, about seventeeu words in an hour. The author has therefore only to count his corrections in order to arrive at an estimate of the charge that can be made on this account. Rut, if he so corrects as to make the line run on and displace perhaps often a page, a larger allow- ance must be made. It is common in agreements to al'ow the author so much for corrections, say, 10*. a sheet. This means 136 words in a sheet. The paper has been enriched by legal opinions upon certain subjects of the highest importance. Thus, Sir Frederick Pollock advanced in his opinion (vol. 4, p. 5) that there should be no mystery in the production of books: tint so ret profits are not admissible: that the author is 1 utitled to full and true accounts, and to be charged only with actual expenditure. These points have been claimed by the Society from the outset: but their advanc ement by a lawyer of the greatest weight and standing was—and is—a great support to the Society. Another most important opinion was that of Mr. H. H. Cozens-Hardy, Q.C., and Mr. J. Rolt. A paper had been prepared on the question of publishers' charges generally. The case was that of a so-called " half profit" system agreement. This paper, with the reply, is so important that it is reproduced here for the benefit of those members who have not seen it, or have for- gotten it. Another point of great importance is that of risk. It is constantly affirmed by those who know nothing of the matter that publishers are always incurring enormous risks in return for which they are entitled to take three-fourths, nine-tenths, or anything that they please, of the profits of a successful book. When this claim is disputed, they raise a cry that the Society denies that pubbshers ever take risk. It is important, therefore, to know what risk means. I put aside such great enterprises as an Encyclo- paedia: a Dictionary of National Biography: and so forth. There are very few of these works: they are published by no more than two or three houses. I speak of general literature. Now, before a work is printed it is sent round among the London trade. The initial risk, therefore, is the difference between the fiist subscription by the London trade and the cost of production. AY hen the book is produced there is another sub- scription which again lowers the risk. As the smaller publishers very, very seldom produce a book by a perfectly unknown hand, it stands to reason that the risk thus ensured amounts to next to nothing, if anything at all. Another point on which light has been poured is the cost of advertising. (See The Author, Nov. 1895, p. 120) :— "Everything that is unknown is enormous. That is why the cost of advertisements generally looms before the imagination as so stupendous. The following table will explain what advertising a book really means. It shows, that is, how much is added to the cost of a book by advertising to the extent of =£5, .£20, &c, up to =£100 for 1000, zooo, up to 40,000 copies. The figures mean pence: Edition. £lO £20 ^30 £50 £80 .£100 d. d. d. d. d. d. d. 1000 45 12 i9i 24 2000 1 ■A 2'i 35 6 91 12 3000 1 f i j 4 6| 8 5000 n is 2 * 2| 3H 4* TT 10,000 a ■I -> s m 'A iff 2i IT a ft 20.000 3 ft 0 ft n '1 40,000 lii ft t»__ ~i 1 ♦ TBB 15 "It will be seen from this table that, while the cost of advertising is very large per copy for small editions, for large editions it may be almost neglected as for single copies. Thus to spend jL'ioo in advertising a book of which no more than 1000 copies are printed or can be sold, adds 2s. to the cost of every volume; so that (see Cost of Production, p. 31) if a book of 20 sheets of 34 lines and 339 words to a page in long primer, without moulding or stereotyping, and allowiug 4sf/. a copy for binding, cost £79, or with corrections about ,£80, i.e., is. y\d. to each copy, an additional 2*. on the production makes such a book published at a loss. Sometimes this price is raised to ys. 6d., or even more, in order to allow for advertising. Sometimes, again, pub- lishers seem perfectly reckless about the money spent in advertising. Thus, an account was some time ago sent to the Society showing that about .£230 had been spent in advertising a book pub- lished at ys. 6d., of which souie 6000 copies had been sold. A detailed account was demanded and furnished. The account appeared to be quite correct, being examined and tested here and there. It seemed as if the publisher had been ransacking the country to find the least eligible of country papers. This, hewever, was an extreme case. On the other hand, when a book reaches, say, 10,000 copies, ,£50 can be spent upon it without adding any more than 1 irf. to the cost of produc- tion, while, with a very large circulation of 40,000 copies ,£200 can be spent, if necessary— but it would not be necessary—without adding more than i^d. to the cost. "It is neecless to say that these figures do not include advertisements which cost nothing, i.e., those of the publishers' circulars, magazines, Ac., nor those which are simple exchanges." ## p. 307 (#367) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. 3°7 As The Author began, so it has gone on. It is a magazine of papers connected with the Administration of Literary Property. There is no other paper which touches the subject, except with the purpose aforesaid of obscuring issues, and making the falsa appear to be the true. The Author is the necessary accompaniment of the Society: were it not for The A uthor nothing could be known of what the Society is doing, or whether it is doing well or ill. It has been objected that the paper is some- times dull. If it does its work, what does that matter? Criticism is excluded l>ecause we cannot very well be criticising each other: consequently nothing is said about the literary position of any new books. Meantime the very angry way in which certain publishers speak of it is the clearest possible proof that it it doing i(s work, and that thoroughly. LITERARY PROPERTY. I.—Secret Profits. (Reprinted from The Author, Vol. IV., p. 394.) I. CASE FOR COUNSEL. THE Incorporated Society of Authors desires to be advised as to the legal position of authors under a certain well-known form of pubUshing agreement, known as the share- profit system, in reference to the charges made by publishers and otherwise, particularly as tested by the manner in which the courts would deal with charges in the publishers' accounts if they were being taken by the court. A case which raises the point on which counsel's opinion is sought is as follows: An author, A. B., enters into an agreement with publishers, C. D. and Co., in the following terms: Copy of Agreement. Memorandum of agreement made this day of between A. B. of the one part and C. D. and Co. of the other part. It is agreed that the said C. D. and Co. shall publish, at their own rule and expense—(title of work); the exclusive right of printing and publishing which shall be vested in the said C. D. and Co., subject to the following conditions, viz., that after deducting from the produce of the sale thereof all the expenses of printing, paper, binding, advertising, discounts to the trade, and other incidental expenses, the profits remaining of every edition that may be printed of the work during the term of legal copyright are to be divided into two equal parts, one part to be paid to the said A. B. and the other to belong to the said C. D. and Co. The books to be accounted for at the trade sale price, 25 as 24, unless it be thought advisable to dispose of copieB, or of the remainder, at a lower price, which is left to the discretion of the said publisher. Acoounts to be made up annually to Midsummer, delivered on or before Oct. 1st, and settled by cash in the ensuing January. VOL. VII. Some time subsequent to the publication of the book, au account in the following terms was sent to the author :—■ Publisher's Account. As rendered to the Author. £ s. d. Composition (17 sheets at £ 1 ios.) 25 10 o Printing ( „ „ 12s.) 10 4 o Paper ( „ „ £1 os.) 17 o o Moulding 4'3 3 Stereotyping 8 8 3 Binding (at £2 $s. per 100 copies) 22 10 o Advertising 41 10 6 Corrections 4 010 Paper Wrappers 1 13 o Postage 1 7 o .£136 16 10 Proceeds of sale of 950 copies at 3». 6d £166 5 o Incidental expenses (5 per cent. deducted) 8 6 3 ■57 18 9 136 16 10 £21 1 11 Alleged half profits iio 10 11 Which shows that, after the sale of the whole of an edition of 1000 copies, profits to the extent of ,£10 10s. lid. were credited by the publishers to the author as his half share. Upon a close investigntion of the account, it was discovered that on all the cost of production—i.e., com- position, printing, paper, moulding, stereotyping, and binding—the pubbshers had added to the actual cott 10 per cent, on each item. This addition had been made secretly, and the author was not in any way informed of what had taken place. The following amended account shows the actual amounts of charges invoiced to the pub- lishers by their printer, paper-maker, binder, and advertising agent in respect of the items before referred to:— Real Cost of Production. £ s. d. Composition (17 sheets at £ 1 7*.) 22 19 o Printing ( „ „ ion. 6d.) 8186 Paper ( „ „ i8». a sheet) 15 6 o Moulding ( „ „ 58. a sheet) 4 5 o Stereotyping ( „ „ 9*. a sheet) 7 13 o Binding at $d. per volume 20 16 8 Advertising 20 o o Corrections 308 Paper Wrappers 1 10 o Postage, &c 016 o jEios 4 10 Proceeds of sale of 950 copies at an average of 3s. 6<f. a copy ... 166 5 0 Less the coat ... 105 4 10 Profit ...£61 0 _• Actual half profits to author on this account ... £30 in 1 I I ## p. 308 (#368) ############################################ 3o8 THE AUTHOR. With regard to the item of advertisements, it was further found that the publishers, being only able to show vouchers to the amount of £20, the rest of the sum charged was made up of charges for advertisements in the publishers' own maga- zines, for which, of course, they paid nothing, and "exchanges" with other magazines, i.e. adver- tisements in magazines for which the publishers pay nothing, they in their turn inserting gratis in their own magazines similar advertisements for the publishers of the other magazines. It is suggested that the charge for incidental expenses was inde- fensible. The result is that the author was entitled to .£30 io*. id., but the publishers proposed to give only £10 io«. ltd. Nature of relationship between parties to agreement.—Dealing now with several points that arise on this case :— ( I.) The above agreement is what is commonly inown as a share profit agreement, and it is sub- stantially, though there may be minor points of difference, what is offered by all publishers, as a share profit agreement, the share being usually, as here, one half. As to the general position of the parties under such an agreement, it is submitted that although the author is not able to be sued by any outsider in case of default of the publisher, the agreement amounts to a partnership agreement, or joint adventure in the nature of partnership qua the book concerned; or if not to an agreement for partnership or joint adventure, then to an agree- ment making the publisher trustee for the returns due to the author, and, therefore, unable to make any profit out of his trust other than such, if any, as he has expressly stipulated for, and the half share of profits. (II.) Duty of the publisher to account.—The author in the above agreement cedes to the pub- lishers the exclusive right of printing and pub- lishing the book during the legal term of copy- right, and such is the effect of most share- profit agreements. The consideration for this is the publisher paying to the author half profits— i.e., half of the net proceeds of sale of copies after expenses of the publishers have been deducted. It is presumed that whatever be the precise legal relationship of author and publisher under such an agreement as above, the pub- lishers are bound to account fully and exactly to the author, and this appears to involve, as of right, without any express provision in the agreement, (a) production of vouchers for all expenses charged by the publishers, and (6) pro- duction of such books as are usually kept by publishers recording sales; also all records of books received, and the stock in hand, in order to enable the author to check the number of books accounted for as sold. On this point it is believed some publishers would contend that their word is to be accepted as absolute as to number of sales in such cases, but this, it is submitted, is wrong, and that the author has the above right of examining the publishers' books. As regards the vouchers, the production of these seem to be essential. If they are produced they would reveal such a transaction as that disclosed in the before-mentioned accounts with- out the necessity of instituting independent inquiries of printers, binders, &c., from whom it might be difficult for an author to obtain infor- mation. (III.) Right of publisher to charge more than actual expenses.—Several questions arise on the accounts above set out as to the publisher's dis- bursements; and first, there is the addition of 10 per cent, to the actual prices charged him for the several items of work done—printing, binding, &c. It is submitted that this is equally indefen- sible, whether (a) the publisher discloses to the author that he has charged at a higher rate than he himself is charged, there being nothing in the agreement providing for his charging what he likes; or (6) as in the above instance, he conceals this, and so makes a secret profit. The matter appears to be analogous to the transactions which were held to be indefensible in Williamson v. Barbour (9 Ch. Div. 529). The defence of the publishers would probably rest on "custom of trade"; an open and well recognised usage the publisher could not prove, and an infrequent or secret practice it is believed would not constitute a custom. This matter was discussed in a recent case of Eideal v. Kegan Paul and Co., but this was only before the Registrar of the City of London Court. In that case the agreement, a half-profit one, proved that in the accounts "the work shall be debited with all expenses of every kind of or incidental to the publication of each edition of the work, including Mr. George Redway's charges for printing, plates, illustrations, stereotyping, paper, binding, and advertising." Mr. Redway charged more for these things than prices invoiced to him, and the registrar held he could not do so. (IV.) Whether publisher's conduct fraudulent. —Would the court regard the conduct of a pub- lisher who made a secret profit in the manner before stated as fraudulent, so that, e.g., he would be ordered to pay the costs of an action for account if such a fact was brought to light in it? (V.) Discounts.—There is another question which is often mixed up with the question under head No. III., but which is really quite a distinct matter, and apparently moredifficult of decision—■ ## p. 309 (#369) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. that is the question of discounts which a publisher gets allowed him from the printers, binders, paper-makers, &c, he deals with. It is customary for a publisher to obtain six months' credit from a printer. If he pays cash he receives certain discounts. If these discounts are to go into his own pocket, what is there to prevent him from arranging with the printer for a bill off which he is to receive heavy discounts in order to bring the actual cost to the publisher down to ordinary prices, but seriously affecting the state of accounts between author and pub- lisher? It is submitted that any advantages obtained for the quasi partnership by cash pay- ments should be credited to the book. Counsel is referred to the accompanying print of article, "Some Considerations of Publishing," by Sir Frederick Pollock, in which this point is fully discussed. (VI.) Right to charge for advertisements not actually paid for.—A very important point, which is also dealt with in Sir F. Pollock's paper, and which is of dally occurrence on publishers' accounts, is as to the charge for advertisements. As seen in the before-mentioned instance, pub- lishers charge what they call scale prices (being the prices they would charge to outside persons, such as makers of soaps, pills, Ac), for (a) Advertisements inserted in their own magazines, including their own trade lists of books. And (6) advertisements inserted by exchange without payment in other publishers' magazines. In neither case does the publisher pay directly or indirectly anything more than the cost of printing and paper for the pages of advertise- ments, and possibly a mere trifle extra for carriage and binding. It is submitted that beyond these small payments the publisher ought not to charge the author anything in respect of such advertisements. It will no doubt be contended by the pub- lishers who do make these charges that if they did not insert these book advertisements they would be able to advertise so many more soaps and pills; but even if this were the fact (which it probably is not), it is submitted that it forms no legal justification, A strong case exemplifying the evils of this system occurred as follows :— A clergyman named A. gathered many notes about his church, intending to write a history about it. Pressure of other work made it difficult for him to digest and write out his notes, and after some delay he handed everything over to B., who wrote the book out. B. then having full powers, he went to C., a publisher. He said to VOL. VII C, "We want this handsomely printed and bound We ask no remuneration. It can never have a very large sale. We therefore ask you to take it off our hands completely, only reserving the right to take as many copies as A requires at cost price." This proposal was willingly accepted. B. went away for his health, having told A. all about the (verbal) agreement into which he had entered, and explained in particular that under no circum- stances was A. to be called upon to make any money payment. As soon as his back was turned C. sent A. a bill for ,£30 for advertising. It so happened that among C.'s clerks was a young man who was connected with A.'s church, where he had been educated. This clerk seeing A. by chance in C.'s anteroom waiting for an audience, conferred with him on the subject, having only time to say " Do not pay anything without seeing the vouchers." A. took this advice. C. showed him vouchers for .£3 4*., which A. paid under protest. C. promptly cashiered the clerk who had given A. the advice. When B. came home and heard the story he went to C. and said, "You must at once return the =£3 4*. to A. with an apology, as you know perfectly well he owed you neither £30 nor .£3." But this C. would not do. If the publisher is justified in charging for either of the above-mentioned kinds of advertise- ments, the matter must be further considered from other points of view. Counsel will observe what a large door is opened to fraud if the right of charging for advertise- ments which cost nothing or next to nothing be conceded to a publisher. There is nothing to prevent him from putting the whole profits of a book in his own pocket by largely advertising in his own magazines or by exchanges. Further, it has been found by long experience thai a book will only "stand" a certain amount of advertising—i.e., there is a point at which further expenditure does not advance sales, and is only money wasted: also, in the opinion of many experts, the advertising of books in maga- zines is of very little use (because most of the English magazines have a very limited circulation) compared with their advertisement in the great daily papers. (VII.) Moulding and stereotyping. — The accounts above set out contain a charge for moulding, which is rightly charged to the first edition of a book of more than ephemeral interest, because the moulds are taken in case a new edition should be called for. But the stereo- typing need not be executed, and seldom is, until the second edition is wanted. If a pub- lisher charges stereotyping when it is not done, this no doubt will be indefensible. If it is done 1 1 2 ## p. 310 (#370) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. unnecessarily, can lie be made to bear the amount himself? (VIII.) Right to deduct a charge for incidental erpenses.—It will be seen in the above accounts that the publishers have charged "paper wrappers" and "postage," presumably for send- ing copies of the book for review, and have de- ducted 5 per cent, from the proceeds of sale for "incidental expenses"; and publishers justify such a charge by saying that it is to cover the book's share of their general office expenses (rent, wages, Ac). This seems clearly indefensible; the publisher gets half the profits for (i) his risk of loss if there is any risk—very few publishers do, in fact, run risks through the book not paying expenses—this falls entirely on the publisher ; and (2) his position in the publishing trade, for which his offices, his clerks, travellers, &c, are a tine qui! non. The questions on which counsel is asked to advise are as follows: 1. What is the exact relationship between the parties to a share-profit agreement; is it one of partnership, or rather joint adven- ture, or of trusteeship, or what? 2. In any view of the relationship, ought not the publisher to render full accounts, and to give full opportunity of checking them by production of vouchers and books as mentioned above? 3. Is the publisher entitled, under a share-profit agreement, to charge expenses at a higher rate than he himself makes; whether this is disclosed to the author after the con- tract, or is a secret profit made by the publisher? 4. If the answer to the last question is in the negative, would not the existence of such charges, when proved to the court, be a sufficient case for reopening a settled account which contained charges embody- ing such profits? 5. Is the publisher under a share-profit agree- ment entitled to charge the author the full amounts of invoices to him for expenses of the book when he himself only pays such amounts less discounts? 6. Has the publisher the right under a share- profit agreement to charge for advertise- ments (a) inserted in his own magazines or trade lists, and (b) inserted in other publishers' magazines by exchange with- out payment? 7. Can the publisher under a share profit agree- ment charge stereotyping against the first edition where it is not done? 8. Has the publisher under an ordinary share- profit agreement, in the absence of ex- press stipulation, the right to deduct a percentage on books sold for "incidental expenses." 11. counsel's opinion. 1. In our opinion, an agreement such as that set out in the above case creates between the par- ties to it a joint adventure, involving some (but not all) of the incidents of partnership, and con- stitutes a fiduciary relation on the part of the publisher towards the author. 2. Under such an agreement the publisher is, in our opinion, bound, in any view of the relation- ship of the parties, to render proper accounts and to produce all books and documents neces- sary for the proper vouching of the items of such accounts. 3. Under such an agreement the publisher is, in our opinion, only entitled to deduct from the pro- ceeds of sale the actual expenses of printing, paper, &c, and he cannot therefore charge such expenses at a higher rate than he actually pays. It would not, in our opinion, make any difference in this respect whether the publisher, after the execution of the agreement, informed the author that he intended to charge, or had in fact charged, the expenses at such higher rate (unless there were additional circumstances which might evi- dence a waiver or abandonment of rights on the part of the author) or kept the matter secret. 4. If the existence of such charges as those mentioned in the last question were satisfactorily proved, it would, in our opinion, be a sufficient ground for reopening the account in which such charges were contained, even though such account had been settled and approved by the author, assuming, of course, that the account had been so approved by him in ignorance of its containing such charges. 5. This question is one of some difficulty, but, in our opinion, the publisher, under such an agreement, is only entitled to charge for what he actually pays, and therefore cannot charge the full amount of the invoice where he obtains a discount. 6. The publisher is, in our opinion, only en- titled under such an agreement to charge the actual cost of advertisements, whether inserted in his own magazines or trade lists, or those of other publishers. He cannot charge against the author the sum which a stranger would have paid for the insertion of such an advertisement. The actual cost in case (6) would in effect appear to be the actual cost to him of inserting in his own maga- zine an advertisement in exchange for the adver- tisement of the work in question in another publisher's magazine. 7. The publisher is not, in our opinion, entitled ## p. 311 (#371) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. to charge for work which has not in fact lieen done. 8. The term "incidental expenses" in the above-mentioned agreement is extremely vague and unsatisfac'ory, but, in our opinion, it includes those expenses which, or a portion of which, are incidental to the particular book referred to in the agreement, and does not include a shire of estab- lishment charges generally. Unless, however, the charge for incidental expenses could be shown to be excessive or improper, the publisher would not, in our opinion, I e called upon to furnish a detailed account of the items of which it was made up, and the fact that the amount of such incidental expanses was arrived at by taking a percentage on the returns would not, in our opinion, of itself render the charge improper. Herbert H. Cozens-Hardy. J. Kolt. Lincoln's Inn. Dec. 9, 1893. II.—The Meaning ok Royalties. The following tables were published in the first volume of The Author. They are reproduce; 1 here, because too much publicity c.innot be given to the meaning of royalties. The ordinary six shilling book is taken, as usual, with the number of sheets, &c, as in the "Cost of Production," "I. On the sale of the first 1,000, costing ,£100. Per cent. Roytlly of 6 10 15 30 25 30 £ £ £ £ PuM.her. CO 45 30 15 — Author ... 15 10 45 60 75 *> II. On the sale of the next 3,000, costing ^150. Per cent. 5 10 15 20 •a 30 3' £ £ £ £ £ £ £ Pa' 1 shci 350 285 240 195 150 10.» 60 Author ... 45 90 135 180 225 270 315 III. On the sale of an edition of 10,000, costing £400. Per cent 5 10 15 20 25 30 .r. £ £ £ £ £ £ £ rutlUher 1200 1050 too 750 603 450 Author... 150 800 450 600 750 900 1050 "Since it is more common to meet with a success corresponding with the second than with the first table, let us consider what the figures mean. They speak for themselves, but for those who cannot understand figures let us explain. "' Your publisher, dear Sir or Madam, when he benevolently offers you a £5 pjr cent, royalty, will on a second edition of 3000 copies make £330 to your .£45, i.e., eight times your share. If he gives you 10 percent.—which is common—he will make £285 to your £90, that is, three times your share. If 15 per cent, he will make £240 to your £135, i.e., twice your share. If 20 per cent., £195 to your £180. If 25 per cent. £170 to your ^"225. If £30 per cent., £105 to your £270. Consider this, and refuse the .£10 per cent, with indignation.'" Since the above figures were printed royalties have gone up very generally and enormously; thanks, especially, to the publicity given by The Author. Printing and paper have gone down, so that the table ought to be revised. For the present, howeve •, let it pass. Still, however, trading on ignorance, certain publishers pointed out that these figures made no- allowance for their " office expenses." Never was a more impudent attempt. They have never even offered to consider the "office expenses" of booksellers, on the one hand, whose "office expenses " are from 16 to 20 per cent, on their sales: nor of authors, whose office expenses are, as has been pointed out elsewheiv, just as real. IIT.—Copyright in Photographs. (Before Mr. Justice Col ins, without a Jury, on April 12.) Melville t\ Hulton. This was an action brought by Mr. G. C. Melville, a photographer, carrying on business at Market-street, Manchester, against Messrs. E. Hulton and Co., of Mark-lane, Manchester, the proprietors and printers of a daily pap^r called the Sporting Chronicle, and of two weekly papers respectively called the Athletic Neics and the Sunday Chronicle, for damages for infringement of copyright. The plaintiff, by his statement of claim, said that he was the author and proprietor of a photograph of one Frederick E. Bacon, a well-known athlete, and that the defendants had, without the consent of the plaintiff in writing, colourably imitated or multiplied for sale, and did sell, a large number of copies of the said photo- graph. The publications complained of w re:— (i)In the Sporting Chronicle of Sept. 19 and Oct. 5, 1896 ; and (2) in the Sunday Chronicle of Sept. 20 and Oct. 1896. The defendants said that the plaintiff never was, an.l is not now, the author or proprietor of th? photograph, and that ## p. 312 (#372) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. the photograph, if made by the plaintiff, was made by him for F. E. Bacon for a good and valuable consideration, and that the copyright was not expressly reserved to the plaintiff by agreement in writing signed at or before the time when the photograph was made. Mr. Pickford, Q.C. and Mr. G. B. Wilkinson appeared for the plaintiff; Mr. McCall, Q.C. and Mr. Bradbury for the defendants. The action was tried at the Liverpool Assizes on March 27 last, when judgment was reserved. Mr. Justice Collins, in giving judgment to-day, said that upon the evidence he was satisfied that the photograph was taken for Mr. Bacon and upon his behalf, and that there was abundant consideration moving from him to the plaintiff. Mr. Bacon was a most distinguished athlete. Each copy of the jmotograph was worth i*. 6d., and although Mr. Bacon made no payment there was abundant consideration given by him. The 1st section of 25 & 26 Vict. c. 68, said that if the photograph was "made or executed for or on behalf or any other person for a good or a valuable consideration, lhe person so . . . making or executing the tame shall not retain the copyright thereof, unless it be expressly reserved to him in writing signed ... by the persons for or on whose behalf the same shall have been so made or executed; . . . but the copyright shall belong to the person for or on whose behalf the same shall have been so made or executed." Mr. Bacon had said that there was no agreement by which he reserved the copyright to the plaintiff. There must, therefore, .be judgment for the defendants. Judgment for defendants. —The Times, April 13. IV.—Copyright Legislation in America. Now that so much interest is taken in the sub- ject of Copyright in the United States of America, it is important that British authors should be made acquainted with any fresh or proposed legislation by which their rights in that country may be affected. On the 3rd March, 1897, sect. 4963 of the Revised Statutes of the United States was amended. The section now stands in th-3 following form, the amendment appearing from the words in italics: "Every person who shall insert or impress snch notice, or words of the same purport, in or upon any book, map, chart, dramatic or musical composition, print, cat, engraving, or photograph, or other article, whether such article be subject to copyright or otheruise, for which he has not obtained a copyright, or thall knowingly issue or sell any article bear- ing a notice of United States copyright which has not been copyrighted in this country, or shall import any book, photo- graph, chromo, or lithograph, or other article bearing such notice of copyright or worls of the same purport, which is not copyrighted in this country, shall be liable to a penalty of 100 do'lars, recoverable one-half for the person who shall sue for such penalty and one-half to the use of the United States; and the importation into the United States of any book, chromo, lithograph, or photograph, or other article bea~ing such notice of copyright, when there is no existing copyright thereon in the United States, is prohibited; and the circuit courts of the United States sitting in equity are hereby authorised to enjoin the issuing, publishing, or selling of any article marked or imported in violation of the United States copyright laws, at the suit of any person complaining of such violation: Provided, that this Act ahall not apply to any importation of or sale of such goods or articles brought into the United States prior to the passage hereof." The notice mentioned in the section is to this effect: "Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year , by A. B., in the office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington." It will be seen at a glance that the amended section is much more stringent than the section as it. origina'ly stood, and introduces new prohi- bitions of a far reaching character. At the present time there is also a Bill before the Hou -e of Representatives to revise the copyright law; it was introduced by Mr. Treloar, and has been referred to the Committee on Patents, and ordered to be printed. It is proposed to deal with and point out the most important amendments and alterations in the law suggested by the Bill. The first eight sections deal with the appoint- ment of a commissioner of copyrights, together with assistants and clerks, for the purpose of performing, under the supervision of the Joint Committee on the Library, all those duties which are now imposed upon the Librarian of Congress. This would appear to be a very desirable alteration, as under the existing system, owing, no doubt, to the onerous duties of the Librarian of Congress, complaints have been made that the business of registering and advising copyrights has been conducted in a loose way. The term of duration of copyright is to be extended from twenty-tight to fifty years from the time of registering the title thereof. This is clearly a step in the right direction. It will be remembered that in the Bill prepared by the Society of Authors, and introduced in the House of Lords by Lord Moukswell in 1890, the pro- posed term was for the life of the author and thirty years after his deith. The author's right of printing, reprinting, pub- lishing, completing, copying, exhibiting, using, leasing, vending, abridging, adapting, dramatising, translating, and publicly exhibiting his work has ## p. 313 (#373) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. 313 been made more comprehensive and clear than it is under the existing statutes. The 12th and 13th sections of the Bill deal with the manner in which copyright is to be obtained, but with regard to a dramatic composition or play the sections are not at all clear, and need amendment. Sect. 12 states " that no person shall be entitled to copyright unless he shall, not later than the day of first publication thereof, deliver at the office of commissioner of copyright, or deposit in the mail within the United States . . . two complete copies of the dramatic composition . . . Provided, that in the case of a dramatic composition or play, the two copies deposited as above may be typewritten." Sect. 13 states, " that in the case of a . . . dramatic composition, the two copies of the same required to be delivered or deposited shall be printed from type set within the United States." It is, therefore, doubtful whether the two copies of the dramatic composition are to be type- written or printed from type set within the United States, a most important difference to authors, and one which should be attended to before the Bill is passed into law. The ifith section subjects any person who sells or offers for sale a pirated literary composition to the same penalties as though he had pirated and printed it. Another proposed alteration of the law is to compel an applicant for copyright to make an affidavit stating in what capacity, whether as author, owner, executor, or how otherwise he claims the right. This alteration is aimed at those unprincipled persons who, having got the control of an author's manuscript, can under the existing law obtain copyright of it in their own name. Other parts of the Bill deal with penalties and damages for infringement, the obtaining of interim injunctions, and legal procedure. The Bill seems to be just and proper, and one which every person who has the welfare of the author and the protection of his rights at heart ought to strive to pass into law. Whether it become law or no, it shows that the American authors are not losing sight of their interests, and what are their interests are now those of the English author. V.—An Example from Aberdeen. "Thoughts for Book Lovers." By Harry S. Lumsden. This little book is worthy of remark for two reasons. First, because it is a second edition of a very interesting and valuable com- pilation. It consists of extracts from the writings of over two hundred authors, living and dead, on various subjects connected with literature and books. Especially, there is a treasury of advice on the subject of novel reading. It is pleasant to find novelists themselves dissuading the world from reading novels—one among them even declaring that he never read a novel at all, which is, indeed, a piteous case. The book is, however, remarkable for another reason: the author keeps all the remaining copies in his own hands; he is his own publisher. Now, why should not this method be more generally adopted? With a certain class of book—one, that is, that will com- mand a certain—but not a very great—circula- tion, the author may make his own arrangements for production: he is not liable for charges for expenses not incurred: he controls the advertise- ments: he can easily send out the books himself: he can have them bound as he wants them. See what he saves by such a method. A publisher would probably send in a bill something like the following: Cost of production:— £ s. d. £ s. d. In reality, say 50 o o In the account 70 o o Advertising:— In reality 5 o o In the account, swelled by charging for his own magazines 25 o o By sales, say 600 at 2.1. 6<7. 75 o o In account (ret down as 13 as 12) 69 4 o Less 5 per een\ for bad debts 390 Less incidental ex- penses, postage, &c 2 10 o Less 15 per cent, publisher's com- mission 10 7 6 So that the account in full would appear as follows: £ s. d. Cost of production 70 o o Advertising 25 o o Bad debts, 5 percent. ... 3 9 o Incidental expenses 2 10 o Publisher's commission... 10 7 6 in 6 6 By sale 600 copies at 2s. 6rf.,at 13 as 12 69 4 o Loss on book 42 2 6 in 6 6 ## p. 314 (#374) ############################################ 3»4 THE AUTHOR. Suppose ho keeps the book in his own hauds. How does the account stand then? £ s. d. Cost of production 50 o o Circulars for distribution 200 Advertising, say 10 o o Postage at 4f/ 10 o o Profit on book 3 o o 75 o o Sale of 600 copies at 2s. 6d 75 o o In common gratitude to Mr. Lumsden for showing the way, I am pleased to assist him by pointing out that his pretty little book can be obtained of him direct, by addressing H. A. Lumsden. 18, Bon Accord-crescent, Aberdeen. VI.—An Author's Protest. Some weeks since I observed among notices of forthcoming books the announcement of a work to be published by Mr. George Redway, on "'Travel and Big Game,' by Percy Selous and H. A. Bryden." I wrote at once to the paper in which I saw the notice to say that I knew nothing of Mr. Percy Selous or of any such work. I see that this book has been sent round to the Press for review, but that its present publisher appears to be Mr. G. Bellairs. The work is now described as "'Travel and Big Game,' by Percy Se!ous, with two chapters by H. A. Bryden." In fairness to myself I ought to explain that the two chapters for which I am thus held respon- sible were written for a news syndicate, with no idea of subsequent publication in book form. I have never been consulted in the matter of the book in question; I am not acquainted with Mr. Percy Selous (his namesake, Mr. F. C. Selous, of South African fame, I know very well); and I have objected, as far as I was able, to the inclusion of the two articles in the present volume. I understand that Mr. George Eedway acquired from the news syndicate I have mentioned the copyright in these two articles. He (or Mr. Bellairs, who now appears as publisher) is j>ro- bably legally within his rights in throwing my articles — notwithstanding my protests — into Mr. Percy Selous's book. But it is surely scarcely fair to an author (by virtue of thus securing a couple of stray articles) to include his name, against his will, with an author of whom he knows nothing, in a work of this kind. My experience is probably a rare one, but it seems to me that here is another instance of the necessity, now more than ever incumbent upon authors, of looking more cloiely after their copy- rights. H. A. Bryden. Constitutional Club, Northumberland- avenue, April 26, 1897. THE SOCIETY AS PUBLISHERS. ENORMOUS as has been the benefit con- ferred upon literature and afforded to the knights of the pen by the Society of Authors — benefits which I think no one can dispute—I am yet some distance from believing that the organisation of the Society is perfect, or from thinking that an association which in its mere childhood and youth has accomplished for literature so much—so very much—cannot in its growing vigorous manhood accomplish still a little more. Probably the hardest tug in an author's life—I mean of the average author's life, for transcendent genius may assert itself from its very youth—is the turning of the corner of the hill which leads from absolute obscurity, an unknown name, to popularity, pay, and a world- wide fame; a passage which I have heard described as—but the simile is not my own—like passing into heaven out of hell. The paying for the publication of the first book is a blunder upon which many generations of unprincipled publishers must from time immemorial have thriven and grown fat—it is a pit into which the tyro with some money in his pocket and literary ambition in his heart, the infant offspring of his imagination in manuscript before him, hungry publishers around him, and an unsympathetic world hard to wrin without, will not unnaturally fall. But to the flowery land and pleasant pastures of fame and popularity—the very haven to which he paid his money to be wafted on wings of gold—he is no nearer than he was before. 'Ihen how is the citizenship of this pleasant country to be won? In the February number of The Author the aspirant is put up to a wrinkle or two, the dreamer is told how he may get his chance; ha must get his work economically printed and bound on— six months credit—easy terms; he must then print a circular describing his work, and offer copies on liberal terms to booksellers on sale or return; he must advertise a little, feeling his way as he goes; he must issue to the trade from his own house—if he can find no better place This is all in theory and in principle excellent advice; it is right as far as it goes; how far it would be practicable or successful, or the reverse, I will not venture to say. ## p. 315 (#375) ############################################ THE AUTItOk. 3i5 We are informed by those who know that out of every hundred manuscripts submitted to pub- lishers, no more than about three or five are acceptable or accepted; then what becomes of the ninety and five per cent, of intolerable literary matter thrust—inflicted I would say—upon the attention of publishers, this long-suffering race? Book publishing is said to be a good business; and had it not need, to pay for the consideration of 95 per cent, of unprofitable work? Much of it is, and must be—as every editor knows—hopeless; but surely all this 95 per cent, of unsuitable product of brain power cannot be irreclaimable waste: there must still be a certain proportion of good grain in the heaps of rejected rubbish and chaff. Besides, as we all know, much really excellent literary work is " declined with thanks " for no other reason than because it is unbacked by the magic talisman of some well known name. From the correspondence which appears in the pages of The Author, there seems to be a con- sensus of opinion that an additional department of the society is needed—that the Society of Authors, in short, should become publishers themselves; and I cannot help being strongly of opinion that the establishment of such a new de- parture would be the best day's work the Com- mittee of Management ever did. The magic word "connection" is the great secret of modern trade, and the trader who opened his shop and started his business with a connec- tion or clientele of 1300 customers might, if he at all understood his work, consider its success assured; and this, with its 1300 members, would be very much the position that the Society of Authors, starting as publishers for themselves, would be in. I cannot approach, even distantly, the working of such a department here.but obviously many works which the ordinary publisher would reject might be considered on their merits, reported on by competent readers, advised upon, and issued, if need be, upon economical lines. Here, then, would the literary aspirant, without fear of unfair dealing, get his chance, while the same chance by many an older bird would be not less eagerly embraced; it would be a chance, I think, which would be appreciated by all, and the venture would not improbably surpass the most sanguine anticipations of its originators. Of course such an office would have its own peculiar system of business, of advertising (which might be done at trifling cost to each individual author) of circularising the trade, &c., upon which I cannot here pretend to enlarge. Like as the Society itself has grown in usefulness and importance from a .modest beginning, so, as is uow the case with some of our most eminent VOL VII. publishing houses, the fact of a work being issued under its auspices would in itself be a recom- mendation in the eyes of booksellers and the public, and would be quite sufficient guarantee of its worth. Thomas W. D. Lisle. NEW YORK LETTER. New York, April 15. EERDLNAND BRUNETIERE and Mme. Blanc sat at breakfast together one morn- ing recently, and talked about the French critic's well-known opinions on literature as far as they bore on the situation in this country. I asked him why criticism had not made a better start among us, and he ventured as one explana- tion this: "Germany and France are the only two countries where the important books alone are reviewed, and where those are criticised adequately. An Italian was recently making the same complaint about criticism in his country which you make about it here, that books of all sorts, no matter how unimportant, have to be noticed, so there is no distinction, and no excel- lence." There was a little talk about the influ- ence of the business office and the large amount of publishers' advertisements, but both critics were unable to see clearly the workings of those influences, although Mme. Blanc, at least, had thought about the matter considerably. M. Brunetiere gradually became more expansive upon the general subject of literature in a democracy like ours. "I believe that the effect of democracy on literature is going to be very good. Mind you, it is not good yet. I only say it will be some time. Just now your literature is very crude—it descends too much to the level of an unrefined body of readers; but when your public is educated, the literature will be the better for being democratic, for it will escape the side-tracks, the dilettanteism, the mere rhetorical ornament, that usually encumber it where it is the product and the expression of a class. Literature should take subjects of import- ance to the whole nation; it should express broad social conditions, and so touch everybody. If I talk to you about the matters which are of inte- rest to all classes, and you use better words, make stronger sentences, and give more searching views on this common topic, you have already made literature." Mme. Blanc supplemented this by pointing out that we now care too much for the various fads of literature, and spoke especially of the absurd vogue which J. K. Huysmans is now having here. She commented also on the too K K ## p. 316 (#376) ############################################ 316 THE AUTHOR. great leniency of our critics—a stricture which is certainly deserved. We are safe, in M. Brunetiere's case, from another book as full of mistakes as M. Bourget's, not only because M. Brunetiere sees more clearly the difficulty of understanding a civilisation in a few weeks, but also because his interests are in the really important elements, to which he makes all details subordinate. In contrast with such a point of view may be mentioned a book (a good deal talked about just now) published by the Scribners—"America and the Americans "—which pretends to be written by a Frenchman, and reads as if it were written by a pseudo-cosmopolitan American. It is full of the kind of observations which, as Dr. Johnson said of Boswell's ques- tions, makes a sensible man want to hang himself. The writer finds a man in some Western place who goes to an afternoon function in evening dress; he observes that Americans in their deal- ings with foreigners do not know how to change their tone to meet the differences of social station; he is amused that a woman in Chicago who talked of Plato did not know anything about the works now being produced in Chicago, and thinks it must be pose. In short, the book reminds one of the observations which some Americans bring back from a three months' trip in Europe, com- plaining about the bathing facilities in France, the inadequacy of Continental breakfasts, the indigestibility of tables d'hote, fleas, heating facilities in Italy, the ugliness of the Crystal Palace, or the absurd manifestations of patriotism in the Place de la Concorde. Such an irrelevant series of observations as are found in this book is more irritating than the mistakes of M. Bourget, because he at least founded interesting conclu- sions on his inaccurate premises; but opposed to them both may be put such a serious study of American women as Mme. Blanc has given to her countrymen, teaching them to know that the travelling class is not the class of American women which best deserves understanding. But, after all, far and away the best study of American affairs which has been made in our generation is the "American Commonwealth." Other books are needed to cover much that Mr. Bryce does not touch, but there could scarcely be a better draw- ing of the outlines. Various English papers speak with a sort of amazement of Mr. Charles Dudley Warner's en- deavour to put the world's literature into thirty volumes. The motives which led to the publica- tion of such a venture show at once the omni- presence of the business spirit here, and the desire for culture of many classes of the people, mixed with conditions which make it impossible for them to get it. The book is written for the American business or professional man, who seldom has time to read anything thoroughly, but intends when the opportunity offers to read everything that is really worth while. Letters have been sent by the publishers to a large number of sujh men in all the principal cities, laying out the advantages of the book and in- closing postal cards on which sample sheets may be ordered. The man who mails the return postal card does not get his sample sheets, but he gets a book agent, who has in advance learned all he could about the sender of the postal card, studied his particular case, and prepared himself to turn at once to that part of the encyclopaedic work which will be likely to meet the individual prejudices of his customer. For instance, a Scotchman in New York is told that the article on Blackmore was written by one of our best known literary men, and that the picture which appears in the work is the only photograph ever taken of the novelist. The general perspec- tive of the book is arranged with a very distinct idea of its market. More space is given to English writers than to those in other languages, most of all to Americans, and among them most to those who are now alive. Baudelaire, for instance, is given perhaps 1500 words of extract, where Henry James will have about 20,000. The business skill of the promoters of an adventure like this does not end with the study of any one class; they aim at the scholars as well as the hasty man of affairs, so the volumes are well sprinkled with signed articles by experts, by means of which they prove to the literary man also that the work is one which he "cannot afford to be without." It is an admirable illustration of "business" in literature. The librarian of the Carnegie Library of Phila- delphia has set an excellent example in excluding a lot of books, not on the ground that they were immoral (the usual reason), but that they were intellectually worthless. The less intelligent atti- tude towards literature is well shown by the hard fight with Mr. Dingley to yield no more in his duty on books than he is absolutely compelled to by the protests of everybody in any way interested in education. The librarians of this State have been giving their opinions on the literature of the year. Keturns from 300 of them have been received, giving the fifty books published in 1896 which they deem most valuable to a village library. "Sentimental Tommy" headed the list with 162, and the remainder of the first ten are: 2 (Ward), "Sir George Tressady "; 3 (Parker), " Seats of the Mighty "; 4 (Morse), " Life and Letters of Oliver Wendell Holmes"; 5 (Smith), "Tom Grrogan "; 6 (Skinner), " Myths and Legends of ## p. 317 (#377) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. 317 Our Own Land"; 7 (Barrie), "Margaret Ogilvy"; 8 (Kipling), "Seven Seas"; 9 (Krehbiel), "How to Listen to Music"; 10 (Wiggin), "Marm Lisa." Barrie and Maclaren are the only authors with two books each on the list. The latest manifestation of the taste for the Scotch here is a young woman who reads their books in drawing-rooms to fashionable audiences, and stops to cry at the pathetic places. The Harpers will publish about the 26th of this month a volume by an author who ought to be much better known in England than she is. There seems to be a large element of accident in the formation of foreign reputations by our various writers of fiction—Miss Wilkins, for instance, being well known in England, while Miss Jewett is not, and several writers of stories dealing with the middle West being known to 100 English- men while no one knows anything about Octave Thanet, which is the name taken by Miss Alice French, an Arkansas woman, some of whose stories have a height of dramatic art which makes them stand just below those of Bret Harte, and above any other of those tales of that part of the country with which they could be compared. They are not primarily studies; they are not realistic in the sense of being full of detailed analysis; but they are true to life in a broad way, taking from the existence of the middle West its most dramatic possibilities, and being less docu- ments than artistic productions, full of charm- ing skill, proceeding with apparent simplicity, but always ending successfully in a climax which leaves the reader usually happy. "Pleasant" is the word one finds first for them. Delicate humour, a raciness in the dialogue which is always re- strained, touches of pathos in moderation, no heavy gloom, and the spirit of adventure in greater or less degree, result in a whole that one may praise with fulness. The dialect, which is used infrequently enough to be a subordinate element, is the amusing and easily comprehended slang of the plain man in these States in which her stories are laid. The forthcoming volume, which is called " The Missionary Sheriff," is made up of half a dozen of her latest tales, showing her in her full charm. There are few, very few, present writers who might not be better neglected by those students of our literature who wish to see what are the most interesting literary possibi- lities in American life. Norman Hapoood. NOTES FROM ELSEWHERE. HEBE is a series of undesigned coincidences, or whatever you like to call it, which I think worth noting. A man has recently been arrested in Paris for a very cruel murder, and has confessed his guilt. There can be no doubt what the result of the trial will be, or what end is reserved for him. It appears, now, that twenty-six or twenty-seven years ago this man's father kept an inn in the north of France, near the frontier of Flanders. It was a low inn, frequented by rough people. One day a novel kind of contest was proposed by one of the customers. It was to see who amongst the drinkers could curse and blaspheme the worst. The idea was acclaimed as excellent, and the same evening, the landlord offering no objection, the contest was held in the tap-room. A day or two later—I have the exact names and particulars, but they are immaterial—one of the party of blasphemers was struck with paralysis, and from that day to the day of his death several years later could not articulate a word, could utter nothing but a sound like the grunting of an animal. The innkeeper committed suicide ten years ago, after seeing the following catastrophes in his family. His eldest son took to drink and hanged himself; his daughter went to the bad and died on the streets; a second son was found drowned in a stream at the back of the inn; whilst two other sons, to escape from the sinister influences of their home, ran away, and were not heard of afterwards. We have just seen what became of the last or youngest son; he has qualified for the guillotine. A similar instance of punishment on earth for ill-doing was enacted, so to speak, before my eyes. Some years ago, as I was rambling about in South Brittany, in the neighbourhood of Nantes, I came across the ideal country spot—river, spreading walnut-trees, wooded slopes, thatched cottages, and so on—that I had been looking for all my life. I took rooms at the inn there—a most picturesque hostelry by the side of a weir. It was beautiful. This inn was kept by two sisters, Breton peasants, the wives of two sailors on the French Transatlantic line. Quaint bodies they looked in their white Breton caps, their strangely cut bodices, and their clogs. They were the most sublimely ignorant people I have ever met. I envied them the Nirvana of their minds. They could neither read nor write, they did not know that France was under a Republic, and they had never heard of Monsieur Carnot. They had some pretty children, and were kind to their children, ## p. 318 (#378) ############################################ 3i8 THE AUTHOR. though in the main they were very avaricious. I remember that I was kept on very short commons, and had to fill up with walnuts and white wine. Their old father lived with them, and was at their charge. They ill-treated him cruelly. "They grudge me every mouthful I eat," said he to me, and told me to notice how "my eldest" watched every spoonful of meatless broth that he ladled into his palsied jaws. One day he clutched me by the arm as I was passing through the yard— for he was usually expected " de se tenir" (to keep himself) in a kind of lumber-shed—and said he was very cold in his inside, and that it would be an act of real goodness on my part to treat him to a cup of hot coffee. I took him into the house, and, as he had advised, ordered the coffee for myself. "Otherwise," said he, "there'll only be one lump of sugar." The poor old fellow enjoyed his coffee immensely. It was a real privation to him to go without it, but his daughters did not allow him any such luxuries, and on the nights when the coffee was decocted, he used to retire to the backyard to be far from the delicious and tantalising odours of the brewage, and the aggravation of hearing his daughter Pauline keep smacking her lips and saying, ' I'm going to have a cup as soon as it's finished.'" He was half starved and miserably clad, and before I left he implored me to send him an old coat against the winter. I did not do so, if I remember; I wanted one badly myself. But this en passant. He used to cough continuously. "It may well be his end that's approaching," Pauline used to say hopefully whenever I remarked on this. He was wanted, he was expected, to die, and though neither of his daughters would have given him a push into the weir to precipitate matters, I do not think that either would have hurried her clogs if he had fallen in. It was a nouvelle by Maupassant which was in action before my eyes, and I spoke to Maupassant about it years later. I felt very sorry for the poor old man, and I used to regret that there should be two women with hearts so unkind, and to wonder whether no retribution would ever befall them. One day, two or three years later, I read in a Paris paper that two sisters, who kept an inn at V , near Nantes—the same women and the same place— had been murdered in their beds by a tramp, who had been attracted by the report of their avarice. As nothing was said of the old father, I presume that their wishes with regard to him had been fulfilled. I have been thinking that a novelist making use of these two stories, which are true in every particular, would get himself rapped over the fingers for making an ill-use of coincidence by ces Messieurs de la critique. I am glad to see that M. Berenger, the Senator —Pere la Pudeur, as they call him in Paris—is making a stand in the Senate against the licence and immorality of the French Press and much of modern French literature, which of late has really passed all limits. I owe Senator Berenger a very bad night, for I got run in and spent a night in the lock-up of the rue des Prouvaires, during the riots which followed on F affaire Nuger, but I owe him no grudge. He is protesting—a very ungrateful task—against the indifference of the Government, whose attitude towards the Press seems to be " Leave us alone, and we will leave you alone." Berenger is by no means the nin- compoop which certain English journalists have represented him to be; he is the author of " la loi Berenger," that humane enactment which preceded our First Offenders Act in England. When a French theatrical manager can engage a couple, who have no other recommendation than being flagrant offenders against the Seventh Command- ment, to appear on his stage, and thousands of pounds are taken at his booking office in conse- quence, it really seems time that someone, anxious about the dignity of his country and its capital, should protest as Berenger has done. Mrs. Emily Crawford made a very true remark in Truth the other day, when she said that Paris is the place for hard work and the home of hard workers. Ay, of the hardest workers in the world. As Daudet once said to me, " All the vital forces of Paris are below the surface. You only see the idlers, the drones. You must not judge of the Parisians by these, any more than you should wonder what makes a big ocean liner go, after looking only at those who dawdle on the promenade deck." Loti has, I see, made good use of his recent stay on the south-east coast of France; and to anyone interested in the curious Basque people, their strange customs and manners and ways of living, I can heartily recommend his last novel. He was for some months in command of a gun- boat, which lay off St. Jean de Luz, on the frontier of the French Basque country, and was constantly on shore. I used frequently to meet him rambling about in the district, and on one occa- sion when I had landed in a Basque village, where not a soul spoke French, he was good enough to interpret for me. In return for his kindness, I feigned to ignore his identity, for there is nobody less a persona grata to Vignaud the naval officer than Loti the Academician. BOBEBT H. ShEBAED. •>•< ## p. 319 (#379) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. 319 NOTES AND NEWS. THE reprinting of the paper called " Secret Profits" is the beginning of several reprints of valuable and important papers which have appeared in the back numbers of The Author. It is not enough to procure counsel's opinion on such an important matter as Secret Profits: it is not enough to publish it in this paper: the opinion is read and forgotten: by those who have joined the Society since the appearance of the paper it has never been seen. The paper has, therefore, been republished, and readers are invited to peruse it in order to ascer- tain what is the opinion of lawyers on practices which we have never ceased to denounce as dis- honourable, and not to be defended by any argu- ments whatever. ni_ Half a dozen correspondents have sent me an advertisement from the Daily News. The adver- tiser wants to find a writer who will compile for him "from the reading-room of the British Museum" a history of California. The history is to consist of 400,000 words, and the honorarium offered is £\o, which, being interpreted, means a penny for every 165 words. It is useless to wax wrathful over this. First of all, the advertiser is clearly a very ignorant person; the right place to find materials for the history of California is not the British Museum, but the Archives and Record Office of the State of California. Then, as to the length; surely, no one who knows anything at all about the history of California would lay down a hard and fast rule about the length to which such a history would run. As for the offer of .£10, it was clearly put down as a large and handsome amount likely to tempt the most prosperous of litterateurs. In a word, the man knew nothing about literary work or about literary pay. Either he thought that a book of 400,000 words could be written in two days, or he thought that literary men are poor scrubs and hacks, who take whatever is offered them. I think that the advertiser probably wants the history for an advertising medium. Soap, pills, hair restorers, mustard, might be well advertised between the leaves of such a history. im I cannot believe that this person reads The Author. Otherwise he might have pleaded that he only followed the example of the venerable and pious Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge. I exposed four years ago the prices paid by this Christian Corporation to the unfor- tunate persons who wrote for them. My figures were not denied. Among them was the case where for a historical book—not a History of California—the enormous sum of .£12 was paid. The author said that if the book was a success he was to have more. The book sold 7000 copies, and no more was given. This noble generosity com- pared favourably with that of the advertiser. A correspondent calls attention to the practice of speaking of an article: a paper: a contribu- tion: a story: a novel: as consisting of so many thousand words: he says it is a mechanical way of treating literature. Why should it be so? For- merly a contributor to a magazine was told that he was to receive so much a page: he was not informed, however, of the length of the page, which may have been 500 words and may have been a thousand. At least we get something that we can understand. As for its being mechanical, literature has its commercial side which it is folly or affectation to ignore. Indeed, the man who affects most to despise it, is the keenest at getting all he can. Fortunately, this view is now recognised by all but a few who consent, in the interest of some publishers, to call attention to the commercial side as sordid and unworthy. Now, I have known a great many literary men and women. I have known some who affect con- tempt for the pecuniary value of their works; these are men—none women, who do not practise these little tricks. I have never known, however, any single literary man or woman who was not anxious to get out of his work all he could—not one, from th<* highest to the lowest, including especially the despiser of filthy lucre. This being so, surely anything which simplifies and helps the business side should be welcomed, and such a method is that of counting the words. As for any difficulty in counting, there should be none. The rule is very simple: to write always on paper of the same size. You thus know with- out counting how many words go to a page, and how many are wanted for the purpose for which you are writing. Indeed, one must know the number of words, otherwise it would be impos- sible to fulfil an engagement. For instance, in the old days—fifteen years ago—I used to write "middles" for the Saturday Review. How could I tell how many pages my article was to contain if I did not know the average number of words in one of those " middles?" Again, I was recently writing a novel for the Illustrated London News. It was necessary, above all things, to know how much space the editor allotted to the novel every Walter Bksant. ## p. 320 (#380) ############################################ 3 20 THE AUTHOR. A WHOLLY IMAGINAKY DIALOGUE. Scene.—Private office of A., B., and Co., publishers. Dramatis personm.—Messrs. A. and B. and one X., an author. Mb. A. (to his partner).—Ah! this is Mr. X., with whom we have had some correspondence re- specting a book he wishes us to produce Author (sometchat testily).—No; I did not say produce—T said publish. Pubtish—that's what I want you to do. Mr. B.—Quite so. Publish—exactly so. But surely, my dear sir, you are aware that a book must be produced before it can be published. Now, we Author.—Yes, I do know it; that is why I wished to see you. I am going to produce this book myself. I only want you to put it in the hands of the trade—in short, to act as my agents Both Partners (together).—Agents! (Mutual glances of outraged dignity.) Author (mildly).—Yes; why not? Mr. A. (solemnly).—Surely, sir, you are aware that a firm of our standing does not act as agents. We are publishers, sir. We are principals in all our transactions. Author.—Oh, indeed! May I ask why? Mr. A.—Why? (Looks across in an appalled manner at his partner.) Author.—Certainly I ask why. If I produce this book at my own expense, and you merely sell it—nay, not even sell it, but only warehouse it— well, really, I don't see why you aspire to be more than agents. Mr. B. (diplomatically).—Eeally, my good sir, you altogether mistake the situation. When we publish your book, we lend you our Name. You have forgotten that. You have forgotten that our name sells your book. You have forgotten our experience, our influence over the channels of publicity. Our Author (rather warmly).— Your name! I had no idea you were an authority on "Popular Amusements in the Eocene Age." Now I am— at least, I am considered so, which comes to the same thing. However, let us get to business. Shall I make my proposal, or shall I not? Mr. A. (with a gasp).—Oh. Pray proceed. Author.—A short time ago I published a book, "Some Eccentric Adventures with a Dinosaur." You may possibly have heard of it. No? Well, that doesn't matter. It sold well; but it cost a most surprising amount to produce. Since then I have become a member of a society (telegraphic signs of intelligence between the partners), and I have read certain little books (more telegraphing), and, do you know, I have come to the conclusion that an author should attend to the old maxim, "If you want a thing well done—do it yourself." I don't allege motives. Not at all. My commercial friends tell me con- stantly "business is business," and business in these days means "get all you can and never mind the other fellow." Now, I have decided to have no more " publishers "; I am only going to have " agents" Excuse me, I am coming to my offer now. I have here an agreement made with Presser, Platen, and Co. It has been examined and approved in a certain quarter, and I can there- fore trust to it—not to them. In business I am informed one trusts to documents, not to reputa- tions overmuch. In two months' time I shall have in my hands 500 copies ready for the reader. Now, my question is, on what terms will you "publish " these—that is, offer them to the trade through your house? Mr. A. (violently).—Not at Mr. B. (interrupting suavely).—One moment, A. You see, my dear sir, this is a kind of thing we do not as a rule undertake; still, of course, there is in the present case very little risk to u 8 in what Author.—No risk whatever, to you. Mr. B.—Very well; let us say no risk at all, although—hum—you see you do not understand the publishing business as we do. Author (sotto voce).—There is some truth in that; we seem to understand very different things by that term. Mr. B. (continuing).—Now, let us examine the position. You wish us to lend you our name, and to introduce your work to a no doubt—hum- eager public. But, on the other hand, we must have security for our labours. Of course you will transfer the copyright to us. Author (looking for his hat).—Ah! I am afraid we are playing at cross purposes. I will not take up your time any further. Mr. B.—But, my dear sir, that is such a very elementary precaution—surely you can have no objection Author (resuming his seat).—I can see we shan't agree, but I will just argue this matter out with you, as a matter of interest. I will tell you a tale. A friend of mine is a great ironfounder. Amongst other things be makes flat-irons by the ton. Now, flat-irons are not used in tons; they are bought, one at a time, by old women, or, for the matter of that, young women. My friend is a busy man. He doesn't trouble to organise a system of canvassing amongst the actual users, or even amongst the local ironmongers; he just goes to a wholesale firm of warehousemen, and says: ## p. 321 (#381) ############################################ THE AUTHOk. "Here's ten tons of flat-irons, my name on them —how much for the lot?" ".£50." "Can't take it. Sell them on commission at so much a ton—15 per cent, for you for your trouble in acting as go- between." "Done." Now, in disposing of ten tons of flat-irons to the retailers there is, I am told, considerable scope for business experience and influence, and even reputation. But the middleman does not try to charge my friend the ironfounder for each of these items as if they were something exceptional and rare. All that is understood. These high-sounding phrases are just another name for " wits." And if a ware- houseman or a publisher, or any other middle- man, exercises his wits in selling your manu. factures, he does it to gain a living, and is to be rewarded by a 5, 10, or 15 per cent., according to the case. Now, I offer you the chance of earning a clear 10 per cent, without risk, and you coolly ask me to transfer my copyright to you. I should like to hear my ironfounder friend's remarks if the warehouseman proposed to take over his flat- iron trade mark, and keep it for himself on account of services rendered. Mr. A (turning topartner).—Well, B., if you have time to waste listening to this gentleman's idle tales about ironfounders, and middlemen, and warehousemen, I haven't. Good morning. (Goes out.) Mb. B.—Ah, Mr. X., you must excuse my partner A.; he belongs to the old school. I am aware that changes are taking place—in fact, the trade is not what it was formerly. Things are cut very close nowadays. Author.—They will be cut closer. The time is not very far distant when your profits will be cut down to those of all other trades—a bare margin. Now, shall we talk over my proposal calmly? Mr. B.—I am afraid it is of no use. A. would never consent to such an innovation—no copy- right and a bare 10 per cent. But—(struck with a bright idea)—your difficulties have only just begun. What experience have you of adver- tising f Author.—In most trades advertising is an alarming item, running into large figures. By comparison, the advertising of a book is a paltry matter. In most trades there are advertising specialists—men who make a study of the diffe- rent journals, and advise their clients. Unless publishers mend their ways, there will be adver- tising specialists for book producers, and then the publishers' occupation will be very nearly gone, for most of their so-called experience is summed up in that one mysterious, though trivial, item of expenditure. Mr. B.—Ah! I see you are prejudiced against us. Well, well, we shall manage to scrape along for awhile yet, I daresay. But you haven't told me how you are going to advertise. Author.—Don't be afraid. I have eyes. Where the vultures gather, there also are the carcases. Mr. B. (smiling).—Hum. I am afraid that's a little impertinent. Publishers should not be likened to birds of prey. Author.—My dear Mr. B., I have no prejudice against publishers—personally they are often the most delightful of men. It's their unholy ways I object to—ways that, like all other abuses, have grown up little by little, until those nearest to them think they are natural and wholesome growths. But the newcomers can see, and some of them intend to lance those growths, for they are unsightly and slightly—infectious. No body of men in these days can long main- tain a false position or hope to benefit by a system that the age sees through and despises. For my part, I sympathise with such men as individuals—they are to be pitied; but, all the same, I cry " Haro " upon them, and will continue to do so until they have formed into line with modern work-a-day ideas. Exeunt. N. C. A FRENCH VIEW. THE Figaro, speaking of the everlasting question of author and critic, propounded certain questions, to which it furnishes these replies: "I.—Le critique a-t-il le droit tFecrire des v6ritis, ou ce qu'ilcroit tel, sur les homines et sur les osuvres, mime quand ces viritis sont tris dures, de fond et de forme? "R.—A cela, l'eleve repond qu'on reconnait ce droit au critique dans la theorie, mais qu'on le lui refuse generalement dans la pratique. Un ecrivain, un artiste, un ceuvrier en general, ne redoute qu'une chose, le silence. Comme il soumet ses ouvrages au jugement de la foule et de ceux qui sont a tort ou a raison charges de la representer et de l'informer, il semble vouloir affirmer par lu qu'il accepte d'avance les eloges, mais aussi qu'il se soumettra aux critiques, meme aux blames. "C'est en vain que certains critiques de ce temps, et M. Emile Zola tout le premier, avaient conquis pour le critique le droit de parler ferme et fort. M. Zola, dans Mes Haines, Une Cam- pagne, Nos Auteurs dramatiques, avait donne l'exemple le plus beau et le plus franc; il avait ## p. 322 (#382) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. monte l'analyse à un diapason dont cornent encore certaines oreilles. D'un beau coup d'épaule, il avait défoncé certaines barrières et ouvert cer- taines voies. Tous les critiques, même ceux qui l'attaquent, doivent lui en être nettement recon- naissants, mais il ne peut s'étonner de voir em- ployer, même par ceux qui l'attaquent, les rudes outils dont il leur enseigna le maniement. '* Mais c'est là le moindre danger à craindre. La bêche et la pioche sont peu à peu redevenues d'un usage beaucoup moins général que le gou- pillon. L'indifférence du public, les progrès de la camaraderie entre œuvriers et critiques, la critique convoitée de plus en plus comme un moyeu de se faire des relations ou des profits, ont ramené un ton d'universelle douceur. "De telle sorte que lorsque paraît un article bien libre et bien franc, ne ménageant point un livre, ou une partition, ou une toile, ou un homme, le lendemain tout le monde se le signale en ces termes: 'Avez-vous lu Véreintement d'un tel?' et l'on ajoute en se chuchotant: 'Savez-vous ce qu'il y a là-dessous?' "II.—Le critique sert-il à quelque chose? "R.—L'élève répond que c'est une question que les critiques se posent euxmêmes parfois, avec plus d'anxiété que les œuvriers. Ils se demandent cela surtout quand ils voient avec quelle difficulté une belle idée triomphe, ou seule- ment une idée juste, avec quelles peines un vrai artiste s'impose, et en revanche combien il est malaisé d'empêcher la foule d'acclamer des sottises. "Toutefois, considérer ce seul point de vue serait éluder la question; et il faut, puisqu'elle est posée, mettre tous les points sur tous les ». "Le critique peut donc être: inutile, dangereux, —ou même utile. Il est évident qu'il est dangereux lorsqu'il profite de sa situation pour encenser exclusivement les gens puissants et pour fustiger ceux qui sont encore faibles ou inconnus. Il est non moins évident qu'il est inutile lorsqu'il se borne à enregistrer les résultats acquis, et à ne parler qu'après la foule pour dire la même chose qu'elle. "Il est encore certain que jamais une critique mal fondée n'a empêché une belle œuvre d'être belle, et n'a jamais pu bien longtemps prolonger l'illusion de beauté qu'elle peut parfois prêter à une platitude. En outre, le critique qui n'est que critique, j'entends celui qui n'est pas capable de faire autre chose (il suffit d'ailleurs qu'il ait l'aptitude et l'intention de faire cette autre chose, si le permet sa destinée), ce critique-là serait un monstrueux parasite, un bernard-Fermite de la littérature, un logeur en garni à perpétuité, un gardien du sérail, qui surveille les femmes des autres, mais ne saurait que faire d'une femme à lui. "Toutefois ce monstre n'existe presque pas, n'a presque jamais existé. Cherchez bien et vous verrez toujours qu'il a accompli à côté ou qu'il aurait pu accomplir une autre tâche, mais que son goût, ou le dévouement à une idée, ou les circon- stances de la vie, l'ont plus visiblement spécialisé dans celle-là. "En revanche, presque tout grand effort litté- raire ou artistique a trouvé à un moment donné un ou plusieurs critiques qui pour sa réussite étaient non seulement utiles, mais encore néces- saires. "III.— Quels rapports devraient exister entre les œuvriers et les critiques? "R.—Aucun. "Aucun, et d'aucune sorte. Us ne devraient pas se connaître. Ils ne devraient jamais être présentés l'un à l'autre. Ils devraient fuir toute présentation avec épouvante. "Ce sont deux métiers séparés, que chacun devrait exercer dans son coin, sans savoir ce qu'en pensera l'autre. "Lorsqu'un homme a fait une œuvre et l'a soumise au public, et qu'un autre a porté sur cette œuvre un jugement motivé, ils doivent se tourner le dos, s'ignorer, et recommencer le lendemain. "Lorsqu'au contraire celui qui a publié une œuvre se fâche contre le critique qui le blâme, il l'outrage; lorsqu'il le remercie, il l'insulte." THE NOVELS OF J. H. PEARCE. IN a recent one of those letters which go entirely counter to mv principles, and which I never fail to read, Mr. È. H. Sherard, writing from St. Ives, remarks that our literature is sadly deficient in pictures of English provincial life, and cites the case of Cornwall in particular. Now, I venture wholly to disagree both with his general remark and its special application. With Mr. Hardy in Wessex, Mr. Walter Raymond in Somerset, Mr. Baring-Gould in Devon, and " Q." in Cornwall (to take only the West of England, and only a few of its writers) all at work with exemplary industry, I fail to see what more Mr. Sherard can want. But since apparently he is not content, I gladly embrace the opportunity of drawing his attention to the Cornish novels of Mr. J. H. Pearce; for I cannot think that if he were acquainted with these, his complaint would have been made. Mr. Pearce is, I take it, a young man—a ## p. 323 (#383) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. 323 beginner one might almost say, for I know of only one book of his dated earlier than 1891, and he has this good point also to favour the idea: that his book of 1893 shows a vast improvement in technique on his earlier works. Why, then, has he written nothing since 1894; or is it possible that some later work of his has eluded my vigilance? Next, it may naturally be asked, what is it that at once arrests attention in his work. I should reply, its unmistakable originality. Nobody, I should suppose, could read half-a-dozen pages of one of his books without feeling—like him or like him not—that here is a man writing of what he knows, from observation, and out of the fullness of his heart. One might label him the Barrie of Cornwall, but I prefer to speak of him as the Cornish Hardy. These labels, convenient in an age which demands condensa- tion, are, however, somewhat apt to mislead. Let me say at once, therefore, that Mr. Pearce is as yet a Hardy only of the period of the " Pair of Blue Eyes." Nay, more, the term must be under- stood to be applied to him only in the restricted sense of implying an intimate and authentic knowledge of a peasantry, and a convincing power of representing its members. In the whole of Mr. Pearce's three novels which are known to me there is only one character (the curate in "Jaco Treloar") who belongs to any but the peasant, fishing, or mining class. Thus his subject is not country-life generally—with its squires and farmers and their wotnenkind, whatever these may be worth — but the country "people" simply and exclusively. And yet, in spite of this vast abstinence—for from the point of view of modern life and culture that is what it amounts to—his books fix and hold one from the beginning. The first of these books which I have been able to procure, dated 1891 (though I see there is an earlier work, "Bernice," mentioned in the title- page), is "Esther Pentreath, the Miller's Daughter." Let me say at once that this is one of the saddest books I have ever read—as sad as the " Malavoglia" of that great writer Giovanni Verga, so sympathetically praised by Mr. Howells in his preface to the English translation. And, indeed, with Verga's peasant-stories Mr. Pearce's work has much in common. In "Esther Pentreath" we feel that much of the sadness is due to the deliberate paganism of the book. (At this point I imagine a reader to exclaim, "But I don't like your pagan heartrending books!" Peace, good reader, and pass on. Tour point of view is a perfectly intelligible one, but I reply that these remarks art! not intended for you, but for others (of whom there are some in the present day) who have learnt to read, as I may put it, with detachment; to love, or at least to give a patient hearing to good literature, even at the expense of their own private and personal predilections. It is possible that I am no more of a pagan or a pessimist than you, but I do say that the pagan and pessimistic novels of Mr. Pearee are well worth reading.) Besides the above, I am ready enough to allow the existence of imperfections in the book—of some lack of picturesqueness, of distinction of style, in particular. Aichel's madness, too—brute madness as it is—is scarcely a sufficiently strong or inte- resting motive to form the basis of a tragedy; and, again, the author, in his curious care for style, has entirely mistaken the nature of the rhythm proper to prose, and has given us whole screeds of anapaestic or dactylic sing-song. But I am not claiming that the book is a master- piece; I merely hold that it is a strikingly original and promising piece of early work. The next and slighter story of "Inconsequent Lives" (surely an unhappy title), I like less. It is a tale of fisher-life, and, though it contains some admir- ably true and lifelike scenes, the author's laud- able desire to get rid of the conventions of the story-teller has carried him too far, though in a right direction. Observe that, to a student of literature, even his errors—his prose-metres and his hatred of convention—are interesting and instructive. Mr. Pearce's masterpiece, so far (but he has it in him to beat this, or I am strangely mistaken), is "Jaco Treloar." Now, even "Jaco Treloar" is not a well-constructed tale. But a tile full of beautiful writing it it, with poetic qualities of fancy and contemplative passion which entitle it to a very exalted rank. In particular, the love-making of the rustic lovers on a night in spring is among the truest and most beautiful things I know. Possibly I might be thought to reinforce what I have said by adding (which is true) that I have myself lived much with "rustics" and fisher-people, and known and loved and admired their characters perhaps more than most educated men have had opportunity to do. But I feel that such an observation would be beside the mark, for the question is almost entirely a literary one. I may quite well have lived with a person all my life, and yet not know whether a portrait of that person is a mere vulgar likeness or a fine work of art. Besides the above books Mr. Pearce has written two little volumes of apologues in the Hans Andersen style, which show plenty of quaint fancy. But it is to his novels that I pin my faith in his future achievements. And now, in an age reputed to be one of log- rolling, as a safeguard to the reader let me state exactly the extent of my knowledge of Mr. Pearce. ## p. 324 (#384) ############################################ 324 THE AUTHOR. After reading " Jaco Treloar," in the impulsive way which is pardonable perhaps half a dozen times in a life, I wrote to the author expressing my enthusiastic admiration of his work. In due •course I received back a brief, civil, chilling acknowledgment. Evidently Mr. Pearce was not the man to fall into the arms of the first admirer; and, frankly, one thinks more of him for this. Afterwards I tried, through another and much better known Cornish novelist, to ascertain some facts about a writer who has so fascinated my fancy. I completely failed; I could learn nothing, and a mystery, so far as his personality is concerned, Mr. Pearce remains to me to this day. Thus, though my motive in writing about his books may possibly be mistaken, it is assuredly a pure one. George Douglas. NEW POETRY. TWO or three new volumes of verse lie on the table. It has always been the custom in this paper—which is not a Review,nor does it give its readers criticism on new books—to allow new poets ihe opportunity of showing their quality. In other words, they are invited to speak —once—in these pages. From " Jennifred," by Septimus G. Green, we extract the following sonnet:— Lady, since first within jour garden fair For yon long Bince these silver lilies grew, Methinks by right should still belong to you Whate'er of lesson meet to lighten care My muse, by happy chance directed there, From ont their chaliced chambers erstwhile drew, Who but as little bees are wont to do, Seeks still from every flower some nectar rare; That so with honeyed memories' golden store My flowerless age betimes being furnished. May from the bounteous past be hourly led As with celestial manna more and more; Such memories, Lady, in your heart's rich hive Keep long with their Bweet food sweet thoughts alive. The "Huia's Homeland" comes from New Zealand. Here is a bi'. peculiarly Maori:— Acres on acres of low, billy, poor land Is the Manuka's peculiar domain: Acres on acres like heath on the moorland, White with its blossom, like snow on the plaiD. Acres on acres to battle a path through, Growing o'erhead like the tall pampas-grass, Wirily branched with prickly foliage; Woe worth the day when the stranger shall pass! Acres on acres, and acres on acres. Fire hath swept clean through the length of the land: But the Manuka will ne'er be demolished Until old Neptune comes over the strand. Acres on acres like heeth o' the moorland, White with its blossom, like snow on the plain For the fair Bunlighted land of the Maori Is the Manuka's peculiar domain. "Hugo of Avendon" is a drama in four acts, by E. L. M. It is in blank verse. Here is a lovers' scene:— Stella. What lovers' world is this you lead me through? What golden fingers tipped with fairy spells Have touched my lips and trembled on my eyes'? All things were seen, but never seen as now. I dreamed such dreams; but as I bold thy hand, Earth's beauty and the joy of lovingnets Seem all so clear to me. Hugo. Dream on, dear love, there is a lovers' world That you and I upon some silver stream Might float to-vard, and pluck the golden flowers From sunlit waters, while above our heads The bent trees trembling in the breath of eve Ware farewells to their shadows in the brook. Then farewell shadows. Yon and I alone Would clasp our hands, and only think of love. Stella. How strange it seems! and yet you never seemed To me a stranger. All I found in you Was mine by right of some acquaintanceship, Not quite forgotten, and not quite recalled. Oh, Hugo, Hngo, long before our Btars Had joined our hearts, they must have whispered low Some thought of each to each. How Bweet it sounds 1 Before you even knew me jou were mine. Hugo. Ay, love, it must have been, when voices dim Swept through the night to breathe the word alone, They brought some thought of thee; perchance they touched Thy lips when sleeping, (re they came to me, And mingled with their message tender dreams For thy fulfilment, and for thine alone. Lastly, there is the "Water Bailey," a Tale of the Coquet. The Nymph of Coquet says :— Water sprites, that anglers hear When the dusk of night is near, Under Coquet's falls that lie, Calling, ever calling, Wailing sounds of misery To the waters falling, Sing your saddest conga of pain, For all my salmon now are slain. Little elves that lightly sing To the waters murmuring, Where the minnows leap and swim Gaily, ever gnily, Sing no more } our merry hymn Nightly nor daily. Join with me in sounds of woe For all my s-ons are stricken low. BOOK TITLES: A PROPOSAL. IN "Notes and News" on page 248 of The Author, the Editor suggests "that our members should themselves consider and suggest how" best to deal with the question of titles lor new books, so that when an author has once decided upou a title he may not subsequently find that it has bt en previously adopted, and hence be compelled to change it; a very expensive pro- ceeding if the book be printed with the title as a ## p. 325 (#385) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. 325 headline upon each page. In the past few years this question has been so frequently brought before the readers of The Author, that I write to suggest the advisability of the Society taking up the whole matter on a properly systematic basis, and one which would seem to me to be the only possible way of thoroughly combating, and treading under foot, one of the most serious drawbacks to the profession of, more especially, novel writers. The first thing to do is to get a list, as far as possible complete, of all the titles now used. As of more immediate use to the members of the Society let it be first limited to those books which have been published in Great Britain, Ireland, and America, to practically all books in the English language. Now what have we as a foundation for such a list? To name only a few :—" The English Catalogue of Books," 4 vols., 1835-90; 5 vols., 1890-95. The Publisher's Circular, 1838-97 ; the Bookseller, 1858-97; the Bibliographer, 1881-97; the Athenseum, 1832-97; the "Annual American Catalogue," "Shirley's Catalogue" (for Irish books); all secondhand book catalogues (for privately and provincially printed books). To make these books of service for the object in view, each title wants separating, and then the whole to be massed together in alphabetical order, with such cross references as may be necessary, e.g., sub-titles, and so forth. To do this would require two copies of each catalogue being bought —periodicals like the Athenseum might have the titles which were not in these copied by hand —and one volume being taken and cut up so that all the titles on the face of the pages were separated, but complete in themselves. The other volume should then be taken, but cut up so that all the titles on the back of the pages were similarly treated. The next process would be to paste each of these little cuttings on a separate small thin card, such as is now so much used in America for all indexes which are frequently being altered by additions and deductions. Then, after arranging the cards upon which the slips are pasted in alphabetical order, to put them away iu their respective drawers for future refer- ence. To prevent the cards being lost, or dis- arranged, a hole is punched at the foot of each, and through this a stiff wire, which is screwed, or for greater security locked, into the end of each drawer, is passed. The advantage of the cards over pasting the slips in a book is that all additions, no matter how many, are put in exactly their proper place, which is quite impossible where such limited areas as pages are used. The next point to consider is the matter of cost. After purchasing the volumes for cutting up, and the cards and cabinet for keeping the completed work in, the only expenses are the wages of the female clerks employed in the work; and, as this is extremely elementary, young girls direct from school are sufficient, at about js. a week, and two or three of these, in a year or two, would soon get together a very considerable part of the title catalogue. They should commence preferably with the titles of the books last pub- lished, as these would probably be more likely to be copied from there being a certain fashion in the naming of books. If this matter be taken up by the Society—and I certainly think it is a work so invaluable that it ought to be taken up by them—I would suggest that all the published catalogues be purchased first, and kept in the Society's rooms, so that, though the work were not itself complete, search could be made through those, not cut up, for any title which a member might inquire about. There should, in fact, be instituted a " Title Verification Department," at the service of any member wish- ing to know, for instance, if there were any such title used as " Martin Twist" or " Oliver Chuzzle- wit." P. Howard Collins. LITERATURE IN THE PERIODICALS. Thi Prospects of Literature. Temple Bar for April. The Decline op Classical Verse-Writinq. J. B. Bury. Saturday Review for April 10. A German Poet of Revolt. Laurie Magnus. Fort- nightly Review for April. Artists and Authors. X. Y. Z.'s letter in the Daily Chronicle for April 17. The Output of Authors. Pearson's Magazine for April. A Visit to the Novelist op the Creoles. W. K. N. Woman at Home for April. Unwritten Books. Macmillan's Magazine for April. The Stort op Scott's Ruin. Leslie Stephen. Cornhill for April. The Need of Copyright Reform. W. Morris Colles. North American Review. Notable Review. W. B. Yeats's "The Secret Rose," reviewed by George Moore in Daily Chronicle for April 24. Literature has been hit hard by primary educa- tion, will it stand the shock of secondary educa- tion ¥ The writer who puts this question believes that literature to-day runs great risk of being drowned in a rising flood of newspapers, maga- zines, and ephemeral novels. People read too much: injuring their originality by learning almost entirely by the eye, and little by the ear. Newspapers—that is to say, the country Press, for the London Press is too formidable to be criticised —are pure enough, the greater part of their space being absorbed in accounts of teas in dissenting ## p. 326 (#386) ############################################ 326 THE AUTHOR. chapels. But, as a whole, the writer countenances the view which hits off our newspaper-reading thus: "A clever German writer, describing an English Sunday, says that as you pass in the quiet street in the evening, in house after house you se i the family seated round a table in silence, while the father in the light of the lamp reads aloud. No picture so charming. What is he reading—the Bible? Oh, no; the details of the last murder!" Magazines, again, which have increased enormously in the last thirty years or so, have the effect of giving many people a smat- tering of subjects about which they had better know nothing. But it is the general tone of the novels of our day that the writer deplores most of all. There is no motive with the heroes in these works nowadays except a selfish one. Soul is lacking. In the " Master of liallantrac," in "David Balfour." or in " Catriona," yon just hear the distant stir of the Jacobite risings, but the only Bide yon seem to see is the seamy one. And in such excellent books as "Treasure Island," " King Solomon's Mines," and the " Wreckers," what man can do the heroes dare for love, gain, emulation, or sheer longing for enterprise, bnt as for a cause in the old sense, Dugald Dalgetty himself was an unselfish knight compared with our modern types. I read Buch writers as Stevenson with admi- ration, bnt with a feeliDg of something wanting. Good English, fine writing, splendid form, bnt oh! for some soul! It is with a certain school of French writers that the fundamental responsibility for the remark- able moral degradation in English novels is placed—the school in whose world no woman ever loves her husband, and every wife is the possession of at least two men. The writer's point of view on this matter may be seen from the following passage: The action of men and women is often caused or influenced by certain passions, and I see no reason for not mentioning them where necessary, or for sacrificing probability to save a blush to the cheek of the young person. Bnt where Bensual sins are committed in cold blood, and more it would seem as if from mere curiosity, or from a feeling of unrest, than from lust, I feel revolted in a way I never do at a tale of real passion. ... I prefer the coarseness of Smollett and of Fielding to that. Further, in some of the tales the immorality seems brought in from the tendency of a weak generation to dwell on passions they hardly feel, just as the schoolboy delights to talk of the dirt he cannot yet meddle with. The Bible was not originally written in English, but, says this writer in concluding, about the only bright spot in our literary prospect, menaced as we are by an invasion of half-educated barbarians, is that the Englishman is seldom aware of that fact, and so each generation possesses a standard for our language of inestimable value. Professor Bury puts the claim of classical verse-writing in an urgent form. Classical scholarship i3 getting too scientific: threatens to become a branch of mathematics. The decline of classical verse-writing is due also to the fact that the ideal of workmanship has not been uniformly high. "Take up any book of trans- lations, and you find that in most of the versions the writers are content with a few felicitous turn- ings, and that the rest is inferior, commonplace work." Either there is deliberate neglect, or the word is clung to and the spirit forsaken. There is room, says Professor Bury, for a new school of classical verse-translation, aiming at a more con- sistently high standard ; and it may be maintained that by submitting himself to a training in this craft the scholar will best win his way to the aesthetic apprehension of the poets whom he is interpreting to the world. "X. Y. Z." complains that artists who illustrate novels are very careless in the matter of making the details of their pictures agree with the letter- press. He arrays many gross errors of this kind in a new edition of "Tom Brown's Schooldays." The boys' ties, for example, are those of to-day and not of the early thirties; a soda-water syphon appears in one picture, and in another one of the boys who are teasing " Stumps" is shoot- ing with a catapult, while in point of fact neither syphon nor catapult were in use sixty years ago. Again, in a picture illustrating Tom's breakfast at the end of his first ride to Bugby nearly every detail given in the text is ignored. This sort of thing, remarks "X. T. Z.," is not only a discredit to the artist, but militates against the reputation of both author and pub- lisher. The lover of statistics, if his hobby does not stop short at the literary profession, will doubtless welcome the "interesting confessions of popular writers " in regard to their rate of output, which are given in Pearson s. It appears that Mr. W. L. Alden and Mr. Frankfort Moore each write 4000 words a day; "John Strange Winter" and Mr. Robert Barr from 3000 to 4000; Dr. Conan Doyle from 1500 to 2000; Mr. Max Pemberton and Mr W. LeQueux 1500; Sir Walter Besant 1000; "John Oliver Hobbes" 150. Mr. Hall Caine is content with 6000 words in three or four days; Mr. Crockett writes any number between 800 and 5000; and Mr. H. G. Wells wrote two of his books at the rate of 7000 words a day, but has since given up the practice. Mr. Rider Haggard finds it impossible to give an average, and Mr. Cutcliffe Hine also remarks that his output varies prodigiously. As will be readily imagined, the bent of these "confessions," one and all, is that, although a fairly accurate average may be struck, it is wholly irrelevant to consider writ- ing as a matter of a regulation number of words per day. ## p. 327 (#387) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. 327 In going over the story of Scott's ruin, Mr. Leslie Stephen, who will write on tin; s-ubjeet in the "Dictionary of National Biography," has been led to think that in his recent biography of Lockhart Mr. Lang has been a little too lenient in regard to Lockhavt's explanation of the causes of Scott's financial difficulties. After the publish- ing part of the Ballanty lies' business had been concluded, the printing only remained. Scott made an arrangement in 1822 that he would be personally responsible for the bills due at that time by the firm, which meant ,£30,000. How did this debt of Scott's originate? Lockhart said it was the result of the original debt incurred by the publishing concern, and had been taken over by the printing concern and allowed to accumu- late under Ballantyne's ineffectual management. Ballantyne's trustees, on the other hand, said that that had been completely extinguished, and that the accumulation of the debt of £30,000 was due to Scott's expenditure upon Abbotsford. Mr. Leslie Stephen thinks it is almost clearly probable that Scott, in want of money for purchases of land, might raise it upon the credit of the printing office —a concern which for six years was practically in his own hands. Again, it is hard to imagine how the debt could have been incurred without Scott's know- ledge of it, because he had accepted responsi- bility for it, and he was a keen business man who would not in such matters accept responsibility unduly. Mr. Stephen thinks that the explanation rests upon Scott's belief in the financial stability of Constable. The latter was constantly pressing for more work from Scott's pen, and Scott would naturally think that the publisher was rapidly making a fortune, at the same time as Scott was apparently making his own. He re- garded the Ballantyne unpaid liabilities, therefore, as mere reminiscences of botheration, which would wind up all right in time; and, heedless of them, he went on perfecting his establishment at Abbotsford, and keeping up a social and benevo- lent style of living. Then the crash to Constable came, and Scott v as undeceived. But his subse- quent brilliant achievement of honour, observes Mr. Stephen in conclusion, makes investigation of these matters at this distance of time almost indecent. In the very brief article on the novelist of the Creoles, Mr. George Cable is described as a land- owner, a devout Christian, and from the first an earnest philanthropist, deeply interested in the welfare of his kind. Amongst his recent under- takings has been the encouragement of homeculture clubs. He is not immensely popular with the Creoles, and it is hinted that from their point of view he speaks too plainly of their faults. There is every hope that he will visit England in the autumn, and give readings from his works, as he has done for long in the States. CORRESPONDENCE. I.—Subjunctive Mood: Its Present Day Use. 1. YOU will, I am sure, be pleased to print the following "notes," which have been sent me by a distinguished University corre- spondent, who desires to remain anonymous.— Yours, &c, F. Howard Collins. Notes. The student must not forget that the English language has, for the last eight centuries, been gradually dropping inflections; that it preserves those only that are indispensable; and that the genius of the English people is an avoidance of all self-conscious rules of grammar. It is for this latter reason that the use of the subjunctive mood has been dying out. Another consideration: The student must dis- tinguish between the past and the present use of the subjunctive, and also between the construing (or parsing) of it in Shakspeare, Milton, Jane Austen, &c, and the necessity of employing it at the present day. Jane Austen uses it with till, when, except, &c. I remember an odd instance. Mr. Collins, the proteg6 of Lady Elizabeth de Bourgh, is ready to " perform" weddings, funerals, &c, " whenever it were required." Wordsworth 'is almost as much given to its use: "Creative art, whether the instrument of words she use or pencil." "And, if she trust the stars above, they can be treacherous too." And Tennyson also: "Till Ellen Adair cotne back to me," "Till over thy dark dioulder glow thy silver sister world." In all of the above cases, the indicative might be used, and no loss of meaning or of force result. But in such instances as: "If it tcere done, when 'tis done, it were well it were done quickly," "If I were you I should refuse," or "If these things were true, society could not hold together," only the subjunctive can be used. Again, Tennyson has "See that there be no traitors in your camp." Scott has " Look thou tell me true." From these and other examples I should deduce the rule: When the verb expresses a supposition that is the opposite of fact, the past subjunctive must be used. If it expresses a supposition that may or may not be the fact, then ## p. 328 (#388) ############################################ 328 THE AUTHOR. the present subjunctive had better be used, though the indicative is not wrong. "If he is in the garden, I will fetch him " is just as good as "If he be." "If thou spare to fling Exealibur, I will arise and slay thee "—so says Tennyson with his fine literary feeling for mood; but no one would now find fault with him if he had said, " If thou spar'st." ii. A collation of the various letters oil the sub- junctive in The Author for April I shows at once the rarity of the occasions where it is necessary, and the difficulty of laying down a positive rule for its use. Mr. Howard Swan's first sentence is an instance that the subjunctive is—if not abso- lutely necessary—at least highly appropriate in a case which involves neither contingency nor futurity. Is it not, to a very great degree, a matter of—so to speak—literary demeanour? When one is hurried, or colloquial, one says : " If I am rightly informed" (Spectator), "If men are neither the one nor the other" (Coleridge), where an ellipse may be understood of "If (it be the case that), &c." But in poetry and in bigh full-dress work iu general, we ought to say—and as a rule do say — " Were it true" or "Should it prove so." The abuse of the subjunctive—which is a different affair—by lady novelists and others is seen in the clause quoted in my letter: "He stipulated that I pay him interest." In paragraph 6 of that letter a phrase is printed as used by Mark Twain, which should come in that which follows: "nothing shall swerve me " is the expression intended. ______ H. G. Keene. II.—Episcopal Style. It is announced in the Gazette that the Arch- bishop of Canterbury is instructed to prepare a Form of Prayer to be used in churches on the occasion of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee; let us hope that the Form to which we shall be expected to say "Amen" will not sin so grievously against the laws of grammar, rhythm, and good sense- as is usually the case with episcopal com- positions. For some months past we in the Diocese of Winchester have suffered from the following collect interpolated in every service:—" In the present time of anxiety (i), O most merciful Lord, from Whom all good counsels and all just works do proceed (2), we pray Thee to provide (3) justice and mercy for the suffering people who are called by Thy Name (4), and to guide in wisdom the councils of the nations (5)." Notes.—1. Why not at all times? 2. An excerpt from the evening collect for peace. 3. "To provide " makes one think of something to eat. 4. What people are called by the Name of God? Presumably the Armenians are meant; but they are called Christians, and the prayer is not addressed to Christ, since it concludes "Through" His Name. 5. Which nations? Swedes and Portuguese? All nations? The ancient collects, which are models of dignified diction, begin usually with an appeal to that particular attribute of the Almighty which we specially desire to invoke, or with a brief specification of our present need; then we ask for some definite gift, and then we name the result which we hope will ensue. Nineteenth century bishops can hardly expect to equal the old examples, but they might call in the assist- ance of literary experts, and so avoid putting forth the jejune and inaccura'e compositions which make the very name of a Form of Prayer less likely to excite devotion than derision. F. Baypord Harrison. III.—Corruptions of the Language. May I be allowed a word of protest against the vulgarism '■ Did you have,'' which is becoming more and more familar to our suffering ears every day ?" To have " is an auxiliary verb, and surely does not require any assistance from "To do," yet most modern speakers and many modern writers seem to be unaware of this grammatical fact. This unhappy combination of two irrecon- cilable verbs is lugged through many tenses; and it reaches its worst phase in " You had it, didn't you," which needs only being transformed into "Didn't you had it," to reveal its hair-raising qualities. It The Author could brand this "Kitchen-English " as it deserves, all true lovers of our sonorous tongue would be thankful. April 13. Vera Campbell. IV.—Stories Wanted. In reference to an article in the April number of The Author bearing the above title, I should be very much obliged if "M." could say where the " most handy" little typewriting machine at Ml 3*. can be obtained, and whether it can be worked by an amateur. D. V. April 20. ___ V.—The Casual Contributor. Your editorial note in the March number of The Author, to the effect that editors are increasingly ## p. 329 (#389) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. 329 in the habit of doing without the casual contri- butor, is suggestive. My theory still is that literary men of reputation, who now have an assured market, had to qualify originally as casual contributors. Some of them now, trading on their signatures, occasionally foist indifferent work upon the public. It is the competition of the person without a signature mainly, who admit- tedly has sometimes the capacity for writing, which prevents them from doing worse and more. Eliminate him, and you have a number of literary "rings," where real merit, dead merit, and no merit at all, would practice together. Why, 'tis a conspiracy of the body's members against the belly! Balbtjs. VI.—The House Where Byhon was Born. Since I last wrote on this subject in the columns of The Author, some unlooked-for developments have taken place. Notably, it has been stated that No. 24, Holies-street was not, after all, the birthplace of Byron, the distinction being claimed for No. 6, which is immediately opposite. If this assertion can be substantiated, it must be of great value, as that would be the original house, whereas No. 24 has been twice razed within the past fifty years. It is a pity the actual spot cannot be indicated beyond dispute. As an alter- native, and with a view to some more artistic record than any mural tablet can afford, it has been suggested that a statue should be erected in the adjacent Cavendish-square. Admirers of the illustrious poet would surely welcome such a step. The chief difficulty to be encountered is that a statue already exists in the metropolis. But it is by no means well placed in its greenery behind Apsley House. I venture to propose that these figures—Lord Byron's faithful hound is also depicted—might he removed to the more appropriate locality indicated. Cecil Clarke. Authors' Club, S.W. April 15. VII.—A Biography op Joseph Strutt. Will you allow me to state through your columns that I am engaged upon a "Life of Joseph Strutt" (1749-1820), author of "Sports and Pastimes " and other well-known antiquarian works, and to ask whether any of your readers possess, or know of the existence of, any of Strutt's letters, or any documents connected with him, and, if so, whether they would allow me to borrow same for purposes of my work? Any letters or documents sent here would be very acceptable, and would be returned as soon as they have been copied. Pryors, Broomfield, Miller Christy. Near Chelmsford. VIII.—The Length of the Short Story. 1. There seems to be a growing tendency, not only in the " popular journals " mentioned by the author of " Stories Wanted," but in the monthly magazines, to limit the length of the short story to 4000, or at most, 5000 words. I would suggest that this tendency, should it become a system—no admittance for more than 5000 words—would seriously injure the art of short story writing, both by preventing many good short stories from being written, and by encouraging superficial and machine-made fiction. I heartily agree with the author of "Stories Wanted" that "it is the hardest thing possible to write a genuine short story in less than 5000 words," though I differ from him in doubting if the beginner will do well to begin at "the hardest thing possible." Con- sider the immense difficulty of compressing into such narrow limits a story the interest of which depends principally on character drawing, or a short story of incident, the characters of which would be something more than mere names. Rudyard Kipling has done both; but where the short story is concerned, what is there that he cannot do P Nevertheless, with the ex- ception of "Beyond the Pale," few of the short stories in which his genius has reached its high-water mark fall within the 5000 words limit. I reckon that "The Man who would be King" runs to at least 13,000 words, "The Drums of the Fore and Aft" to 12,000, "Without Benefit of Clergy" to 8000, "The Courting of Dinah Shadd" to 7500. Two of the best short stories of Richard Harding Davis — "Gallegher" and "Her First Appearance" —run to about 9000 and 11,000 words respec- tively. All these are strictly short stories, not condensed novels. Concentration is a great art, but it may be too dearly bought. Arbitrary compression would be even more injurious to the English short story than the arbitrary extension, consequent on the three-volume system, was to the English novel. Sidney Pickering. 11. I quite agree with the writer of the above letter that to draw a hard and fast rule as to the length of a short story would be fatal. All that is wanted as to length in the ## p. 330 (#390) ############################################ 33° THE AUTHOR. short story is that tho writer shall not " sprawl." He must be clear in motif and in language; his dialogue must be kept down; he must be dra- matic ; but, as to tying the writer down to length, I think we must protest, if necessary, and con- tinue to protest. It used to be objected against the three-volume novel by the smart young gentle- man who kuew nothing about it, and wanted an illustration, however well known, that the length was Procrustean. The length of the three-volume novel! Why, it varied from 80,000 words to 300,000 words. Just so the short story. I do not know where the short story becomes a long story; certainly there are, as our correspondent rightly says, short stories of 10,000 or 11,000 words which are still short stories. W. B. IX.—Wanted, a Strike. Judging from the Editor's note to my letter of January anent payment by publishers of maga- zines, &c, I fear I must have ill-expressed myself. My contention is, that if everyone determined to write for ready money only, magazine articles would be paid for when accepted. The stores and many tradesmen demand payment on delivery for their goods; why should not writers do the same? Naturally all must join the strike; but if editors are boycotted by the heads of the profession, they must soon give way, and we should not have to give three, four, or five years' credit. Payment upon acceptance should be the rule; but, of course, a fixed pay day per month might be conceded, for obviously wo could not expect cheques to bo sent the moment the MS. is passed. As at present, even pav days vary—end of month, beginning of following month, quarter, and so on. How in the world is one to know until one has written for the particular magazine? X.—An American Publisher's Account. The following account has bei n sent to an English author from an American publishing firm. The author was to receive a fixed percent- age on every copy sold, and nothing was stated in the agreement that copies sold below cost price (whatever this may mean in the American pub- lisher's mind) should have no loyalty paid on them. It is impossible for the author to cheek this account without expending a considerable sum of money, and this would not be worth while. The total liumln?)- of books sold below cost price and given away appears 10 be 228, in addition to 313 given to editors. This makes a total of 541 on which no royalty has been paid. This seems to be an extraordinarily large number. (" ") Cloth edition, price 1 dollar. Published March 20, 1895. Received from binder, 984 copies. Stock, Dec. 31, 1896 307 Sent to editors 160 Sold below cost (no royalty) 12 Sales bearing royalty 505 dols. cents. 505 copies at 10 cents... 50 50 Paper edition, published price 50 cents. Published fall of 1895; royalty 5 per cent. Received from binder, 1504 copies. Stock, Dec. 31, 1896 362 Sent to editors 153 Sold below cost and given away ... 216 Sales bearing royalty 773 dols. cents. 773 copies at 2A cents... 19 33 50 50 Accrued royalty 69 83 XI.—A Begister op Titles. Another example of the trouble caused by having no Register of Titles. Some verses by me, eutitled " Love's Awakening," were published in the July number of the Pall Mall Magazine. In Home Chat of the current week a lady has also used this title for a poem. Now, by special arrangement with the editor of the Pall Mall Magazine, I have the right to use my verses for a song, if I desire to do so. Should this lady publish her verses as a song, my agree- ment is prejudiced, and I have no redress—a new title for musical purposes being excessively hard to find. It is possible that someone may have used this title previously to myself. In that case I can only say that the grtater the number of inadvertent users of a title, the greater the nuisance, and the stronger the argument in favour of registration. Arthur Pilkington Shaw. 17, Sussex-gardens, Hyde Park, W., March 31, 1897. XII.—A Self-Examination Paper for Candid Critics. 1. Have you ever read " Robinson Crusoe" all through! Upon what degree of acquaintance do you base your frequent and affectionate remarks about it? 2. Quote any other passage from Burns but "Wad ye tak' a thocht an' men" and "Could ## p. 331 (#391) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. 331 some power the giftie gie us." Explain the phrase that puzzled Mr. Micawber. Can you honestly say you have any admiration at all for "Tarn o' Shanter "? 3. Do you ever take up the "Vicar of Wake- field" for your own amusement? If not, why not? State on oath if you have ever secretly considered it an over-rated volume. 4. («) Mention by name three characters in any one of Miss Austen's novels. (b) Have you any right to draw comparisons between the modern female novelist and Miss Austen? [Note.—Either (a) or (6) must be taken. If unable to answer the first, the candidate is required to attempt the second.] 5. If requested to give a personal introduction to Mataulay's New Zealander, in which essay would you look for him? And how would you expect to find him occupied? 6. Detect and explain the allusions in a Daily News article. [Half marks obtained on question 6 should be considered a pass in honours.] M. C. V. XIII.—Stories not Wanted. The article by "M." in your last number must prove invaluable to literary tyros 011 account of its invaluable hints and suggestions. However, I must join issues with " M." as to the pecuniary remuneration of accented stories, and the chances of any solid income accruing from them. He coolly mentions ".£400 a year, twenty tales, only four months' work to the slowest." Is this to be taken as a jest or au serieux? I maintain that, with the exception of well- known writer.', who can command their own prices, not even a practised story-writer can hope to realise half, nay even a quarter, of this income; and I challenge the readers of The Author for proofs to contradict my assertion. The literary market is absolutely glutted with short stories in MSS.; there are literary agents who are readv to supply editors with them at so much a lot; and thousands of stories whicli are offered are returned without being read. In my experience the prices for short stories average from ias. to 20*. a thousand words. Magazines pay much higher rates, but un- known writers have to wait one or two years before an accepted story is published and paid for. The fact of an author having had several stori- s accepted in any periodical is no guarantee for the continuance of his work. Let me give a personal instauce of this. I had three stories accepted by the editor of a well-known paper; my fourth one, over which I took the same pains and trouble, was returned with these words: "The editor of the regrets his inability to use 's interesting story, , and herewith returns the same." Au editor of a weekly informed me lately that the stories he uses are contributed by well-known writers, to whom he pays 10s. a thou- sacd words, and that all other MSS. are returned without being read. If the editor of The Author will pardon me for being personal, I must add that, although I have had scores of stories publ:shed in some of our best periodicals, I am not more advanced than the merest tyro longing to see himself in print, as regards being able to secure a small regular income out of my work. I am sure I am most singular or unlucky in this respect. Unless we are particu- larly fortunate, or a heaven-born genius, the pur- suit of literature for a living to me seems an illusion. . i; Lunette. XIV. — Who Should be Publishers' Headers? Considerable dissatisfaction exists in the minds of many persons that authors should be nearly always chosen as publishers' readers. It may be suggested that authors are often cold and prejudiced in their opinion of the works of others, and, moreover, it is clear that rivals can never be looked upon as invari- ably unbiassed judges. They may also favour their personal friends, or reject the works of those whom they dislike, or whose art, taste, and views are opposed to their own ethics ar.d literary standar J. But again, on the other hand, is not a reader's office strictly a commercial one, in which neither sentiment nor prejudice have a voice? He has to decide if certain MSS. have any commercial value. Ouce suspected of private malice or per- sonal jealousy he would be instantly dismissed. Being hard business men, publishers wish to turn their books lo the best account. In all financial matters publishers cannot afford to depend on the jealousies or the caprices of authors whom they invite to rea 1 for them, and who are their trusted literary advisers; they simply seek to make money—it is their sole aim. Then, again, how are publishers to find com- petent readers who ure not themselves literary people? Among one's own circle of friends, do we know any who, not being gensde lettres, would be qualified to decide on t he stories most likely to hit the popular taste? Even academically-trained persons devoted to literature, high-class critics and professors, might be too erudite, scholarly, ## p. 332 (#392) ############################################ 332 THE AUTHOR. and philosophical to be quite in touch with the best and most attractive points of current light fiction. Annabel Gr.vy. BOOK TALK. MESSES. BLISS, SANDS, and CO. will produce during May a novel entitled "Mallerton," by A. B. Louis. Two volumes of " Johnsonian Miscellanies " by Dr. G. Birkbeck Hill, will be published shortly by the Clarendon Press. They will be uniform with the Boswell issued by the same editor and publishers. Mr. Lang is engaged upon a work on " Modern Mythology," which will be a reply to the ideas advanced by Professor Max Miiller. Mr. Meredith has made arrangements for the publication of a selection of his poems. The volume will be issued shortly by Messrs. Con- stable. Mr. W. E. Norris's novel "Marietta's Mar- riage," will be published by Mr. Heinemann in midsummer. Mr. Clement Shorter is writing a popular review of the books of the present reign, to be called " Sixty Tears of Victorian Literature." Mr. James Bowden is the publisher, and the price has been named at 2.?. The book will be out before the great celebrations next month. Mr. P. G. Stephens is writing a memoir of Mr. Coventry Patmore. Mr. Francis Thompson's volume of "New Poems," shortly to appear, is dedicated to the memory of the late Mr. Coventry Patmore, in the following lines :— Lo, my book thinks to look Time's leaguer down Under the banner of your spread renown -, Or, if these levies of impnissant rhyme Fall to the overthrow of assaulting Time, Yet this one page shall fend oblivious shame, Armed with your crested and prevailing name. The catalogue of the New Gallery this year will contain a poem by Mr. Rudyard Kipiing, written to Mr. Phil Burne-Jones's "picture "The Vampire." The Queen has been pleased to allow the publication of a memorial of the Royal mausoleums at Frogmore, and permission has l>een granted to Mr. J. S. Murray Fisher to complete and publish the work. The title will be "The Monu- ments and Statuary in St. George's Chapel, Windsor, the Royal Mausoleums, Frogmore, the Albert Chapel, Windsor, and the Battenberg Memorial Chapel, Whippingham." There will be between seventy and eighty full-page re- productions in photogravure, and a number of other full-page illustrations in colours. The work will be issued by the Albion Publishing Company in a limited edition dc Ituce, in two volumes. Mr. George W. Bird has written a work of a comprehensive character on Burma—its history, administration, geography, climate, and other heads, entitled '• Wanderings in Burma." The book will be brought out by Messrs. Simpkin, Marshall, and Co. The author is connected with the Education Department of Burma. A Dew edition of Mr. Austin Dobson's "A Handbook to English Literature," but revised and extended to the present time by Professor W. Hall Griffin, will be published shortly by Messrs. Crosby Lockwood and Son. "Pot-pourri from a Surrey Garden" is the title of a volume by Mrs. 0. W. Earle, which Messrs. Smith, Elder, and Co. are about to publish. It consists mainly of notes on garden- ing, but refers also to household management and education. Lady Constance Lytton has con- tributed an appendix. Miss Edith H. Fowler has written a story entitled "The Professor's Children," which Messrs. Longmans will publish. The first number is announced for May of a new magazine devoted to Genealogy and kindred subjects, to be published by Mr. E. Stock, entitled " The Genealogical Magaz ne: a Journal of Family History, Heraldry, and Pedigrees." Among the articles in the inaugural issue is "A New Pedigree of Shakespeare," carried farther back than any hitherto published. The Bronti? Mus um at Haworth was re-opened on the 10th ult. by Mr. Clement K. Shorter, who, in the course of his address, expressed a wish that some one, preferably a Yorkshire man, would write a really artistic biography of the Brontes. The membership of the Bronte Society is now 260. Sir William Martin Conway's book, "The First Crossing of Spitsbergen," ("s," not "z," is the correct spelling, says the author) will be published early this month by Messrs. Dent. Dr. Gregory, Mr. Trevor-Battye, and Mr. Garwood, who accom- panied Sir Martin Conway on the Spitsbergen Expedition, will all contribute to the record of its results. Mr. H. E. Conway, a cousin of the author, and the artist (f the party, will supply the illustrations, eight of whicU wi 1 be coloured plates. ## p. 333 (#393) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. 333 Mr. Miller Christy, Pryors, Bromfield, near Chelmsford, is writing a biography of Joseph Strutt, author of "Sports and Pastimes," and other antiquarian works. He asks any who may possess letters or documents relating to Strutt to be good enough to lend them to him in order that he may take copies for the purpose of his work. A series of popular volumes on historic towns of the medieval period has been projected by Messrs. Dent. The first to appear will be "Perugia," by Miss Symonds (daughter of the late John Addington Symonds), and Miss Duff Gordon. Mrs. Oliphant will contribute the volume on "Siena," and has gone thither to get material for the work. Each book in the series will contain illustrations by an artist living in the locality treated of. Mr. R. H. Sherard has just finished a new novel called " Uncle Christopher's Treasure," on which he has been working for some time past, and is now engaged upon a story dealing with literary life in Loudon and Paris, to which the provisional title of " Lord Zennor's Experiment" has been given. A new romance by John Bloundelle-Burton will shortly be commenced in the columns of the People. The scene is laid in the Palatinate during its second devastation—under Turenne— the principal portion of the action taking place in the heart of the Vosges. Mr. Bloundelle-Burton's other serial romance," Across the Salt Seas," now running in the Navy and Army Illustrated, will not be concluded until lati in the year, when it will be published simultaneously by Methuen and Co., of London, and Stone and Co., of Chicago, in volume form. "Shildrickthe Drummer; or, Loyal and True," by Julia Agnes Fraser, is now being issued by Mr. Macqueen, in three volumes. The book is a romance of the Irish Rebellion of 1798, and has received some very favourable reviews. Mr. A. Stauff, of Berlin, is translating Mr. R. H. Sherard's novel " Jacob Niemand" into German, and Mr. Hughes Rebell, of Paris, the writer of the appreciative notice of the author in La Revue de Paris is translating it into French. The rights of serialisation of this story were bought some time after its publication in book form by the Northern Newspaper Syndicate. Mrs. Alec Tweedie's new book, "Through Finland in Carts," will be published by A. and C. Black early in May. It is on much the same lines as a "Winter Jaunt to Norway" by the same writer, but in this case describes a land quite unfamiliar to the British tourist, where adventure is still possible and railway trains are a. novelty. The illustrations represent scenesas far east as Russia, and as far north as the borders of Lapland, some of which are from the author's own brush. Miss Clementina Black proposes to give a course of six lectures at the National Portrait Gallery by permission of the directors. The lectures will be given on Thursdays, to begin on May 6. Tickets for the course, price 30*., may be obtained of Miss Black, 19, South End, Croydon. Antiquaries will be interested to hear of a book on the "Dolmens in Ireland,'' which Messrs. Chapman and Hall are about to publish. The writer is Mr. Copeland Borlase, a son of the Cornwall antiquary, and the book will be large and illustrated. Sir George DougLis is writing a volume on "The Blackwood Group " for Messrs. Oliphant's "Famous Scots" series. Mrs. Bishop has almost completed an account of her recent journeyings in the Far East. The volume, to be published by Mr. Murray, will be entitled " Korea and Her Neighbours." A novel, entitled "Jabez Nutyard -Workman and Dreamer," by Mrs. Edmonds, will be pub- lished during the season by Messrs. Jarrold and Sons. Miss Elizabeth Hodges has contributed a paper for the May number of T/ie Ludyate on " Castle Coch and its Vineyards." By permission of the Marquis of Bute, Miss Hodges has been enabled to see the whole process of making the wine. The paper will be illustrate d by drawings and photo- graphs made for Miss Hodges. The Gentleman s Magazine for May will also contain an article on St. Mary Redcliife, Bristol, bringing out several points not generally known in connection with Chatterton. A third edition of Brigadier-General Hart's "Sanitation and Health" (Clowes) has just appeared. A second edition of his " Reflections on the Art of War" will be produced in about two months. Messrs. Macmillan are adding Mr. James Baker's "The Gleaming Dawn" to their Colonial Library. A new work by Mr. Frank R. Stockton, entitled "A Storyteller's Pack," will be published immediately by Messrs. Cassell and Co. Professor Hugh Bell of St. David's College, Lampeter, will write a volume on "The Age of Tennyson " for Messrs. Bell's series of handbook* to English literature. ## p. 334 (#394) ############################################ 334 THE AUTHOR. Mr. E. W. Hornung's new work, " My Lord Duke," will be published soon by Messrs. Cassell. Mr. Cedric Chivers has been explaining to an Academy writer the raison d'etre of his literary sample-room at io, Bloomsbury-street, London. It was started in the interests of public libraries as a central source of information for librarians. The publishers, however, who were readily induced to hire shelf-room to exhibit their newest books, insisted on the public being made free of the exhibition, and Mr. Chivers is now entirely in agreement with them on this point. Books are not sold at the Bureau, but people may come !o look at them in perfect freedom, and without incurring the smallest obligation. The bureau is no essential part of Mr. Chivers's business, and it would hurt him in no way to give it up to-morrow. He takes special interest in the theory, however, and wants No. io, Bloomsbury-street to become more and more a house of call for the book- lover. Mr. W. G. Tarbet, a young Scotch writer, has written a story of the Covenanting period, called "Ill-gotten Gold," which Messrs. Cassell are about to issue. Mrs. Deland bas finished a group of five short stories, which will be published under the title "The Wisdom of Fools." Mr. Julien Corbett has nearly finished his Life of Drake, upon which he has been engaged for the last six years. He bas unearthed many new docu- ments in English, Italian, and Spanish, includii.g an important and hitherto unnoticed account of the Armada, compiled by a Florentine writer (Ubaldino), from information supplied by Drake himself. The fourth and last volume of the Life of Pusey will be published in the autumn. Mrs. Edith E. Cuthell, who a few years back, under the pseudonym of " An Idle Exile," pub- lished "In Tent and Bungalow" and "By a Himalayan Lake," has another volume of Indian and soldiering stories ready, to be called "In Camp and Cantonment," and to be published shortly by Messrs. Hurst and Blackett. The " Gleaming Dawn," by Mr. James Baker, has gone into a second edition. It is, as manv readers have learned, an historical novel, especially commended for accuracy in its history; a merit not always found in novels of that kind. A BELGIAN LITERARY COMPETITION. THE Belgian Minister asks us to publish the following notice: "By Royal decree of Dec. 14, 1874, his Majesty the King of the Belgians instituted a prize of 25,ooof. for the encouragement of intellectual studies. The prize of this international competi- tion for the year 1901 will be awarded to the writer submitting the best essay upon the military history of the Belgians from the Koman invasion to our own days. The author must briefly describe the wars of which Belgium was the theatre, and indicate the influence of these wars on the destinies of the country. He must relate the military exploits accomplished out of the country by Belgian troops on foreign service, and describe the methods of recruitiug, the organisa- tion, the rights and duties of the communal militia, as well as the state of the armament and fortifications at various periods. The work must then be completed by a study on the development of the army and the defensive system of Belgium since 1830. "Both manuscripts and printed books may be sent in. A new edition of a printed book can only take part in the competition if it contains alterations and considerable additions made during the period of the competition, viz., in one of the years 1897, 1898, 1899, or 1900. The works may be written in any of the following languages: French, English, German, Italian, or Spanish. "Foreigners who wish to take part in this com- petition should send their works, printed or in manuscript, before Jan. 1, 1901, to the Minister of the Interior and Public Instruction at Brussels. The manuscript obtaining the prize will be pub- lished in the course of the year following the one in which the prize is awarded. The essays will be judged by a jury appointed by the Kiug of the Belgians, and composed of seven members, three Belgians and four of other nationalities."—The Times, April 7. OBITUARY. PROFESSOR THOMAS DICKSON died suddenly at Athens on March 27th, after a forty years' residence there. During that time he held the English chair in the Uni- versity for a long period, besides being the instructor in English of the whole of the Royal Family in succession, by whom he was loved as much as he was respected. An urbane man of exceeding gentleness and calmness, a Liberal and ## p. 335 (#395) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. 335 a Philhellene, he was always a great favourite with the Greeks. For the last few years he had been Vice-Consul in addition to his other work. His donations to literature are comprised in a most useful handbook of Modern Greek, the first that appeared in this country. He translated several works into Greek, the chief of which was the popular volume of "Roughing it in Crete" by Hilary Skinner, the correspondent of the Daily News who accompanied a Greek vessel running the blockade during the Cretan rising of 1866. This book can still be read with advantage by all who wish to realize what Cretan insurrections have been in the past, and how identical they all are. Mr. Dickson, who was of Scotch parentage, was born in Corfu, and graduated in America. He was seventy years old at the time of his decease. Mr. G. W. Godfrey, who died in London on the 10th ult., began to writ*1 for the stage nearly a quarter of a century ago, and gained a place among playwrights for the power of mordant satire upon society which his work contained. "Queen Mab" (in which Mr. and Mrs. Kendal appeared at the Haymarket), "Vanity Fair," "The Parvenu," "My Milliner's Bill," and (adapted from the French) " Queen's Shilling " were among the plays written by Mr. Godfrey, who, until three years ago, was a clerk in the Admiralty. Kev. Dr. Sparrow Simpson, librarian of St. Paul's, died on March 28. He was an enthusiastic antiquary, and wrote "Gleanings from Old St. Paul's," and a number of other works on the history of St. Paul's and St. Vedast's. Herr Johannes Brahms, the illustrious com- poser, died at Vienna on the 3rd ult. At home, the musical interest lost Dr. George Mursell Garrett, organist at Cambridge University, and composer of the oratorio "The Shunamite," who died on the 9th ult., aged 63; and Mr. Henry Erskine Allon, a young musician who had composed over thirty pieces, including six cantatas, chief among which were "Annie of Lochroyan" and "The Oak of Geismar." Mrs. Julia Davies, probably the last survivor of the intimate friends of Charles Lamb, died at Clif- ton last month at the great age of 94. Her father was Joseph Hume, of Montpellier House, Notting Hill, where Limb, Godwin, and Hazlitt were constant guests. THE BOOKS OF THE MONTH. [March 24 to April 23—218 Books.] Abbott, E.t and Campbell, L. The L:fe and LettcrB of B-rijimin Jowett. 32/- Murray. Akeiman. P. B., and Hurst, N. Trlscomte Stone. 6/- BIibs. Alden, W. L. His Daughter. 2 - Beeman. Alexander, Rupert. Ballyronan. 6/- Digby. Allbu't, T. C. (editor). A System of Medirino-II. 25/-net. Macmillan. Anderacn-Muishead, A. E. M. The History of the Universities Mission to Central Africa. 1S59-189G. U.M.C.A. Anonymous. The House of Dreams. 8/6. Bowden. Anonymom. The Love of an Obsolete Wjman. 2 'i. Con fit able. Asblmrner, W. A Concite Treatise on Mortgages, Pledges, an^ Liens. 25/- Clowes Baden-Powell B. S. S. The M&t.lnld Campaign 1896. 15/- Methuen. Bah am F. P. S Marks Indeb''die^ lo S Matthew. 3/6. Unwin. Bailey, L. H. The Voicing Book. Macmillan. Bannow, W. The Colony of Victoria. 2,6. Simpkin. BatBon, Mrs. S. The Earth Children. x> Hutchinson. Bax, E. Belfort. Outspoken Essays on Social Subjects. 2 6. Beeves, Beerbohm, Max. The Happy Hypocrite. 1;- net. Lane. Bell, G. C. Religious Teiching in Secondary School*. 3 fi. Macmillan. Benedictines of Stinbrook. Gregorian Music. 7/- net. Art and Book Compiny. Benson, E. W. Cyprian: HiB Life, His Times, His Work. 21 - net. Macmillan. Blckerdyke, J. Daughters of Thespts. 6/- 8impkin. Binyon. L. John Crome and John Sill Cotman. 3,6 n?t. Sieley. Black, John. Nanaen and the Frozen North. 1/- Routledge. Bodkin. M. Mc D. White Magic. 6/- Chapman. Borne, Kaehler, and Davis. Cavalry Studiea from Two (treat wan. W. H. Allen. Booth, Charles. Life and Labour of the People in London—IX. 7 <>. Macmillan. Bouldlng, J. W. Fibles and Fancies. 3/6. Jarrold. Bourne, J. P. Contingent Reversions. 3- Liverpool; Lee and Nightingale. Braddon, M. E. Under Love's Rule 6/- Simpkin. Brete, J. de la. Fate's Fetters <tr. by F. Hoper- Dixon). 6/- Digby. Bryce, A H. The Poems of Horace. 3/6. Bell. Burgess, J. Archieological Survey of Western India. Tbaeker. Burgin, O. B. "Old Man's" Marriage 6/- Richards. Cahan, A. YekL 2 6 net. Heinemann. Cafllard, E. M. On the Use of Science to Christians. 1 fi. Nisbet. Carr. Mrs. Comyns. Cottage Folk, fi/- Heinemann. Christian. Susan. A Pot of Honey. 3/6 Unwin. Clarke. M. StorieB of Australia in the Early Days. 3/6. Hutchinson. Clifford, H. In Court and K am pong. 7/6 net. Richards. Colmore, G. Love for a Key. 2/6 net. Heinemann. Compton, A. J. Malays, Game Fowls, and Bantam* in Australia. 2 6. Simpkin. Cool, W. The Dutch In the East ftr. by E. J. Taylor). Kegan Pau\ Couch, A. T. Q. (editor) English Sonnets. 2/- Chapman. CowleSjJ. L. A General Freight and Passenger Post. 3/6. Putnam. Crole, D. Tea: A Text-Book of Tea-Planting and Manufacture. Crosby Lockwood. Curtis, E. His Double Self. 3/6. Jarrold. Custance. Olive, Opals. 3/6 net. Lane. Daly, E. D. The Struggle between the State and the Drunkard, ttd. Dublin: Eason. Dames, E. L. Behind the Stars. 1/6 Unwin, Darby, W. E. International Tribunals. The Peace Society. Darlcy, George. Nepenthe. (Reprint of exhausted poem.) 2/6 net. Mathews. Davenport, C. B. Experimental Morphology—I Of- Macmillan. Davey, R. The Sultan and His Subjects. 24/- Chapman. Davey, R. Wethcrleigh. 3/6. Roxburghe. Davis, Helen. Angus Murray. 6/- Sonnenschetn. Dawe. Carlton. Captain Cattle, 6 - Smith. Elder. Day, Mrs. N. The Dream or Pilate's Wife. 3/6. Roxburghe. Dean. It., and others. The Dahlia. 1/- Macmillan. Dictionary of National Biography—L. RuBsen-Scobell- Smith, Elder. Dougall, L. A Dozen Wat s of Love. 6/- Black. Douglas, C. The Ethics of John Stuart Mill. 6/ net. Blackwood. Douglas, H. The Silver Cross. 3/6. Bell. Eggleston. E. The Beginners of a Nation. 7'6. Longman". Eldridge, R. T. The h>styns i-f Cather Castle. 6/- Digby. Evans, T. J , and Pulien, W. W. F. A Treatise on Practical, Pianer and Solid Geometry :> - Chapmin. Everitt. N. Ferrets. ;J C, Black. Facsimiles from Early Printed Books in the British Museum. The Museum. Farmer. J. E. Essays on French History. 5/- Putnam. Fennell. C ,an<10'Callaf(han. J. P. A Prince of Tyrone. Blackwood. Ferres A. His CouMn the Wallaby. :?'(.;. Simpkin. Fitzpatriek, J. P. The Outspan 3/6. Heinemann. Flowerdi'n, H. In an Ancient Mirror. 2,6. Unwin. Forbes, A. H. Ij Science Guilty. 2 6. Marshall. Freeman, E. A. Sketch b of Travel in Nurmindy and Maine 8 (J.. Macmillan. Friswell, J. H. The Burden of Life. 3/6. Unwin. FulchiT, F. A. Birds of Our Islands. 3,0. Melrose. Gamble, George. A Farrago of Fo'lv. 3/6. Vnwin. Garran, R. 11. The Coming Commonwealth [Australia}. 7 6. Simpkin. ## p. 336 (#396) ############################################ 336 THE AUTHOR. Gasquet, F. A. The Old EnglUh Bible, and Other Essajs. 12 - net. Nimnio. Geikie. Sir A. The Ancient Yolcanooi of Great Biitiin. 1(0/-net. Macmilhn. George, A. J. Select Puem> of Robert Burns. 3 6. Isbister. Gerard, Dorothea. Angela's Lorer. 1,- Constable. Gissin?. George. The Whirlpool. Lawrence. Glyn, Hon. C. A Dr<ma in Dregs. 6 - Siinpkin. Goltz, Baron. The Conduct of War (tr. by J. T. Dickman). W. H. Allen. Goulaeff, E. E. (tr.) Mj Lire in Christ: Extracts from the Diary of lliytoh Sergieff. CasselL Gould, N. Horse or Blacksmith'.' 2 fi. RoutWdge. Graham, J. A. On th 1 ThreshoU of Three CIjaed Lands. 1 fi. Clark. Grimshaw, B. E. Broken Away 3 6. Lane. Gunn, D. The Story of Lafau IV?. 1 fi. Siinpkin. Gunter, A. C. Don Rabuc »' f K-? West. 2 fi. 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Winners and ltunners-up for the Amateur Championship. London : HORACE COX, Windsor House, Bream's-buildings, E.C. Demy Svo., with Map and Illustrations, price 10s. 6d. AN AUSTRALIAN IN CHINA: Being the Narrative of a Quiet Journey Acroa China to British Burma. By a. E. MORRISON M.B.C.M:. Kdin., JrT.R-C3-.S- "Mr. Morrison is an Australian doctor who has achieved probabl the most remarkable journey through tho Flowery Land eve attempted by a Christian ... He was entirely unarmed and unaccompanied, save for the coolies who carried his baggage. Such a journey- three thousand miles in length—could not fail to present many curious customs and as many curious people. Hut it is owing entirely to Dr. Morrison's graphic manner of description, and his acutely keen observation, that his travels are such a reality to the reader. This portly volume is one of the most interesting books of travel of the many published this year. 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Being the Record of a Visit to the Headquarters of the Syrian Church in Mesopotamia, with some account of the Yazidis, or Devil Worshippers of Mosul, and El Jilwah, t leir Sacred Book. By OSWALD H. PARRY, B.A. (Of Magdalen College, Oxford.) Illustrated by the Author. With a Prefatory Note by the Right Reverend the Lord Bishop of Durham. "The author of this handsome volume pres< nts 1 a detailed study of a relic of history pursued off ihe track of general research;' he has sought to give, and has succeeded in giving, * a picture or quiet life in a country much abused, and among a people that command less than their share of ordinary interest.' 'Westward the tide of Empire takes its way,1 sang a prophetic divine of the olden days, and no less certainly, as Mr. Parry points out, does the ebb of travel return towards tho East. . . . As a volume descriptive of life and travel among a distant people, his work is well worth reading, but for those persons who are more particularly concerned with the old Syria n Church, or in the solution of the problem indicated above, it Is one of quite unique attraction. A pathetic interest attaches to the account of the Yazidis included in this volume for it contains part of their sacred writings, the original manuscript of which was in the band* of Professor Robertson Smith for translation at the time of his death.' —PubtUheri Cirevlar. London: Horace Cox. Windsor House, Bream's-buiWing^ E.C. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Author, Vol. 07 Issue 12 (May 1897) Subject The topic of the resource The Author, Vol. 07 Issue 12 (May 1897) Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015049239455" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015049239455</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Publication Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 1897-05-01-The-Author-7-12 publications The Author https://historysoa.com/files/original/5/301/1897-04-01-The-Author-7-11.pdf 2682f25f5b1bd373103b62986c1160c9 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 The Author Description An account of the resource A digitised run of the Society of Authors' monthly periodical, The Author, 1890–1914, made available together for the first time. Currently users can browse issues and <a href="https://historysoa.com/items/browse?search=&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bjoiner%5D=and&advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=51&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Index&collection=&type=&tags=&exhibit=&date_search_term=&submit_search=Search+For+Items&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) 1897-04-01 Volume 7 Issue 11 Pages Page range in volume 273–300 Ngram Date Version of the date in YYYYMMDD format for use by the Ngram plugin 18970401 Ngram Text Version of the text with no HTML formatting for use by the Ngram plugin Ube Hutbor* (The Organ of the Incorporated Society of Authors. Monthly.) CONDUCTED BY WALTER BESANT. V0L.VII.—N0.11.] APRIL i, 1897. [Price Sixpence. CONT PADS Notices, &C 273 From the Committee 27s Lkor&ry Property— 1. An Agreement 276 . 2. Copyright in New Zealand 277 3. Damages for the loss of a MS 277 4. Infringement of Copyright 278 6. The Nineteenth Congress of the International Literary and Artistic Association at Monaco 279 The Book Trade of Germany 280 Corrections 280 New York Letter. By Norman Hapgood 281 ENTS. PAH Notes from Elsewhere. By B. H. Sherard 283 Notes and News. By the Editor 285 Some Volumes of Verse 287 Editor and Contributor. By Bartle Teeling 288 "Stories Wanted" 289 Correspondence.—1. The Subjunctive Mood; Its Present Day Use. 2. Paying for Publication. 3. Viktor Bydberg. 4. The House where Byron was Born. 5. Corruption of the Language ...291 Literature In the Periodicals 295 Book Talk S96 Obituary 298 The Books of the Month 299 PUBLICATIONS OF THE SOCIETY. 1. The Annual Report. That for January 1896 can be had on application to the Secretary. 2. The Author. A Monthly Journal devoted especially to the protection and maintenance of Literary Property. Issued to all Members, 6*. 6d. per annum. Back numbers are offered at the following prices: Vol. I., ios. 6d. (Bound); Vols. 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An Exposition of Lord MonkswelPs Copyright Bill now before Parlia- ment. With Extracts from the Report of the Commission of 1878, and an Appendix containing the Berne Convention and the American Copyright Bill. By J. M. Lely. Eyre and Spottiswoode. is. 6d. 8. The Society of Authors. A. Record of its Action from its Foundation. By Walter Besant (Chairman of Committee, 1888—1892). is. 9. The Contract of Publication in Germany, Austria, Hungary, and Switzerland. By Ernst Lunge, J.U.D. 2s. 6d.''~ ## p. 272 (#328) ############################################ 11 AD VER TISEMENTS. ^t)e J5octefp of Jluf^ors (gttcorpor ateb). Sib Edwin Arnold, K.C.I.E., C.S.I. A ipred Austin. J. M. Babbie A. W. X Beckett. P. E. Beddabd, F.B.S. ROBERT BATSMAN. Sib Henry Bergne, K.C.M.G. Sib Walter Besant. Augustine Bibbbll, M.P. Rev. Pbop. Bonnet, F.B.S. Bight Hon. Jakes Bbtce, M.P. Bight Hon. Lord Bubqhclebe, P.C Hall Caine. Egebton Castle, F.S.A. P. W. Clatden. Edward Clodd. W. Morris Colles. Hon. 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ESTIMATES FORWARDED, AND REASONABLE CHARGES WILL BE FOUND. ## p. 273 (#329) ############################################ TZhc Hutbor* (The Organ of the Incorporated Society of Authors. Monthly.) CONDUCTED BY WALTER BESANT. Vol. VII.—No. u.] APRIL i, 1897. [Price Sixpence. For the Opinions expressed in papers that are signed or initialled the Authors alone are responsible. None of the papers or para- graphs must be taken as expressing the collective opinions of the Committee unless they are officially signed by G. Herbert Thring, Sec. THE Secretary of the Society begs to give notice that all remittances are acknowledged by return of post, and requests that all members not receiving an answer to important communications within two days will write to him without delay. All remittances should be crossed Union Bank of London, Chancery-lane, or be sent by registered letter only. Communications and letters are invited by the Editor on all subjects connected with literature, bnt on no other sub- jects whatever. Articles which cannot be accepted are returned if stamps for the purpose accompany the MSS. GENERAL MEMORANDA. EOE some years it has been the practice to insert, in every number of The Author, certain " General Con- siderations," Warnings, Notices,&c, for the guidance of the reader. It has been objected as regards these warnings that the tricks or frauds against which they are directed cannot all be guarded againBt, for obvious reasons. It is, however, well that they should be borne in mind, and if any publisher refuses a clause of precaution he simply reveals his true character, and should be left to carry on his business in his own way. Let us, however, draw up a few of the rules to be observed in an agreement. There are three methods of dealing with literary property:— I. That of selling it outright. This iB in some respects the most satisfactory, if a proper price can be obtained. But the transaction should be managed by a competent agent. II. A profit-sharing agreement. In this case the following rules should be attended to: (1.) Not to sign any agreement in which the cost of pro- duction forms a part. (2.) Not to give the publisher the power of putting the profits into his own pocket by charging for advertisements VOL. VII. in his own organs: or by charging exchange advertise- ments. (3.) Not to allow a special charge for " office expenses," unless the same allowance is made to the author. (4.) Not to give up American, Colonial, or Continental rights. (5.) Not to give up serial or translation rights. (6.) Not to bind yourself for future work to any publisher. As well bind yourself for the future to any one solicitor or doctor! (7.) To stamp the agreement. III. The royalty system. In this syBtem, which has opened the door to a most amazing amount of overreaching and trading on the author's ignorance, it is above all things necessary to know what the proposed royalty means to both sides. It is now possible for an author to ascertain approximately and very nearly the truth. From time to time the very important figures connected with royalties are published in The Author. Readers can also work out the figures themselves from the "Cost of Production." Let no one, not even the youngest writer, sign a royalty agreement without finding out what it gives the publisher as well as himself. It has been objected that these precautions presuppose a great success for the book, and that very few books indeed attain to this great success. That is quite true: but there is always this uncertainty of literary property that, although the works of a great many authors carry with them no risk at all, and although of a great many it is known within a few copies what will be their minimum circulation, it is not known what will be their maximum. Therefore every author, for every book, should arrange on the chance of a success which will not, probably, come at all; but which may come. The four points which the Society has always demanded from the outset are:— (1.) That both sides shall know what an agreement means. (2.) The inspection of those account books which belong to the author. We are advised that this is a right, in the nature of a common law right, which cannot be denied or withheld. (3.) That there shall be no secret profits. (4.) That nothing shall be charged which has not been actually paid—for instance, that there shall be no charge for advertisements in the publisher's own organs and none tor exchanged advertisements; and that all discounts shall be duly entered. If these points are carefully looked after, the author may rest pretty well assured that he is in right hands. At the same time he will do well to send his agreement to the secretory before he signs it. F F 2 ## p. 274 (#330) ############################################ 274 THE AUTHOR. HOW TO USE THE SOCIETY. I. |/>VERY member has a right to ask for and to reeeire l*J advice upon his agreements, his choice of a pub- lisher, or any dispute arising in the condnct of his business or the administration of his property. If the advice sought is such as can be given best by a solicitor, the member has a right to an opinion from the Society's solicitors. If the case is such that Counsel's opinion is desirable, the Com- mittee will obtain for him Counsel's opinion. All this without any cost to the member. 2. Remember that questions connected with copyright and publisher's agreements do not generally fall within the experience of ordinary solicitors. Therefore, do not Bcruple to use the Society first—our solicitors are continually engaged upon such questions for us. 3. Send to the office copies of past agreements and past accounts with the loan of the books represented. This is in order to ascertain what has been the nature of your agree- ments, and the results to author and publisher respectively so far. The Secretary will always be glad to have any agreements, new or old, for inspection and note. The infor- mation thus obtained may prove invaluable. 4. If the examination of your previous business trans- actions by the Secretary proves unfavourable, you should take advice as to a change of publishers. 5. Before signing any agreement whatever, send the pro- posed document to the Society for examination. 6. The Society is acquainted with the methods, and—in the case of fraudulent houses—the tricks of every publish- ing firm in the country. 7. Remember always that in belonging to the Society you are fighting the battles of other writers, even if you are reaping no benefit to yourself, and that yon are advancing the best interests of literature in promoting the indepen- dence of the writer. 8. Send to the Editor of The Author notes of everything important to literature that you may hear or meet with. 9. The committee have now arranged for the reception of members' agreements and their preservation in a fireproof safe. The agreements will, of course, be regarded as con- fidential documents to be read only by the Secretary, who will keep the key of tho safe. The Society now offers:—(1) To read and advise upon agreements and publishers. (2) To stamp agreements in readiness for a possible action upon them. (3) To keep agreements. (4) To enforce payments due according to agreements. THE AUTHORS' SYNDICATE. ~V|~ EMBERS are informed: J_TJ_ j . That the Authors' Syndicate takes charge of the business of members of tho Society. That it submits MSS. to publishers and editors, concludes agree- ments, examines, passes, and collects accounts, and, gene- rally, relieves members of the trouble of managing business details. 2. That the terms upon which its services can be secured will be forwarded upon detailed application. 3. That the Authors' Syndicate works only for those members of the Society whose work possesses a market value. 4. That the Syndicate can only undertake any negotiations whatever on the distinct understanding that those negotia- tions are placed exclusively in its hands, and that ail communications relating thereto are referred to it. 5. That clients can only be seen by the Director by appointment, and that, when possible, at least two days' notice should be given. 6. That every attempt is made to deal with all communi- cations promptly. That stamps should, in all cases, be sent to defray postage. 7. That the Authors' Syndicate does not invite MSS. without previous correspondence; does not hold itself responsible for MSS. forwarded without notice; and that in all cases MSS. must be accompanied by stamps to defray postage. 8. That the Syndicate undertakes arrangements for lectures by some of the leading members of the Society; that it has a "Transfer Department" for tho sale and purchase of journals and periodicals; and that a " Register of Wants and Wanted" is open. Members are invited to communicate their requirements to the Manager. There is an Honorary Advisory Committee, whose services will be called upon in any case of dispute or difficulty. It is perhaps necessary to state that the members of the Advisory Committee have no pecuniary interest whatever in the Syndicate. NOTICES. THE Editor of The Author begs to remind members of the Society that, although the paper is sent to them free of charge, the cost of producing it would be a very heavy charge on the resources of the Society if a great many members did not forward to the Seoretary the modest 6s. 6d. subscription for the year. The Editor is always glad to receive short papers and communications on all subjects connected with literature from members and others. Nothing can do more good to the Society than to make The Author complete, attractive, and interesting. Will those who are willing to aid in this work send their names and the special subjects on which they are willing to write? Communications for The Author 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 tho Editor any points connected with their work whioh it would be advisable in the general interest to publish. Members and others who wish their MSS. read are requested not to send them to the Office without previously communicating with the Secretary. The utmost practicable despatch is aimed at, and MSS. are read in the order in which they are received. It mnst also be distinctly under- stood that the Society does not, under any circumstances, undertake the publication of MSS. The Authors' Club is now open in its new premises, at 3, Whitehall-court, Charing Ctosb. Address the Secretary for information, rules of admission, Ac. Will members take the trouble to ascertain whether they have paid their subscriptions for the year'! If they will do this, and remit the amount, if still unpaid, or a banker's order, it will greatly assist the Secretary, and savo him tho trouble of sending out a reminder. Members are most earnestly entreated to attend to the following warning. It is a most foolish and may be a most disastrous thing to enter into an agreement binding for a term of years. Let them ask themselves if they would givo a solicitor tho collection of their rents for five years to come, whatever his conduct, whether he was honest ## p. 275 (#331) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. 275 or dishonest? Of course they would not. Why then hesitate for a moment when they are asked to sign them- selves into literary bondage for three or five years? Those who possess the "Cost of Production" are requested to note that the cost of binding has advanced 15 per cent. This means, for those who do not like the trouble of "doing sums," the addition of three shillings in the pound on this head. In other words, if the cost of binding is set down in our book at eight pounds, to this must now be added twenty-four shillings more, so that it now stands at Jtg 4«. The figures in our book are as near the exact truth as can be procured; but a printer's, or a binder's, bill is bo elastic a thing that nothing more exact can be arrived at. Some remarks have been made upon the amount charged in the " Cost of Production" for advertising. Of course, we have not included any Bums which may be charged for inserting advertisements in the publisher's own magazines, or in other magazines by exchange. As agreements too often go, there is nothing to prevent the publisher from sweeping the whole profits of a book into his own pocket, by inserting any number of advertisements in his own magazines, and by exchanging with others. Some there are who call this a form of fraud; it is not known what those who practise this method of swelling their own profits call it. FROM THE COMMITTEE. AMEETING of the Council and Shareholders of the Society was held in the Japan Room of the Royal Medical and Chirurgical Society, 20, Hanover-square, on the 3rd March at four o'clock. Mr. H. Rider Haggard took the chair. The report and balance-sheet of the Society for the past year were laid before the meeting, and after some discussion were adopted. General Meeting. The Annual General Meeting of the Incor- porated Society of Authors was held on the 3rd March at 4.30 p.m. at the rooms of the Royal Medical and Chirurgical Society, 20, Hanover- square, W. Mr. H. Rider Haggard presided. Amongst those present were the following: Sir Walter Besant, Mr. H. M. Lely, Mr. W. Morris Colles, Mr. Anthony Hope Hawkins, Mr. A. W. a Beckett, Mr. J. J. Stevenson, Miss Challice, Mr. Mackenzie Bell, Mr. Bram Stoker, Mr. Basil Field, Lady Colin Campbell, Mr. F. Gribble, Mr. J. Louis, and many other members of the Society. The Chairman, before commenting on the report, read the following statement: "Since the report was drafted, Mr. Hall Caine, whose great services in Canada the Society has already acknow- ledged, has informed the Committee that he had been in communication with the Colonial Office and the Dominion Government on the subject of Canadian copyright. The Committee, not being at present in possession of detailed information as to Mr. Caine's action, were unable to make any statement in regard thereto." He then proceeded to take the salient points in the report, and said the Society had lost during the past year tlirough death several old members and strong supporters, among them being Miss Mathilde Blind, Sir J. A. Crowe, Sir J. Eric Ericksen, Professor Middleton, Mr. George du Maurier, and Sir B. W. Richard- son. During the year there had been a far- reaching alteration made in the constitution of the Society. Last year, at the annual meeting, the matter of the admission of ladies to the Council was discussed, and he had to inform members that, in pursuance of an arrangement then made, five ladies had consented to be elected members of the Council, and it was believed that this movement would tend to the advantage of the Society, as it was wished that the Society should be as representative as possible of both sexes. The finances for the year, he was glad to say, were on the whole very satisfactory. They had now an income of over ,£1200 a year, and a capital account of ^£595, of which J6450 was left the Society by legacy. Considering what their resources had been in past years, he thought they had every reason to congratulate themselves. During the year 208 new members had been elected, and the cases which had been dealt with in the offices of the Society numbered no fewer than no, which was a large increase on the number for the previous year. Out of a member- ship of about 1200 no fewer than between 800 and 900 members had been in communication with the secretary for advice, which really showed that the Society had been a great boon and assistance to the large majority of its members. Last year it was suggested that the Committee was not sufficiently representative, and therefore the Committee had taken steps, according to a resolution passed at the general meeting, to obtain the opinions of members, and to get committee- men nominated from the members to meet a sub- committee and discuss the matter. So little did the members appear to be dissatisfied with the management, that no one was nominated to represent the body of members, so that it appeared that there was a good deal of excite- ment without any real foundation of complaint. During the year the matter of the copyright laws had been considered in conjunction with others interested, and the subject was still being pressed on. He thought that what they all needed was more esprit de corps, for it was only when such a spirit animated them that they could do any- thing real for the great profession of authorship. It was because the Society did its best to promote unity of aim that it was entitled to the support of every author in the kingdom. Some people thought that the profession of authorship was a ## p. 276 (#332) ############################################ 276 THE AUTHOR. most remunerative one—as remunerative as that of an Arctic explorer, for instance—(laughter)— but it was a fact that a large proportion of authors were by no means rich. It was to help those who were not strong enough to help them- selves that the Society aimed, and, in fact, the Society was the only one that had seriously taken up the difficulties which beset the profession of authorship. They were not a warlike Society, and they did not exist to promote quarrels and war between publishers and authors. They existed, it was true, to obtain the rights of authors, and that they considered it their duty to do; but they wished to attain that end by esta- blishing those rights upon a firm and fixed basis. At the conclusion of the Chairman's address there was a discussion on various matters relat- ing to the interests of the Society. Mr. Perry Coste, in the course of the discussion, thought the Society might be more representative of the general profession, and suggested that the society should be divided into different branches or faculties with that object in view. The Chairman said the Committee did its best to embrace the several sections of literature, and had just established a sub-committee in relation to music, the drama, and art. Replying to a question as to whether journa- lism could not be more represented, Sir Walter Besant said that the Institute of Journalists well looked after that particular branch. More- over, the Authors' Society did not wish to act in rivalry or hostility to the Institute. A long discussion arose out of a proposition to issue a list of the members of the Society, and it transpired that a great number of authors would not allow their names to be published, some even joining only on the understanding that their names should not be published. The Chairman said he could not quite under- stand the reason, but he suggested that some were afraid that publishers would not take their work; but he did not think there was the slightest ground for that suspicion. Finally the following motion proposed by Mr. Percy Ames and seconded by Mr. J. Louis was passed: "The Committee are requested to take the sense of the members of the Society as to the publication of a list of the Society." A vote of thanks was then proposed to the Chairman by Mr. Anthony Hope Hawkins, and seconded by Sir Walter Besant. The proceedings then terminated. The Committee have decided to form three affiliated sub-committees to deal with questions relating to art, music, aud the drama. The Art Sub-Committee, which is already formed, will consist of the Hon. John Collier (chairman), Sir W. Martin Conway, and Mr. M. H. Spielmann. Mr. C. Villiers Stanford has consented to take the chair of the Musical Sub-Committee. Mr. J. L. Molloy has also consented to join. No other member has as yet been appointed. The Sub-Committee on questions relating to the Drama will consist of Mr. Henry Arthur Jones (chairman) and Mr. A. W. a Beckett. The other places are still vacant. Or. Herbert Thring, Secretary. LITERARY PROPERTY. I.—An Agreement. THE publisher concerned returns to the attack, aud again very carefully avoids the real points. These are that, by the terms of the agreement, the publisher may make his edition as large as he pleases; that the author has to guarantee so much money; that after nine months the whole edition becomes the publisher's property. No talk can get away from these hard facts. "In the Rejoinder, marked III. in The Aut/ior for March, concerning ' An Agreement,' the writer sets out by saying that ' the price of the book in question has nothing to do with the case '; 'the actual treatment of the book in question has nothing to do with the case.' If this is so, it seems scarcely needful to have raised these points in dealing with the agreement, or brought them forward as objectionable. "The contention of your writer, now that it has been shown that the book in question has been well and liberally treated, and that the author has beeu done justice to, seems to be rather that the agreement is theoretically faulty, and that this is of more importance than the treatment the author has received. This, truly, is putting the letter before the spirit. "I contend that, however perfect an agreement may be, there are always people who will break through it, if they are dishonest and set them- selves to do so. The satisfactory publication of a book depends more on the good feeling and honesty of purpose of both author and pubUsher, than on the most elaborate and carefully drawn- out agreement. Let me put a case which has only recently occurred in illustration of this. I agreed, four years ago, with an author that he should write a book of a given length, on a given subject. The agreement was definite and unmistakable. ## p. 277 (#333) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. The author drew the payment at the outset, and promised to deliver the MS. by a given date. When the date for the delivery of the MS. arrived he stated that he could not possibly carry out his agreement, and offered to substitute another book on a totally different and quite unsuitable sub- ject, for the one bargained for. This offer was declined, and the author was invited to return the fee he had received. After numerous applications for repayment, at intervals during the four years that followed, the matter was put into the solici- tors' hands, and finally the Lord Mayor's Court recovered the fee. Here is a case of fraud with a perfect agreement, which may well be cited in comparison with a fair and liberal carrying out of an imperfect one. "The Publisher Concerned." II.—Copyright in New Zealand. The New Zealand Photographers' Copyright Act has just come into force in that colony. The Act divides photographs into three classes—(i) Photographs of natural scenery, &c, taken by any person at his own expense and for his own pleasure or profit; (2) Portraits of individuals or groups; (3) Photographs taken to order or for trade purposes. Full copyright protection for five years is granted the photographer in the first class, provided the word "protected," name of photographer, and date of taking, appear as part of the original plate and on each print. In class 2 the person photographed is declared to be the owner of the copyright, and not the photo- grapher. A sitter can therefore absolutely prevent any New Zealand photographer including his or her photograph in any series of notorious criminals or professional beauties he may be issti- ing, though nowadays it is much more likely that the beauty would feel flattered at the know- ledge that her features were considered so super- excellent. In any case the owner of a really first-class " photographic" face—which does not necessarily mean the most beautiful face—will be able to exact a royalty should ever a demand spring up for it. In the case of the third class, the copyright is declared to vest in the person who employs the photographer to do the work. Penalties are provided for reproducing or publish- ing any portrait or photograph without the con- sent in writing of the original owner, which should provide a new source of income for the criminal classes in blackmailing the cheap illus- trateds. However, some reproductions of photo- graphs which are to be seen from time to time under the guise of "illustrations," frequently suggest the idea that their perpetrators should come under the law of libel; but the New Zealand public man will now have an easy means of redress when he discovers himself represented in a public print as two blots and a fly track. The only thing is that it might be a nice legal point as to whether such misrepresentations were "reproductions" or " publications" of the original photographs to which they bear such very distant likeness.—Evening Mail, Sydney. III.—-Damages for the Loss of a MS. (Before Mr. Justice Grantham, without a Jury.) Kelly v. Clarke. In this case the plaintiff claimed damages for breach of a contract of bailment. The defendant did not admit the value of the article bailed, and counterclaimed for rent due. Mr. Clavell Salter appeared for the plaintiff; and Mr. Yelverton for the defendant. The plaintiff, a solicitor's conveyancing clerk, was the author of a book on conveyancing forms, called "Kelly's Conveyancing Draughtsman." This was published by Messrs Butterworth, and a second edition was brought out in 1881. The Conveyancing Act was passed soon after, and the plaintiff set about the third editiou, which took him about twelve months. Id November, 1885, he was going into the country and deposited the manuscript for this third edition, in a brown-paper parcel, at the Chancery-laue Safe Deposit, which then belonged to the defendant Colonel Clarke, and got a receipt for it and paid a deposit of 7s 6d. In March, 1896, the plaintiff was approached by Messrs. Butterworth as to the third edition of his book, aud went to the Chancery-lane Deposit, and saw the manager and asked for the parcel, and also asked what rent he owed. The manager referred him to Col. Clark. The plainiiff, on depositing the manuscript, gave his father's address as his; two demands for rent at 2 5.5. per annum were sent to him at that address on Sept. 27, 1890, and on March 12, 1891, but these were never received by him. In 1894 the present com- pany took over the business of the Chancery-laue Deposit from Col. Clarke; they had at the pre- sent time nothing to do with Clarke. Clarke eventually removed this brown paper parcel, amongst other things, from the strong room at Chancery-lane. The plaintiff put his loss at 100 guineas; two other witnesses put it at 75 guineas. Mr. Yelverton contended that, though no doubt his client had received a brown paper parcel, yet there was no reasonable evidence that this parcel contained this valuable manuscript. Only the plaintiff had given evidence of it. The parcel had been mislaid somehow. The defendant was entitled to rent. It was contended by Mr. Salter, in opening the ## p. 278 (#334) ############################################ 278 THE AUTHOR. ease, that the defendant could not claim rent, because he had not kept his contract to safely keep and deliver this parcel. In the course of the case, Mr. Sykes said he had been instructed on behalf of the present Chancery-lane Deposit Company, to say that they had no concern in this deposit at all, and were not concerned in this litigation, but that they were quite ready to assist the court in any way in their power. Mr. Justice Grantham, in giving judgment, said he should assess the damages for the loss of this work at 75 guineas. There was evidence that the defendant had the book up to 1894; he should, therefore, give him rent at the rate of 25*. a year. There would be judgment for the plaintiff for the 75 guineas, less nine years' rent at 2 5*. a year. Mr. Yelvertou asked the learned judge to sepa- rate the claim and counterclaim, and give the defendant judgment on the counterclaim. This was refused. Judgment was given for the plaintiff for ,£67 io«., with costs of the trial and general costs, the defendant to have the costs of the counter- claim.— Times, March 16. IV.—Infringement of Copyright. 1. (Before Mr. Justice Homer.) BROOKS V. RELIGIOUS TRACT SOCIETY. This was a motion by the plaintiff, the well known fine art publisher, of 171, Strand, London, for an interim injunction restraining the defen- dants from printing and selling, &c, any copies of a publication called the Child's Companion containing a certain woodcut. The plaintiff com- plained that the woodcut was an infringement of a picture by G. A. Holmes entitled " Can't you Talk ?" the copyright of which was sold to his firm in 1875, and of which he was now the registered proprietor, or an infringement of the design or engraving of such picture. The picture, as appeared from an engraving produced, was a composition of a collie dog and a child on a stone floor, with the background of a wall with a door on the left, out of which a cat was looking. Above the dog was a table, on which was a tub with a spoon or a pestle in it. The plaintiff stated that about Fell. 14, 1897, his attention was called to the defendants' publication of the woodcut in question, and that the woodcut reproduced exactly almost the whole of the details of the picture— the collie dog, both in attitude, expression and position, the wall, the table, tub, and spoon being exact copies of what appeared in the copy- right work, whilst the position of the door and cat were the same, although some slight altera- tions in detail were made in the door and the attitude of the cat. The only differences between the picture and the woodcut were that in the woodcut the figure of the child had been removed and in its place two cats and a tortoise had been inserted, while the background and foreground had been increased and some new details intro- duced. The Child's Comvanion was a monthly periodical, and the woodcut in question appeared in the November issue of 1896 as an illustration to a tale entitled'• A Strange Visitor." In the woodcut the tortoise was the principal object on the floor, bein g somewhat large for a tortoise, and the attention of all the other four animals was riveted on the tortoise, the cats glaring at it with expressions of terror or astonishment. The expression of the dog in both woodcut and picture was one of calm and fixed attention. Th- defen- dants stated that they had purchased the block from which the woodcut was taken some five years ago from a man whom they had lost sight of. It was agreed that the motion should be treated as the trial of the action. The defendants had on the plaintiff's complaint at once with- drawn the publication. The plaintiff waived any claim for damages. Mr. Neville, Q.C., and Mr. E. Knowles Corrie appeared for the plaintiff. Mr. Levett, Q.C., and Mr. Scrutton, for the defendants, submitted that the dog was the only detail common to the picture and woodcut, and that both depended for their meaning or pictorial idea on other details, and that these details and the meaning had very little in common. The idea created by the picture was not that con- veyed by the woodcut, and the production of the woodcut was not within the Copyright Acts, the object of which was to prevent any interference with either the artist's reputation or the com- mercial value of his work (Hanfaengl v. Empire Palace, L. R., 1894, Ch., 109; per Lord Justice Lopes, p. 131). Mr. Justice Romer said that he thought the woodcut was an infringement of the plaintiff's copyright. The principal part, or one of the principal parts, of the copyright picture was the figure of the dog with a particularly sagacious or benevolent appearance. That appearance, together with the form and attitude of the dog, had been copied, and the defendants' dog was a repro- duction of the plaintiff's dog. Other portions of the plaintiff's picture had also been reproduced by the defendants. It was not only the dog which was taken, but also the feeling and artistic character of the plaintiff's work. They had taken the design whilst substituting cats and a tortoise for the child in the original. Wherever one found ## p. 279 (#335) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. 279 a direct copy of a substantial portion of a copy- right work, that substantial portion constituted an infringement if it was a copy in an ordinary sense. For instance, if a person were to take an historical picture and take out of it the principal figure and reproduce that figure without the other surroundings, that would be an infringement. The present case was a stronger case, because the defendants had not only taken the principal figure of a dog, but had copied as well the senti- ment of the picture. By a society like the defen- dants what had been done had been done inad- vertently. They offered an undertaking in the terms of the application. This he accepted. The defendants muwt pay the costs.— Tlie Times. n. (Before Mr. Justice Kekewich, on March 18.) SMITH V. THE NEW PUBLISHING COMPANY LIMITED AND MESSRS. CHATTO AND WINDUS. This was an action brought by the plaintiff, Mr. William Thomas Smith, the registered author and proprietor of the copyright in a certain original painting called "They Forged the Last Link with their Lives," an Arctic picture, against the defendants, the New Publishing Company Limited, the owners, and Messrs. Chatto and Windus, the publishers, of a monthly publication known as the Idler, and the plaintiff claimed an injunction to restrain the defendants, their agents, and servants, from infringing the plaintiff's copyright by publishing a representation of the said original painting, "They Forged the Last Link with their lives," in the Idler; he also asked for delivery up of all copies, blocks, photo- graphs, &c, and damages. The plaintiff alleged that on March 12, 1896, he wrote to the art editor of the Idler, expressing a wish to do work for them, and inclosing a photograph of the above-mentioned painting to the art editor as a specimen, and that the defendants without his consent published a copy of the picture in the May number of the Idler. The defendants denied that the plaintiff had any copyright in the painting until registration on May 18, 1896. It was also contended on their behalf that the plaintiff by sending the photo- graph, in accordance with the practice of the trade, implied that he consented to its publica- tion in the Idler. Mr. Willis Bund and Mr. J. W. Baines appeared for the plaintiff; Mr. Eenshaw, Q.C., and Mr. D. M. Kerley for the defendants. Mr. Justice Kekewich said that he did not consider that the sending of the photograph of the painting to the art editor was an invitation to publish a representation of it, though the art editor honestly thought so. A wrong had been VOL. VII. done, and he should award the plaintiff a substantial sum as damages — namely, .£25. There would also be an order for delivery up to him of the books containing the pictures, also the blocks, negatives, photographs, &c., and the defendants would have to pay the costs of the action. V.—The Nineteenth Congress of the Inter- national Literary and Artistic Associa- tion at Monaco. In accordance with the resolution passed at the last Congress at Berne, the nineteenth Congress of the International Literary and Artistic Associa- tion will be held at Monaco from April 17 to 24. The following is the Ust of subjects placed upon the programme, together with the names of the members who will present reports on the several subjects: 1. On the distinction between the author's pecuniary and moral rights. Consequences of this distinction.—M. Jules Lermina. 2. On the public domain paying a perpetual royalty.—M. E. Mack. 3. On the contract with publisher.—M. E. Pouillet. 4. On the reproduction of political articles.— M. A. Osterrieth. 5. On the proprietorship of news.—M. A. Bataille. 6. On rights in historical documents.—M. Marbeau. 7. Desiderata of musical composers.—M. V. Souchon. 8. Desiderata of Architects.—M. C. Lucas. 9. Desiderata of photographers.—M. A. Tail- lefer. 10. On the proprietorship of the autograph,— M. Or. Harmand. 11. On the definition of type.—M. Davanne. 12. Project of a law respecting literary pro- perty.—M. Ot. Maillard. 13. On legislative work and the currents of public opinion in different countries.—M. Alcide Darras. 14. On the organisation of national committees for the study of the present situation in countries outside the Union, and the organisation of a pro- paganda with a view to the extension of the Union. —M. L. Poinsard. 15. On the creation of legal offices in foreign countries.—M. L. Layus. 16. On opportunities to be afforded the public of becoming acquainted with the existence of author's exclusive rights.—M. E. Rothlisberger. 17. On the suppression of the "caution" judicatum solvi.—M. de Glermont. (See The Author, Nov. 1896, p. 133.) G G ## p. 280 (#336) ############################################ 280 THE AUTHOR. THE BOOK TRADE OF GERMANY. THE United States Consul at Breslau has prepared an interesting report on the condition and methods of the book trade in Germany, which is published in the last issue of Consular reports by the Department of State in Washington. The Consul says even in this changing age the organisation of the German book trade remains in principle what it has long been. The two main prin- ciples which make the trade as flourishing as it is are the fixed selling price and the right of the retailer to return unsold books. The first, combined with very long credits, is the solid basis of the existence of the small retail house, and has favoured the establishment of retailers every- where. There is in Germany one bookseller for every 5000 inhabitants, and the consequence of retail shops being found everywhere is that the German publisher spends little in advertising, for he sends out all his novelties on sale according to a system established with the retail trade, or special wishes of the retailers, which he leams by means of his inexpensive circulars. In no other trade is there so close an understanding cultivated as between the German bookseller and his educated customers. The retailer circulates all his new books amongst likely buyers, and they become better known than through advertise- ments. The retailer pays for all the books bought during the year at the Easter Fair of the following year. The discounts vary according to the class of book, from 25 per cent, on the selling price on scientific books to 40 and even 50 per cent, on juvenile literature, besides which eleven copies are sent for ten, or thirteen for a dozen. The enormous number of scientific books pub- lished in Germany, including pamphlets, can only be explained by the existence of the intelligent retailers all over the country. The legal organi- sation of the trade is the Verein in Leipsic, con- sisting of 2685 members, which lays down regula- tions for the members of the trade amongst themselves, and for them in their dealings with the public. Thus the maintenance of the selling price (5 per cent, being allowed for cash, periodi- cals excepted) is rigidly insisted on, and if the rule is broken it is adjudged by the Verein that publishers shall not supply the offender, or that they shall give him no credit or discount. Con- nected with this institution is a sort of publishers' and booksellers' clearing-house in Leipsic, by which the ordering by retailers and the keeping of accouni s between them and the publishers are facilitated and simplified, and the processes of ordering, packing, despatching, and paying are greatly cheapened. The system, which is a very old one, is described in detail by the Consul. It appears designed to prevent a great variety of petty expenditure, and to it, coupled with the fixed selling price and the long credit, he attri- butes the success of the trade in Germany.—■ Times, March 18. CORRECTIONS. THE power to correct proofs must certainly remain with the author. Otherwise there would be no sense in letting him have proofs. But, again, he cannot expect a free hand, or he might burden the book with a charge for corrections which would leave nothing over. The subject was treated in ZVte Author, vol. 4, p. 283. The information is repeated, because after three years there must be many members of our Society who have forgotten the very im- portant figures there presented. It is common for agreements of the profit- sharing kind (which so seldom lead to any profits) to contain a clause granting the author per- mission to correct to the extent of so much per sheet: "ten shillings, fifteen shillings, twenty shillings," as the case may be. It is never explained to the author what this allowance means, when the proofs are placed in his hands. Nor, should he begin to exceed the allowance, is he warned of his liabilities. We shall probably have to return to the danger of these liabilities next month by quoting a case in illustration. Now, what does this allowance of ios., or whatever it may be, per sheet, mean to the author? A printer charges " corrections " by the time they take. He charges at the rate of ia 2d. or 1*. id. an hour. How can an author correct work and time? In this way— 1. The substitution of one word for another takes about three or four minutes—say three minutes and a half. Therefore seventeen words can be changed in an hour, representing i*. 3d. So that an allowance of 20s. per sheet means the change of 272 words in a sheet, or seventeen words a page. 2. If, instead of a word, the author changes a phrase, making the line run over, causing the type to be shifted, perhaps, for a whole page to follow, then a single correction may cause an hour's work. The author must take great care not to correct in this careless manner. Let him be studious not to disturb the lines. A safe rule is to have duplicate proofs, and to enter the corrections on both proofs. In case of dispute the duplicate proof can be referred to. The best plan is to typewrite the whole, aud to treat the type-written copy as a first proof cor- rected for press. ## p. 281 (#337) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. NEW YORK LETTER. New York, March 16th, 1897. WIDE public interest has been attracted by a crusade, started a couple of weeks ago, against the two newspapers having the largest circulation in the United States. Some club or library led off by passing a resolution that the World and the Journal should not be kept on file in the reading-room, and the idea spread with remarkable rapidity until, in less than a fortnight, almost every important club in this city, besides libraries and other associations here and in the surrounding towns, have taken similar action, while on Saturday Yale started the move- ment among the colleges. It is a purely moral protest against the exploiting of indecency and sensationalism by flagrant pictures and lurid descriptions in the two papers which reach the largest number of the common people. A little earlier a Bill was introduced into the Legislature at Albany, by Mr. Ellsworth, making the publication of a picture of a person without his consent a ground for damages; a measure which was caused by some particularly heartless " illustrations," and some particularly vile ones. The result was rather unexpected. It might well have been anticipated that these papers would only rejoice in the notoriety they got from the Legislature and the clubs, and in the consequent increase of circula- tion j but they have apparently become frightened, for Sunday's editions of both of them were much less objectionable than usual, and the World has amused the community by coming out in support of the Ellsworth Bill. Probably it was the adver- tisers who called the halt. It might please more subscribers to raise as much protest as possible, but the big advertisers who support the news- papers—especially the 1 cent sheets, of which the selling price does not pay for the paper alone —know that they would be unfavourably affected by the disgust of decent men, emphasised by the scores of protests made within two weeks from the pulpit, from the clubs, the libraries, and the colleges. It was the advertisers who stopped the same papers from talking about the bad business outlook a short time ago. The publishers' advertisements are a rather interesting thing to watch, and if one has the knowledge necessary to make a few corrections in first conclusions, they give an excellent indication of the nature of the public which reads the various papers. During 1896 the Evening Post, which has the best book-reviews published in the country, printed 172,819 agate lines of publishers' advertisements, or 596 columns, which was 71 per cent, more than ap|>eared in any other daily newspaper in the United States in the same year, VOL. VII, and 25 per cent, more than was printed in all other New York evening papers together. The Sun, which comes second, has excellent book- reviews of its own limited kind, those on Sunday being mere abstracts, and those on week days elaborately jocose. It had in the neigh- bourhood of 100,000 lines, but it is to be remembered that neither it nor any of the other papers is so strict in price as the Post, which never offers the "special inducements" which are made to a considerable extent by all other principal papers here, with the possible exception of the Tribune. The Tribune, the most respectable organ of the Republican party, which is read by the better class of business men, published some- thing like 85,000 lines; the Times in the neighbourhood of 50,000; and not one of the sensational papers, although their circulations are many times as high, published anything worth mentioning in comparison with these amounts. The Evening Post broke the record for one day on Dec. 12 with forty-six and three-quarter columns of publishers' advertisements. The extent to which advertising is carried by the publishers has one drawback, as I believe, although there is a decided difference of opinion about the amount of effect which it has on the reviews. Certainly the papers which have the most publishers' advertisements are the strictest in their literary standards, but some which are desirous of gaining a reputation for literary excellence are made very gentle in handling all books, especially, perhaps, those of the largest publishers. The importance of publishers' advertisements as part of the business of American newspapers, also leads some of them into the temptation to review altogether too many books, which helps to lower the quality of the criticisms. It seems as if a number of the leading papers are afraid to throw any book into the waste-basket without at least a few lines of meaningless praise. Books of essays continue, it seems to me, to be the most interesting and the most significant class of books published just now. Even though ouc of them is the publication of an English house, the author of it is of so much importance in this country that it may not be improper to say something about it here. "The Will to Live," by Professor William James, is the work of a man who comes very close to being the most brilliant essayist we have; whose literary qualities are perhaps as distinguished as his philosophical powers. The papers which make up this volume deal with the border land of philosophy, most of them with almost prac- tical problems upon which philosophy throws light, especially with a defence of religion g a 2 ## p. 282 (#338) ############################################ 282 THE AUTHOR. against the too exaggerated claims of some scientific or pseudo-scientific critics, somewhat in the spirit of Mr. Balfour's books. The vigour and readiness of their style make them very noticeable from the purely literary point of view, and the author's powers of expression accounts for a large part of the deep influence which he had at Harvard University, especially among the abler students. The current joke about the two brothers is that Henry is too much of a psycho- logist to be a satisfactory novelist, and William too much of a literary man to be a satisfactory psychologist, is of course not intended to be taken seriously, but in suggesting the high degree of Professor James's literary power it carries a truth. Anyone who followed the reviews of his "Psychology" must have noticed that the most eminent philosophical authors were tempted to put special emphasis on the literary qualities of the book. I will quote only Mr. Bryce, who said in the Speaker, "In it metaphysics have again condescended to speak the language of polite letters, and learning has been wise enough to take wit for her companion." The influence which Professor James has at Harvard would be hard to overstate. It begets the love of miscellaneous experience which we are beginning to look upon as one thing that is shaping itself as part of the still unformed American character, and of which Walt Whitman is the prophet, but it is all tempered with the care of the scholar and the basis of calmness of the man of high social and artistic culture. Harper and Brothers have just arranged to bring out in their series of American essayists a volume of the work of a man who was not known in the literary world three years ago, and has now already stepped into a prominent place. Pro- fessor H. T. Peck, of Columbia College, the editor of the American Bookman, whose essays this volume is to contain, expects to have them ready for publication in the fall. The following sub- jects, which have already been treated in the Bookman, will show to some extent the trend of his thought: William Dean Howells, The Evolu- tion of a Mystic (Huysmans), The Migration of Popular Sons, The New Child and its Picture Books, American Feeling towards England, Presi- dent Cleveland (April Bookman). Other papers still to be written and appear in the volume are A great National Newspaper, George Moore, Marcel Prevost.The Progress of Fonetik Befawnn, and some few others. In this series a volume by T. W. Higginson has just been issued, and one by Mark Twain is in type. The latter will be much more generally know as an essayist after this volume has been published, as his critical work haw thus far appeared only in magazines. Professor George R. Carpenter has an interest- ing problem on his hands. He has been com- missioned to edit a volume of American prose, not including living authors. The first decision which he has made is that not more than thirty or thirty-five ought to appear in it, and the ques- tion of admission and exclusion is going to lead to a more systematic attempt to place some of our authors as regards their permanent literary im- portance than has yet been made. To take oni instance, few prose writers have been of more influence in New England than Margaret Fuller, and many would give her a prominent place in such a volume, yet Mr. Brander Matthews, whose recent volume on American literature has gone through five editions of 10,000 each, and who is, of course, one of the first authorities on American literature, would as certainly exclude her on the ground that she yvas only a personality and a journalist, which is true enough, although perhaps not conclusive; for the personality which affected such a large number of the leading New England thinkers of her day runs all through the half- dozen volumes of her work, which still have enough circulation to show that the influence is still at work. Morover, if representativeness counts for much, it would be difficult to find any- body in whom the transcendental spirit appears in more energetic and it might be said in cruder form; certainly no writer was ever more American or more New England than she. A score of questions like this will arise, including that of the place to be given to the Federalist writers, of course the most notable single group of authors we have ever had. Some of them, by the way, are treated popu- larly in an excellent volume just published by Thomas Y. Crowell iind Co., consisting of essays by Professor William P. Trent, called " Southern Statesmen of the Old Regime," including Wash- ington, Jefferson, Randolph, Calhoun, Stevens. Toombs, and Jefferson Davis. His judgment is that Jefferson is the most influential of all our statesmen, the one having the largest and most philosophical understanding. His point of view towards Jefferson Davis is particularly interesting, because it keeps a fair balance between the igno- rant Northern condemnation, and the equally ignorant Southern laudation and sentiment. He calls him: "An able and versatile man, a fairly typical representative of his people and their cause, a good man with thoroughly pure intentions;, a gentleman, and a wonderfully gallant soldier ^ a wonderfully misunderstood and ofttimes slandeifed and ill-treated man, and finally a statesman who, though he made many grave errors, was a failure not so much from his own lack of ability to govern as through the inherent weakness of the cause he ## p. 283 (#339) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. 283 represented." Professor Trent is a little need- lessly controversial, but he has information and sanity enough to make this book on some of our most interesting men a valuable contribution. Frank A. Munsey has asked some of our leading writers of fiction to contribute to his magazine papers on their own favourite novelist. Mr. Howells will lead, but he refuses to be bound by the subject, and will treat several men. Mr. Matthews will come second, and discuss Thackeray, selecting as his favourite book one of the least known, which, perhaps, it would be unfair to mention yet; and Mr. Howells happens to agree with him in thinking that this little-read book is Thackeray's best. Last month I spoke of Mr. Jaccaci's going to McClure's. Frank N. Doubleday, who, as pub- lisher, has had much to do with the building-up of Charles Scribner's Sons' business, has also gone to the same firm, which, in the fall, will begin the publication of books, and probably soon carry it on on a large scale. Mr. McClure has just engaged Stephen Crane to go to Greece to report the war—if there is any —for McClure's Magazine, and if there is not, to describe the situation. Mr. Crane had started for Cuba for the Journal, but was unable to get further than Florida. The idea that imagination and literary power is needed to report important public events is growing, and Mr. Crane's work in fiction is, of course, just the kind which makes this experiment a promising one. Norman Hapgood. NOTES PROM ELSEWHERE. St. Ives, Cornwall. ISEE that the Authors' message to the King of the Creeks has been ridiculed in certain quarters. The King of the Greeks is the true friend of literary folks, and, were it on this ground alone, has a claim on our sympathy and admiration. I wish I had a fraction of the twenty drachmae pieces which in his time he has bestowed upon needy homines de lettres in Paris. I knew one poor old fellow—a ruined Polish nobleman who used to sit in the Cafe de la Paix writing pamphlets—who counted on the King for a regular source of income. He was certain of his twenty francs every time H.M. came to Paris, and when desiring anything particularly which he could not afford at the time, would put it off " till King George comes." This old Polish nobleman—since dead of star- vation—had a method of his own of placing his literary wares, which consisted of four-page pamphlets, marked " price one franc." He used to send copies by unfranked letter-post to all the princes and potentates under the sun, with the words " I am starving" (which was strictly true) written on a piece of letter-paper. He sent away hundreds of these missives every month, to digni- taries as diverse as the Pope of Rome and the Emperor of China. Once when I pointed out to him that his letters could certainly never reach the kings and emperors to whom he addressed them, he answered: "Well, supposing the letter only falls into the hands of the man who sweeps down the Emperor's front steps, he is sure to be a marquis at least, and a marquis is quite as good for my purpose as the patron." A new French novelist of whom I am hearing much good spoken is M. Emile Pouvillon. His latest novel is called "L'Image." M. Armaud Silvestre, who is certainly one of our best literary critics, speaks of him as follows: "'L'Iniage' ne saurait qu'augmenter la renoinmce si legitiniement conquise par cet ecrivain, d'une saveur meridionale si intense dans une formule du francais le plus noble et le plus pur. La personalitc littcraire de Pouvillon et sa reelle originalitc sont dans l'intiinitc du detail toujours merveilleusement decrit, et dans la subtilite d'une psychologie toujours ingenieuse." M. Pouvillon has been writing for some years, apparently without succeeding in " imposing his literary per- sonality," an injustice of circumstances to which I am glad to call attention. Speaking of new books and new editions, I would recommend anyone who delights in humour and would be interested to read about life in a French barracks, to invest in Georges Courte- line's " Vie de Caserne," published by the Edition Nationale, with illustrations by Dupray. It is a splendid book, diverting in the extreme; a typographical and artistic triumph. Courteline is a writer who, although he has suffered bitterly from life, always writes of life in its pleasantest aspects. As such he is particularly appreciated by those of us who, finding life indeed cruel and sad, wish in our diversions to forget this circumstance awhile. Why is it, by the way, that whilst the men who write cheerfully about life are usually the men who have suffered, the pessimists almost in- variably are men who, by their tastes and in- stincts, draw a maximum of enjoyment — sensual in the main—out of the existence which they so persistently decry? For my part, I have made up my mind to put sugar in my tea in the future. No more bitter draughts for me of my own composition. Life forces enough of those down one's throat. Squeers was quite right when he insisted that ## p. 284 (#340) ############################################ 284- THE AUTHOR. "cheerfulness and good spirits must be kept up." One can get all the gloomy ■ exposure that one requires of the baseness and egotism of mankind without reading the pessimists of fiction and fact. Only the other day I came across an instance of these qualities, which exceeds anything that Maupassant ever imagined. Some years ago a German vessel was wrecked on the coast of Cornwall. The crew were all saved, but for many days the ship's cook, who had been nearly drowned in the surf as he was being dragged ashore, lay between life and death in a cottage by the sea, to which he had been earned for dead after the wreck. The man who kept the cottage attended to him night and day with the greatest kindness, providing him with the diet, stimulants, and restoratives which had been ordered by the doctor. When he was asked for his bill he made out a list of charges, which barely covered his out-of-pocket expenses, amount- ing in all to ^£5. When the captain saw the total he grew very angry, and at first refused to pay it, remarking, "This is a bad job for me. It would have been very much better for me if the fellow had been drowned." "And he meant it too," said the cottager, who told me this story one beautiful morning last week As we stood in an idyllic garden in one of the fairest scenes in England. Again, only yesterday, I heard that some fisher- men whose boat was run into and sunk by a foreign barque, refused to take refuge on this vessel, and remained in the water for hours until they were picked up by another lugger of the fishing fleet, because they feared that the foreigners might murder them in order to get rid of the witnesses who could testify .against them in a claim for compensation by the owner of the fishing smack. I defy any professional pessimist to invent two human documents more sad than these. Readers of The Author who possess French dictionaries should write in, in their proper places, the following words: Incuriosite (want of curiosity), UnicitS (oneness), Papillonnage (butterflying, flirtation), Febrilite (a state of feverishness), Inentamee (not broken in upon), Mondial (a variation of mondain). At least, such readers as read Bourget, in whose novel "L'Idylie tragiq ue," the above neologisms, amongst others, are to be met with. If not of the Academy, these words are at least of the Academician, Bourget to wit, and such is Bourget's influence that already they pass as current coin. It is a pity we have no coiner of wrords of some autho- rity in England, for there are many words lacking in our tongue. One word, for instance, is wanting to describe those men of letters whose work consists in embroidering on tissues of reported fact, and who cannot be described purely and simply as novelists, for that terra implies imagination and invention. It is just possible that, for want of buildings, the two annual Salons will not be held in Paris either next year or in 1899, the Palace de l'lndustrie and the Pavilion des Arts Libcraux, in which respectively the Salon des Champs- Elysces and the Salon du Champ de Mars have been held, having to come down in view of the Exhibition of 1900. This prospect is most cheer- ing to those newspaper correspondents whose routine duty it is to describe these exhibitions and to criticise the pictures. I have "done" the Salons for more than ten years, and have come to look forward with holy horror to May ("May month" we say in Cornwall). The fatigue of inspecting so many thousand canvases is no light one. Headache is a certain perquisite; the monotony of art, whose development is so lamentably slow, is depressing in the extreme; and the obligation under which one labours of writing only of "arrived" painters, the public in general earing nothing for new men, is revolt- ing to one's sense of justice. We shall all be very glad of a rest. It is proposed, by the way, that in future the Salons shall only be held triennially, but it is too much to hope to see that carried into effect. In speaking of St. Ives from a literary point of view last month, I was guilty of several omissions. To begin with, I ought to have mentioned that there is an old lady here who knew Charles Kingsley as a boy, and can talk for hours about him. I should also have referred to Mr. Herbert Thomas, editor of the Camborne Post, who is the author of many striking ballads on Cornish men and matters. We have also here Dr. Havelock Ellis—at this moment he is writing in a log- cabin adjacent to the one in which I am writing —who has realised an ideal literary life. I ought, further, to have referred to Mr. H. D. Lowry, the novelist. Since I have been in Cornwall my appreciation of his work has greatly increased, and I look confidently to his future. He has a splendid field, and is an excellent workman. I hope that next month I shall be able, as a variation, to write a letter on German literary matters, having it in mind to ship to Hamburg, and thence south to see the spring on the Bavarian Highlands, taking Berlin and Munich on the way. Robert H. Shebabd. ## p. 285 (#341) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. 285 NOTES AND NEWS. ALETTER from Sir John Lubbock points out that the opening sentences of his speech at the dinner are omitted in the report. This omission is very much to be lamented. The printers maintain that they left out nothing of the "copy" placed in their hands. The MS. was sent by the secretary as he received it from the reporters to the printing office. We can only offer our apologies to our distinguished chairman. I call very serious attention to the extract from the Times of March 18th, on the book trade in Germany. Compare it with our own: 1. In Germany books are sent out on sale or return. 2. Here they are not. Every book remaining on a bookseller's shelves is a failure and loss. 3. The discounts vary from 25 per cent, on the selling price of scientific books, to 40 or 50 per cent, on juvenile literature, besides which eleven copies are sent as ten, or thirteen as twelve, with 5 per cent, for cash. 4. Here the 4*. 6d. book is sold in single copies at 4«. or 4*. 2d. a copy, with a discount which reduces it to about 3*-. 90?., and thirteen as twelve. Publishers sell for less to distributing agencies at about 38. 5*/., making their average as near as possible 3*. 6d. The booksellers cannot, as a rule, afford to order twelve copies of the same book, or twelve copies of books published by the same publisher. 5. In Germany there is one bookseller to 5000 people. 6. Here the booksellers have declined by, it is said, 70 per cent. 7. In Germany a fixed price is the rule. 8. Here a fixed discount of 25 per cent, to the public is the rule, in towns at least. 9. In Germany the bookseller's shop is the place of resort of all the educated classes. There are exposed to view the whole of the new books at all likely to appeal to general readers. 10. Here no one in the country can see the new books at all; they are not exhibited—in other words, they are not published. It is certainly not publication, in any sense of the word, to print a book, advertise it, and order a traveller to mention it. The public want to see the books. Except in a very few shops the new books are not ordered, or exhibited, or offered, nor do the people go to the bookseller's shop to see them. In a word, the English system has killed 70 jjer cent, of the English booksellers; it is rapidly killing the remainder. In the interests of our property caunot the Society take steps to save the man who sells — the man without whom literature could not exist? The following is au extract from the New York Critic. The honour of this invention for trading on the folly and the vanity of people is, however, our owu. It is now some three years since the method was brought to light, and duly honoured in the pages of The Author :— "The literary aspirant would seem to be the victim of more than one scheme. One of my readers sends me a letter which he has received from the publisher of a periodical. A reader of this column would naturally be too intelligent a person to be the victim of a wily publisher; but there are those who might easily fall into his toils. This is the circular letter that my correspondent received: In reply to your answer to advt. of 'Author,' in Sunday's Herald, would say the plans are about perfected for the issuance of a new magazine of stories, entitled ■ , and to whose columns we cordially invite you to contribute. We offer the following proposition: We will print your story (if accepted) on condition that the same is offered as a free contribution to our columns, and that, in addition thereto, you are willing to purchase, and pay for on delivery, at least 200 copies of magazine, at the rate of 5 cents a copy, or we will mail them from this office to any addresses you may furnish. This will bring your name as a magazine writer direct to the attention of your friends, together with the opportunity of submitting to publica- tions of a more pretentious character already published contributions of which you are the author. Thus, yon see, we offer you an opportunity for placing yourself prominently in the field as a recognised writer of fiction, which will eventually yield returns of a satisfactory pecuniary character. We have our own printing plant and presses, and you are respectfully requested to advise us at your earliest conve- nience whether or not you desire to place your manuscript (under the above conditions) in the hands of our reader for approval or rejection. The magazine will enter the field as a competitor of The Black Cat and similar publications, but will be of a purely literary character, the space devoted to the insertion of advertising matter being very limited. "The generosity of this offer will no doubt appeal to a large audience, for there are those who would rather see themselves in print without pay than not see themselves in print at all. Against the expense of 200 copies at 5 cents each they would not protest, for what is 200 times 5 cents against the glory of being an author r But you may be sure of one thing— that they would not send a copy of the paper to anyone who, they had reason to think, had received one of these circulars." Does poetry pay? I find a contribution to the literature of this subject in au American paper. "Ballad the Bard," a poet from Iowa, who is, I ## p. 286 (#342) ############################################ 286 THE AUTHOR. suppose, known to all the world excejjt myself, is announced as being about to appear at a certain theatre: he will recite his own poems first, and will rub them in, or lecture upon them, afterwards. I think the line ought to be drawn after the recitation. Certainly in this country poets do not as a rule dare to ask people to listen while they recite their verses. But to expect them, in addition, to listen to a lecture upon them—No : it would be too much, much too much. However, that is what "Ballad the Bard" is doing at this moment. The paragraph goes on to say that the poet has written 44,678 lines of verse. "But," it is added, "even production on this enormous scale has never paid him well, and he has to carry on a farm to make a living." Is there any " proper" length that can be laid down for a story? The length which is accept- able to editors first, and suits book form next, is the " proper " length. A contributor to this issue thinks that, for a first effort, the length should not exceed 30,000 words: and he finds a good many published works of that length. On the other hand, the short stories, for which there is now so large a demand, are not allowed to exceed 4000 words in the weekly magazines which want them. I think that a young writer should not tie himself down to any fixed length in planning and constructing his story, but should consider nothing but the natural development of the plot and the dramatic situations which it allows. When he comes to offer his work for publication he can then alter, correct, or add in order to bring it within the limits wanted. If we consider the reader, a length of only 30,000 words is much too limited, if the story is good. In that case, indeed, one cannot have too much of it. Dickens carried on his novels to something like 400,000 words, and nobody complained: but perhaps the public would resent such a demand upon their attention from his successors. The three-volume novel, which critics continually likened, with as much originality as truth, unto the bed of Procrustes, actually varied from 90,000 words to 250,000 words. The present popular six-shilling novel varies from 60,000 to 200,000 words. I think that the little booklet of 30,000 words has had its day. At all events, let us hope so. To sit down to a really admirable story—one remembers several excellent stories which appeared in that form—and to see it thrown away on a little thing that could be read in an hour, was a terrible waste : all the more when the story, as happened in the case of one writer at least, was full of gocd things, epigrams—un- expected "strokes," as the old writers called them. The following letter received by an editor has come into my hands. It requires no comment: anything that could be said is obvious:— Dkab Sir,—This morning I had the pleasure of reading a notice of my little book of" . . ," taken from last Tuesday's . It is qnite a flattering review; and very comforting to a man who is starving. The kind-hearted reviewer says he envies me my temperament, but I feel sure he would not have envied me my lot during the last few months—it has literally been a time of starvation for me. Briefly, here is my history. I began to work in the minfs before attaining my ninth birthday. At an early age—in my nineteenth year—I married, and later developed a taste for literature, mainly reading. At twenty-two I left the pits to work in a boiler-factory, and presently I began to scribble verses in my spare time. After a while I tried my hands at prose, and by the time I was twenty-four or five one or two of my contributions were accepted for a London periodical, that in which Stevenson's "Treasure Island" first appeared. I made steady progress, taking infinate pains to make my work readable. I had everything to learn, and spelling was fearfully difficult, but ere long I had the satisfaction of receiving a few shillings nearly every week for some little story, article, or a set of verses. During 1895 I nearly made a living by journalistic work, earning an average of a little over £1 per week. My work appered in various publications, and I worked very hard in the hope of doing better, but my health failed. However, I continued to do my best, bnt my prose work was not very successful. I wrote one novel, which brought me in a munificent (?) £16 1 os. The" . . "are a selection of some eighty pieces from several hundred which have been previously published —mostly in ... At present, though able to do good work, I can hardly get a story, an article or a set of verses accepted. I have received a letter from a member of the Society in which he shows a strong jealousy of publishers' readers. I have persuaded him to withdraw the letter, and 1 only refer to it in order to call attention to the fact that such prejudice exists. The writer says that readers are all authors: that they are jealous of all other authors: and that their jealousy will not allow them to give an unbiassed judgment. Perhaps this prejudice may exist in other minds. There- fore, let us consider the facts. First of all, pub- bshers' advisers are not all authors: many of them are, it is true. I know certain firms where no book is accepted until one of the partners himself has read it. Next, we must always remember that publishers are men of business. They publish books in order to make money, like any other men of business. There are no senti- mental considerations at all about them. If, therefore, this man of business discovers that the reader whom he pays for advising him as to the pecuniary value of a work has begun to advise him in accordance with private spite and malice, he would very soon make short work of that reader. But, it may be urged, a reader may strongly advise against a work, thinking that he ## p. 287 (#343) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. 287 is doing this honestly, and deceived by his own prejudices. When that work was produced else- where successfully, confidence in that reader would certainly be lowered or altogether lost. It is true that readers make mistakes: who does not? It is true that every publisher can point to excellent work being rejected. It is also true that many MSS. lie on the border line: it is unlikely that they will succeed, and a reader hesi- tates to recommend his firm to a probable loss. They go elsewhere. For some reason they have a run. One must not blame a reader for hesitation over an uncertain MS. In a word, I do not believe that authors as a rule have any cause of com- plaint against readers; while there are readers who possess a sort of instinct which tells them whether a MS. will succeed or not. I believe it is the fact that the late Mr. George Bentley, who at one time published nothing that he had not read, never made a mistake in his estimate of a book. Walter Besant. SOME VOLUMES OF VERSE. WE have before us several volumes of verse by writers chiefly new. As is the custom of The Author, which, for obvious reasons, cannot criticise the works of the members of the Society, we will allow every one of these young poets to recite a poem of his or her own making. The first is a book (Elliot Stock) called " Meetings and Partings, with other Verses and Translations," by E. C. Ricketts (Cornelia Wallace), author of "Flowers: A Fantasy," and " Mountain Monarchs." The following is a translation of Sully Prud- homme's lines, beginning "Vous qui m'aiderez dans mon agonie ": Ye who will aid me in my dying hour. Utter no word. To speed my flight sweet strains alone have power; Let such be heard. Music can sooth, enchant, and loosen ties To things below. Speak not, I pray you, but in kinder wise, Ah! lull my woe. 1 tire of words—vain words that only tend Truth to conceal: Better are sounds I need not comprehend, Their voice I feel. My soul shall plunge in melody's full streams Till her last breath; Then float from soft delirium to dreams, From dreams to death. The second book before us is "The History of a Soul," by Kathleen Bebenna (Digby, Long). It is dedicated to Philip Bourke Marston, " whose wondrous life hath been revealed to her whchn I call Idriss." The soul passes from one existence to another. The soul is none other than Philip Bourke Mar- ston, whose history, revealed to " Idriss," has been versified by Kathleen Behenna. At its first per- fect birth, the soul was known as Heliobas; next as Rameses II.; thirdly, as Homer; fourthly, as Mithradates VI.; then followed a period in Hell; afterwards it became Omar I., Caliph of Persia; after this, Geoffrey L'Estrange of France; lastly as Philip Bourke Marston. It will be seen that this was a soul singularly favoured, and with very long intervals between the incarna- tions. Let us take a passage from the sojourn in Hell: Within this deep and vast expanse of night, Where no sun sheds its glorious beaming light; No light of moon, or aught but faint pale star— The circling earth which shineth from afar. To this I fell from my soul's perfect birth Far lower then than mortals of the earth: And there I met far sadder sights, I ween, Than even Dante's eye hath ever seen. O God of Love, how great Thou art in might! "Leaves in the Wind," by Anthony C. Deane (Elliot Stock) is a little volume of a lighter kind. Here is an example, called "Yuletide Reflec- tions ": Bright in many coloured binding, Here they lie a goodly row! Now we may rejoice at finding Tales of ice and misletoe. How the wise lived " ever after "; How the fool his folly saw, Scenes of honest mirth and laughter, Such as Dickens loved to draw. What? You think so? How belated Is your knowledge, if you look For romances antiquated In a modern "Christmas book "! Bather hail the newer fashion, Pitiably the hero's died, And tho heroine's hopeless passion Ends, of course, in suicide. Genial writers of the present, Always we reoeive from you, Tales designedly unpleasant— Men that don't and maids that do. Gloomy screeds with gloomy morals, Dirty scenes of dirty slums, Stories of domestic quarrels, You provide, when Christmas comes. Though sincere in your persuasion That the world's an idle show, Could you not—for this occasion— Let your pessimism go '< Though your dullful view encumbers Every modern novel's theme, "Tell us not in "—Christmas—-numbers Life is but an empty dream "! ## p. 288 (#344) ############################################ 288 THE AUTHOR. 14 Poems of a Naturalist" (Chiswick Press) by Marcus S. C Rickards. Here is a short poem called " Life on the Wane ": My friends are like the flowers That grace the sunny hours: Death is the blight whose shade Doth mar them till they fade. Ah! what a bevy did adorn The plot where one dies every morn. My heart is like a field Of trees with golden yield: Death is the gale whose force Doth Btrip, without remorse, The fruit of each arboreal type That should have smiled till fully ripe. My life is but the gloom That silvery stars illume: Yet, Bwift as hurrying clouds, Death one by one enshrouds: And soon—how soon! I shall be left 'Mid darkness, of their light bereft. But courage! coming spring Steals back on flowery wing, Fresh summer bids the root Breed new maturing fruit. And never midnight held dark sway That issued not in golden day. ■>•<——■ EDITOR AND CONTRIBUTOR. AS the question of the responsibility of editors in the matter of unsolicited manuscripts is at present being warmly discussed in literary circles, will you allow me space in your columns for the following remarks: Some time ago I sent my first contribution to a magazine of the highest standing, and received from the editor a very courteous acknowledge- ment, and a cheque for twenty guineas. Since then I have contributed articles to another high-class magaziue, and as I am not personally acquainted with the editor or any member of the staff of any magazine in England, I may, without presumption, conclude that my contributions are published on their merits and have a certain marketable value. On the 16th of November last I sent an article to a high-priced magazine (which for the moment I prefer not to name, as possibly the editor may, after reading this, consider that he owes me an an explanation either through your columns or otherwise). My manuscript was registered, my name and address were written most legibly on it, and postage stamps were enclosed for its return in case of rejection. It is now more thaji three months since I sent that article, and as it con- tained information which was then new, but is now no longer new, my article has deteriorated in value. Since I sent it I have written three times to the editor (not bellicose or threatening, but polite and courteous letters) and have even enclosed a stamped addressed envelope, but cannot get him either to return my MS. or to say if he intends to accept it. As I live out of England, I have never seen a copy of his magazine, and therefore do not know what are his rules as to unsolicited manuscripts; but I have always considered that the office of a magazine was an open market for literary contri- bution, and that an author could with as much confidence send his literary goods to the editor, as a farmer could send his horse unsolicited to Mr. Tattersall's stables, without fear of its being appropriated or destroyed. The editor of that magazine has not only kept or destroyed my article, which I at least consider of value, but he has also kept the $\d. in postage stamps which I sent him ; and if he has received 1500 MSS. within the year (as the editor of the Windsor has), and if each author has sent him the same amount in postage stamps that I have sent, he has realised from this source alone the goodly sum of =£28 2*. 6d. One of the correspondents of the Bookman (which has opened its columns to a discussion on the question of unsolicited manuscripts) com- pares a magazine article sent to an editor to a sample of goods sent by a tradesman. This is incorrect. If a few paragraphs of the article, or an entire article which had already been published by the same author, were sent, it would be a sample of his style, but the article itself is no more a sample than is the horse sent to Mr. Tattersall's a sample of the horses the farmer may have on his farm. It is a marketable article to be bought, or to be returned to its owner, who has not only consigned his goods, in all con- fidence, to a registered dealer in literary goods, but has paid for the return of those goods if found unsuitable to the requirements of that par- ticular dealer; and the article sent should be returned quickly, before the opportune moment for its appearance in another magazine should have passed. The editor is no more justified in holding it until "out of season" than would a seed merchant, whose store might be too full, be justified in accepting from a confiding nursery gardener seeds in the spring and returning thein in the winter when the season for their sale had passed. If be were himself too busy to return at once the surplus goods, he should employ a sufficient number of hands to do so, otherwise his establishment is badly and dishonestly con- ducted; and it would be well if he bore in mind that, though now he is very flourishing, his stores ## p. 289 (#345) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. 289 may some day be empty, and he may be very glad to receive unsolicited goods. But will the badly treated gardener send them in? As to the legal question of the responsibility of editors I am not qualified to offer an opinion; but if a horse dealer were to paint on his gate that he would not be responsible for unsolicited horses, and if that dealer were to appropriate or destroy any one of those horses, especially if sufficient money were sent with it to defray the expenses of its return, would any Judge in England hold him blameless? A few months ago I received a parcel from England, and a French custom-house incorrectly charged duty on it. I reclaimed the amount. The custom-house official to whom I wrote replied (his letter was unstamped, and I had to pay double postage), acknowledging that the charge was wrongfully made, but stating that it was contrary to the rules to refund the money. Doubtless it was contrary to his rules, but what right has anyone to make unto himself rules which are not in accordance with the rules of equity 'i I do not know what are the rules of the magazine to which I sent my last article, but I consider that the editor has acted even worse than that custom-house official, for, while he kept only the wrongfully charged duty, the editor has kept or destroyed my goods, and appropriated my money. Let him be charged by any twelve of his peers, and if they are honest English gentlemen as well as magazine editors, he will not be acquitted. March, 1897. Bartle Teeling. "STORIES WANTED." [all eights reserved.] IHAVE just concluded the painful experience of reading through (professionally) a few dozen of the effusions which are attracted by an advertisement to the above effect. I think, although I am no notable critic, that I might almost be in a position to render service to beginners by pointing out their faults. Let me say at once that I also am a lieginner, although a beginner of some years now, and one who has arrived at being able to live on his work. I "read " with no cut-and-dried didacticism, but conscientiously, sympathetically, and with rever- ence. That reverence is tempered with the scepti- cism of the war-worn who has learnt to translate "genius" by " oof." Priino, then, regretfully I urge it, do not let the contempt of the heaven-born drive you to overlooking paltry mechanical details in sublime reliance on the genius of the whole. A reader is, in one form or another, always paid for his work; an editor, if he reads, pays himself iu time. It is not unfair to say that, as a rule, short stories are put out for judgment at so much the dozen. Now, in all forms of work, you come sooner or later to give as little as you can for your money; and the most conscientious critic is liable to weariness and to shirking, and to saying to himself as he chucks the manuscript aside, " After all, what matter if I pass over one good thing in a dozen F No one will ever know, and / get paid just the same." Therefore, my fellow-novice, don't give him the chance of rejecting you perfunctorily by exact- ing too much from his mental concentration; let the form at least l>c perfect, so that, if there is a soul within, it may shine out by itself. Hiding your light under a bushel may be an excellent motto in morality; but hiding your talent under a napkin of illegible manuscript is decidedly injudicious for success. Some critics, too, hate you of malice prepense, and dub your careless- ness snobbery. To carry out this first counsel observe these elementary rules. Punctuate ; punctuate properlv, make a study of punctuation and of paragraphs. Half a good style depends on the judicious choice of stops, the psychological beginning of a new paragraph. Never, if you can help it, have a whole page of your MS. unbroken; it appalls the reader even in typo. And, ladies especially—with apology—l>e more generous with theeommas; do not despise the useful semi-colon; and come down royally with full stops. Once grasp the impor- tance of the colon and stop, and you will have made the first step towards the deletion of that persistent, that maddening, that irrefugible And. Taboo "and"; turn round on " and"; shun as you would the plague that irrepressible "and." "And" damns more stories than even bad writing ; sixteen "ands" in one paragraph, without so much as a comma between them, is the limit at which the reader's hair turns grey and his furniture is demolished. Next, as to writing. Here and there a man has a legible and characteristic hand, which permits his meaning to be grasped by the usual cursory glance down the page; but women — never. Ladies may form their letters perfectly legibly, although I have rarely come across one who differentiates her u's and n's; but almost invari- ably thev fill up all the white of the virgin sheet with tlreir largeness, or their flourishes, or their bold t's and lengthened y's, until the weary eye sees nothing but an indecipherable mass of hieroglyphics. Writing does not consist in well- ## p. 290 (#346) ############################################ 290 THE AUTHOR. formed letters; that is the mere rudiment of the art. Good writing should allow an equal distri- bution of the black and the white by distinct spaces between each word, and distinct " leads" between each line; if your y above inns into your 1 below, the effect is ruined. Therefore I advise all ladies whose ambition soars beyond certain family and Christian publications at 5*. or 1 os. a thousand, to get their things typed. If they are making a business, or at least a permanent pleasure, of writing, they would do well to invest in a typer of their own. I know well the appalling expense of the thing; I know well the beautiful faith in one's own caligraphy, and have never used one myself. But that is because I have managed to make a start without one, and at the beginning wrote a minute and careful hand; nor are all of us built with the necessary objeetive- ness and patience to convey our thoughts by machine. None the less I think it a useful in- vestment in more ways than one—you cannot see the glaring faults of your style and punctuation in manuscript; and, after all, the "latest im- provements" are not necessary to you who have time to fill—there is a most handy, if slow, little machine at ,£3 3*., the price of typing about a dozen tales. Resume, then—get your stuff typed. Another elementary precaution .is in the way you put up your MS. Do not, unless you go to the expense of having your type bound in book form (and then it must be thick), do not fasten it down the side ; fasten it at the corner only. If you write a small, neat hand, use lined sermon- paper of half foolscap size; if a large, sprawling hand, used unlined foolscap with a ruled margin. In all cases, in my opinion, the facility of reading is greatly increased by a piece of cardboard at the back—but the back only; your critic loves his easy chair and pipe, and unstiffened dinisy is difficult to hold straight in one hand. To say write on one side of the paper only is, I think, unnecessary; no one makes the other mistake now. For a long MS., tape is better than a paper fastener; but do not fix up much more than 100 pages together, or it becomes unwieldy. Finally, in the case of a long story divided in several lots of MS., do for your own sake prefix each with a blank page marked with title, number of lot, and name, or if in many separate chapters jot down the title in the corner, and on the first title- page make a note of how many lots there are in^ all; otherwise in a trayful of MSS. scattered over the floor you are very apt to have a part mis- laid, or interrupt you» critic's reading, r The last, and almost most important, item to lie considered in your format is the length. What is the good of sending up a story of 7000 or Sooo words? Do you ever come across such a one in the popular journals at which you are pre- sumably aiming? A beginner should endeavour to keep himself—or herself—between 2000 and 4000 words; four columns of Tit-Bits, for instance, is about 3000 words; four pages of the Strand makes about 3700. And as it is the hardest thing possible to write a genuine story in less than 5000 words, the beginner would do very well, even if he or she has been beginning for many years, to break off "right now," and devote some months to the arduous but splendid exercise of concentration. It teaches you many things, things as yet undreamt of in your philosophy. For apart from helping you to slough your article of subjectiveness and verbosity, you learn in the process that your chosen calling is not after all the easiest one in the world which any " genius " can put his hand to from the word Go. On the contrary, it is almost as hard in its technicalities as painting; and that, and that only, is why after all it pays so excellently well. Do you think a man can fix his tariff at ,£5, £10, £20 a thousand words through mere luck, favour, or logrolling? And yet this means, for the laziest and least ambitious, a comfortable bachelor income of, say, £400 a year: twenty tales, only four months work to the slowest, placed in the hands of your agent, and the tariff autocratically fixed! Of course, there are, as there always have been, and in every trade, a few brains endowed with that rapid power of cram called genius, or favoured with an exceptional environment, supported by an exceptional popu- larity or tact, which gives them the first offer and a fictitious momentum when it is profited by; but rest assured that the rule is, as with paintiij0^ as with music—work, work, and hard work! If your discursiveness cannot be bound—and I, 'iff not us, suffer from that complaint, and have not mastered the lucrative short story yet—then cast yourself despairingly into the wordy, hopeless novel. It will take you at least five times as many years to draw from it the pay you could get with the same work out of short stories, but it is a more magnificent prize when you "get there"; and of course, if you desire that mere paltrjf. phantom called Fame, a well-bound novel is Jlftiething to display to your friends. You should fix as your limits for the novel from 50,000 to 70,000 words, but there is a wide market nowadays in the i*. 6</. "libraries" for^ short stories expanded to from 30,900 to 50,000 words. If you are about to make a new attempt, without suocjss yet to guide you, start in on a 30,000 tale: if you cannot reduce it to 3000 you can " easily" expand it to 30,000. And for the f>.i. novel, do not yet unlock the flood- ## p. 291 (#347) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. 291 gates of six figures; remember that the longer it is the more it costs to print, and that you must be a very big man before many publishers will set up your 150,000—and pay you for it. In a subsequent article I shall offer some comments on the substance of one's work: the relative importance of dialogue, plot, description, and moralisings, and the vitalness of the opening chapter. It is a matter which I shall approach with extreme diffidence. M . CORRESPONDENCE. I. — The Subjunctive Mood: Its Present Day Use. 1. IN Dr. Sweet's "New English Grammar," Part I., p. 193, I find: "The subjunctive is very little used, even in the educated form of spoken English, and in vulgar speech it disappears entirely." The question as to the use of the subjunctive mood lias been much complicated by the pre- valent superstition that certain forms of expres- sion are, for some mysterious reason, to be authoritatively considered as "correct," without any hint or definition as to what the controlling authority really is. The truth is that many English people judge their own language by a Latin standard. Latin is a dead language, in the sense that it is now immutable, and its laws of syntax admit of no further alteration. It therefore affords no guide whatever for the usages of a living language such as English, which gives proofs of its vitality by its ceaseless changes in vocabulary, in usage, and even in syntax. Historically, the verb to wear is weak, and the past tense was, for a long time, icered (as it used to be spelt); but such a usage is dead and buried, and the expression "he u eared a hat on his head" would now be ridicu- lous. In like manner, the use of the subjunctive mood is fast dying, and will soon cease, except in cases where the author wishes to call attention to the form of his sentence; as, for example, for the purpose of emphasis. That is, practically, the sole use of it at present. It is in place when- ever we are quoting, or imitating, or suggesting the style of writers of a previous period; but when we are really using the language of the present day it is much better to let it alone, unless there is a strong reason for being em- phatic. Yet there is no objection to such a sen- tence as the following: "If it were not for the guarantee of Europe, we should have little hope of security." For the fact is that, in this case, the whole phrase "if it were not" is what has happily been denominated a "petrified" phrase, a form which, from long custom, has become familiar to us, and does not strike us as un- usual. The true rule for pronunciation is this: be careful to pronounce words like the majority of your educated neighbours, if you wish to avoid being laughed at; and remember that pronuncia- tion is subject to frequent changes. And the true rule for syntax is like unto it: construct sentences like those commonly used by the most approved authors of the present day, if you wish to be intelligible; but in this case some archaisms are permitted, amongst which such petrified phrases as "if it be" and "it' it were " may be included, because they are still in occasional use, even in the spoken language. But, except in such phrases, there is really no point in pretend- ing that the subjunctive mood is alive. The sen- tence "Whether she possesses the means of realising it or not" is thoroughly sanctioned by the daily usage of the best speakers, and the forcible change (for such it really is) of possesses to possess can only be justified by the wish to impart emphasis or solemnity to the supposition, which is effected, to a certain degree, by the inversion of the sentence, i.e., by introducing the supposition at the beginning of it. To utter such a sentence as " 1 will give her a new hat, whether she want one or not," would surely be somewhat ridiculous, though it is quite "correct" in the dialect of East Anglia. Walter W. Skeat. 11. If I were able and willing (which I am not) to publish a complete grammar dealing with all points of English diction, there certainly would be a chapter in it dealing with the subjunctive case. So that the use of the subjunctive is not a case of certainty or doubt—there is no doubt at all in the above sentence. Yet there is a factor which prevents one using the form " if I was able and willing." To determine the use of the sub- junctive in modern English we have, I think, only to examine closely several such sentences, and analyse the mental feelings which give rise to them. The sentence quoted from the Times: "If Greece is incapable and unfitted to undertake the task," in reality expresses quite a different feeling or idea from " If Greece be incapable and unfittec%to undertake the task," and this, again, is different from " If Greece were incapable." A close consideration of the varying under- lying ideas, which I have had to make in ## p. 292 (#348) ############################################ 292 THE AUTHOR. endeavouring pictorially to explain the subjunc- tives of French, German, and modern Greek, has, 1 think, given a clue which your correspon- dent Howard Collins may possibly find reasonable and useful. It is dependent upon the shaq) distinction between objective and subjective expressions; the first express outward facts, and the second inward thoughts about outward facts—for instance, "Greece is a country on the Mediterranean," and "J think that Greeks are a brave nation." Now, although a sharp distinction may be drawn between sentences of the first class, such as "an engine draws a train," and the second, "I hope my moaning is dear," as being the one an expression of outward perception and the other of inward feeling, yet, nevertheless, any expression of outward or objective fact may be made inward or subjective by the alteration of its terms, such as "I hope that the engine is .strong enough," or "If the engine were strong enough the train would go 100 miles an hour." This being so, there is still a third point to notice, namely, that any future event is proble- matical by its very nature, and "the engine will draw the train" only provided many jwssible things—if the boiler does not burst, if the line is clear, if the driver turns on steam, if it is strong enough to do so. Out of these possibili- ties I may choose to mention one—the question of strength—but this does not al'er the statement to any but a simple " future indicative "—and " If the engine it strong enough it will draw the train" is in reality better expressed thus: the engine will draw the train (if it is strong enough, if the driver turns on steam, if, &c., &c.)—a pure future indicative with one condition given (gif=if) or mentioned. But now, on the other hand, I am at perfect liberty in my imagination to imagiue impro- babilities or even impossibilities, and then I ought to, and in most cases must, employ a sub- junctive: "If the engine tcere powerful enough (and if the road trere true) the train might go at 150 or even 200 miles an hour;" or, again, "if Greece were incapable," &c. Further, I myself may not be sure, yet still put iuv hypotheses, and then I should say, "That engine is powerful, but not sufficiently so—at least, 1 think not"; "If it be (which I doubt) sufficiently strong it will move that train,"—or "If Greece be incapable and unfitted, then we must arrange in other fashion for the government of Crete." . In both cases" if it be" expresses an hypttthesis, "if it is" a condition. In a word, the rule seems to lie: if the state- ment it that of a future objective fact with conditions attached, use the simple tense, but if the statement be (as it may well be) a subjective hypothetical case, or if it were (as in certain circumstances I can imagine it might be) a purely hypothetical case, then employ the sub- junctive. I have incorporated the instances of the use in the argument the better to illustrate the rules, which if they are true, as I think they are, may prove of use to those in doubt on similar occasions. In many cases, however, the difference in idea is so slight that the desire for directness of diction overcomes the desire for grammatical accuracy. Howard Swan. 4, Arundel-street, Strand. in. From Mr. Howard Collins's article on "The Subjunctive Mood," Ac., in the last issue of The Author, I gather: 1. That it is becoming an increasing practice with the writers of the present time to use the indicative mood where the subjunctive would be more proper, or, at least, more elegant. 2. That such a practice was almost unknown amongst good writers a hundred years ago, and ljefore that—by which I understand during the eighteenth century. 3. That the subjunctive mood has for some years been gradually dying out. Now, with regard to the first and third of these statements, I am not in a position to offer positive evidence, which would, indeed, entail no small amount of labour; but my general impression is altogether the other way. If Mr. Collins will take a dip almost anywhere amongst the second- rate novels of the last twenty years—more espe- cially in those by ladies—T think he will find that the tendency is quite the reverse; that not only is the subjunctive mood very much used, but not unfrequently very much abused also. I am convinced that there are, and have been, plenty of writers who, finding this matter a little perplexing, and not having the patience to get to the bottom of it, have contented themselves with the simple and convenient rule that, whenever doubt, possibility, or contingency are implied—and more especially whenever a sentence begins with the word if—the subjunctive should be used in till cases. This, however, I do not think justifiable, aud so far from regarding a sentence like those quoted by Mr. Collins from the Times as the sign of a slovenly style, it is to me evidence that the writer has scholarly instincts, and has thought it worth his while to study the language which is the vehicle of his ideas. ## p. 293 (#349) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. 293 As to the assertion that this use of the indica- tive is a thing of recent usage, and was compara- tively rare in the last century, I think that is easily disposed of. I have not time to go fully into the matter, but I subjoin a few examples, which I fancy sufficiently bear me out, and which T found on a very brief inspection of the books quoted. "Spectator," No. 8. "If we are rightly informed, the rules that are observed in this new society," Ac. "Spectator," No. 262. "If he has not the pomp of a numerous train, and of professors of service to him, he has every day he lives," Ac. "Spectator," No. 340.—" Whether such or any other are true causes, all men have a yearning curiosity," &c. "Citizen of the World," Let. 74—" K he trans- gresses the common forms of breeding, mistakes even a teapot for a tobacco box, it is said," &c. "The Present State of Polite Learning," Chap. 12.—" If, then, there ever comes a time when taste is so far depraved," &c. "Rasselas," Chap. 27.—" If he gratifies one he will offend another," <fcc. Thus the classics of the last century. Take a few from the writers at the beginning of this, to which Mr. Collins specially refers. "But if that is the case you must write to your mother, to beg that you may stay a little longer."—"Pride and Prejudice," Chap. 37. "Have a care, my Lord Colambro; if she sets her heart upon you forLadv Isabel, she has you," &c.—" The Absentee," Chap. 6. "My lords, if it is your pleasure to gang on wi' this matter," &c.—" Heart of Midlothian," Chap. 23- . . Later still, in the thirties, we find Coleridge, whom I think we may regard as a purist in lan- guage, adding his authority to the same practice. "If men are neither the one nor the other, but a mere aggregation of individual bipeds," &c.— "Table Talk" ("Citizens and Christians," Mav 3, 1832). I can quite sympathise with Mr. Collins's desire for a practical rule in this matter, and if he care to follow the one that has guided me through life, and which I learned before I was in my teens, it is entirely at his service. At the same time I am far from asserting that it is generally accepted by the authorities, or that its authenticity is unimpeachable. "Sentences that imply contingency and futurity require the subjunctive mood; as,' If he be alone, give him the letter.' When contingency and futurity are not both implied, the indicative ought to be used; as, ' If he speaks as he thinks, he may safely be trusted.'" This is the tenth rule of syntax in "The Principles of English Grammar," by William Lennie. W. Braunston Jones. Laphroing, Islay, N.B., March 17, 1897. IV. Allow me to say, in reply to the letter of your correspondent F. Howard Collins, in the March number of The Author, that the simplest and most easily remembered rule governing the use of the subjunctive mood is this :— Only when there is a concurrence of contingency and futurity should the verb be in the subjunctive mood. When there is either contingency without futurity, or futurity without contingency, the verb should be in the indicative mood. The one exception to this rule occurs in the use of the imperfect tense of the verb to be, when ocr language is intended to denote contingency merely. The verb should then be in the subjunc- tive mood. See my work, "Learned Men's English: The Grammarians," Part 2, p. 8. George Washington Moon, Hon. F.R.S.L. II.—Paying for Publication. Similar to " L. M. N.," I have often wondered why authors are advised never to pay for publica- tion if they care to run the risk and have the means to do so. Of course, they must do it with their eyes open, but there may be results more precious to them than the receipt of a cheque from a publisher, or even the satisfaction of personal vanity. I know there are authors who will frankly reply that people with means to try experiments usually belong to the dilettanti class, and had better be kept out of the ring of established purveyors of good literature. Even if the writing be good, there is a bar sinister in the case of those who do not follow literature as their profession or mingle much with the literary coteries of the day. Again, the pub- lisher may reply, that if a writer simply has in view the presentation of copies to private friends and others, or, in the case of a very small sale of his book, the handing over of the remainder of an edition to public libraries, it might as well have been printed for private circulation only. Thus far the literary critic and the publisher. But is it not an established fact that publication casts a halo over a book, foreign to it when issuing merely from a printer's office, and has not the quixotic author every right to make vise of this advantage if able to do so? If his work is well done, it may be the means of at least giving pleasure to those who frequent public libraries, though the well-known critic may pass by on the ## p. 294 (#350) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. other side, and the publisher may shrug his shoulders and think the presuming author a fool for his pains. However, as a rule, I believe original work eventually stands or falls on its merits. But what I would like to know is this: Many readers are still left who, in spit* of increased inter- course with foreign lands, care to read a good foreign work in translation. Why do we come across people who openly acknowledge that it is more the matter contained than the manner of doing it with which they are concerned, and must not the one be irrevocably bound up with the other? Ida L. Benecke. i 8, Canfield-gardens. III.—Viktor Rydberg. Mr. Hermann's article on Viktor (not "Vil- stor") Rydberg, is a record for misprints, although, as Swedish words are as frequently misspelt in it as English, this is probably due to your correspondent's handwriting. Your readers may be interested to know that there is the strongest resemblance between Ryd- berg's "Den Sista Athenaren" and the late Charles Kingsley's "Hypatia." In both tales the scene is laid in a provincial seat of learning at the close of Paganism; in bot h the heroine is a Pagan maiden, whose beauty and intelligence make her a formidable foe to Christianity, to which she nevertheless leans at the last; she is murdered under circumstances of great atrocity by Christian priests; and, in both, the Roman governor is a Laodicean, and the villain a priest named Peter. Yet the resemblance is probably accidental, for the Swedish work, which shows far deeper know- ledge of the history and manners of the period than the English, was the later by a few years; and in none of his other works (so far as I know) does Rydberg show any acquaintance with current English fiction. The resemblance was turned to good account by the gentleman who adapted "Hypatia" for the stage a few years ago; for the characters of the Jew and his daughters, who appear in the play but not in the novel, seem to be taken straight from Rydberg's book. I do not think any of our critics noticed the source of the drama- tist's inspiration at the time. F. Legge. IV.—The House where Btron was Born, i. Referring to my previous communication on the subject of Lord Byron's birthplace, it may interest readers of The Author to learn that a gentleman, more fortunate than myself, has succeeded in obtaining a reply from the owners of No. 24, Holies-street. They state that a tablet is "in preparation, and would soon be placed in its proper position." Is it too much to hope that this memento may be affixed by April 19 next, which is the anniversary of the illustrious poet's decease at Missolonghi? Of course, the inscription should make it perfectly clear to this and future generations that the site only of the house is indicated. C. Authors' Club, S.W. March 18. 1897. 11. "C." remarks in The Author of March, that the lar^e firm of haberdashers who carry on their business in 24, Holies-street, have promised to put up an inscription of some kind, but have not done so. I have been assured that Mr. Lewis is only waiting to decide upon a suitable memorial, to put one up to the late poet. Caroline Creyke. V.—Corruption of the Language. "Back of" instead of "behind " ; unnecessary. "Around" instead of "round "; adverb used as a preposition. Present subjunctive for conditional: "He stipulated that I pay him interest." TJngram- matical. The above are mostly Americanisms. Accusative for nominative: "The man whom I know wrote this." Sometimes in British jour- nalism. The full phrase, "The man who, as I know, wrote," shows at once where the mistak e comes in. "Monetary " for " pecuniary." Ditto. Mone- tary is properly used of coinage or currency. Motieta, a surname of Juno, in whose temple the Romans struck money; thence a Mint. I met with this in a tale by Mark Twain; not as a bit of dialect, but put into the mouth of an educated man. Neuter verba used transitively: "Nothing shall swerve me." Uncalled for use of substantive as a verb, e.g., "he loaned me," instead of "he lent me," &c. (The word " to advocate" is a case of the kind; it has been adopted generally, but it met a real want, unlike the case just cited, for which there is no such justification. "Loan " is, of course, a substantive, of which the corresponding verb is "to lend.") The above are only noted as a few instances of gratuitous corruption of the language of Shakes- ## p. 295 (#351) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. 295 pere and Addison, of Washington Irving and Hacaulay. The practice is not to be confounded with the changes exacted by new needs and uses. These no man can oppose, but wanton corruption can be checked by unceasing vigilance on the part of good and influential authors. Brussels, Aug., 1896. H. G. Keene. LITERATURE IN THE PERIODICALS. The Publishers' Association and the Discount Question. Bookseller for March. Publishers' Circular for March 20. The Contributor as Editor. Frederic M. Bird. Lvppincott's for March. Methods of Literary Work. John Dennis. Leisure Hour for April. Winter in Scottish Poetrt. Florence MacCunn. Oood Words for March. What is a Realist? Arthur Morrison. New Review for March. Gibbon. Leslie Stephen. Natiottal Review for March. Thackeray's Philosophy. Macmillan's Magazine for March. The Story op Cressida. Macmillan's Magazine for March. Picturesquene8b in History. The Bishop of London. Cornhill Magazine for March. Walter Pater. Stanley Addleshaw. Gentleman's Magazine for March. The Pronunciation of Greek in England. J. Gennadins. Contemporary Review for March. Benedict Spinoza. W. B. Wallace. Humanitarian for March. Wilkie Collins. Academy for March 20. Notable Reviews. Of several books under heading of "The Short Story: How Not to Write It." Daily Chronicle for March 20. Of Vol. III. of Henley and Henderson's Centenary Edition of " Burns." Athenseum for March 6. The suggestion of the Publishers' Association that an effort should be made by the retail trade to revert to the 2d. in the is. discount finds favour with the Bookseller, which agrees that this would mean a distinct improvement on the existing arrangements. But the Bookseller is not sanguine enough to hope that the proposal will be unanimously accepted, even by discount booksellers, unless the publishers are prepared to take adequate means to impose it. This latter condition, in our contemporary's opinion, is vital. Meanwhile the organ of the booksellers is glad that the Publishers' Association has relinquished its non possumus attitude towards the grievances of the retail trade. The result of the circular issued by the Asso- ciated Booksellers to their members regarding the suggested reform is said by the Publishers' Circular to be as follows: Country Lond. Total Number of Booksellers written to respecting the proposed change ... 509 66 575 Number who agreed to proposal 483 49 532 Number who declined 7 2 9 Number who did not answer 19 15 34 Mr. Arthur Morrison asks " What is a realist?" because Dr. Traill and other critics have said he is of the mysterious fraternity. But Mr. Morrison has never called himself a realist, nor put forth any of his work as realism. He appeals for the absolutely untrammelled liberty of the artist. Being a simple writer of talcs who takes whatever means lie to his hand to present life as he sees it, he declines the label of the schoolmen and the sophisters. Constable was called a realist, he says, and Corot too; but who calls these painters realists now. The so-called "realist" is the man who discards the conventions of the schools, and presents his matter in individual terms of art. For a while the schoolmen abuse him as a realist; and in twenty years' time, if his work have life in it, he becomes a classic. Mr. Morrison explains the christening of the realist thus: A man of independent talent, with the courage of his own vision, interprets what he sees in fresh terms, giving to things a new reality and an immediate presence. They of the schools appear with dulled eyes from amid the heap of precedents and prescriptions that compass them about, and, distracted at seeing a thing sanctioned by neither precedent nor prescription, dub the man realist, and rail against him for that he fits none of their pigeon holes. The following amusing extract from a letter from Wilkie Collins to one of his editors, is pub- lished for the first time in the Academy of March 20. A suggestion seems to have been made by the editor to the novelist as to the advisability of the latter deleting a common expletive, and this is the reply: The " damns " (two " damns " only, observe, in the whole story) mark the characters at very important places in the narrative. The " compromise " which you suggest is simply what they would not say. I know of no instances of a writer with any respect for his art or for himself who has ever made the concession which your friends ask of me. My story is not addressed to young people exclusively—it is addressed to readers in general. I do not accept young people as the ultimate court of appeal in English literature. Mr. Turlington (the character in the story in question) must talk like Mr. Turlington—even though the terrible conse- quence may be that a boy or two may cry " damn" in imita- tion of him. I refer your friends to Scott and Dickens— writers considered immaculate in the matter of propriety. They will find "damn" where "damn " ought to be in the pages of both those masters. In short, I am damned if I take out " damn!" An interesting collection of the methods of great literary workers is given by Mr. John Dennis. Wordsworth's study was in the open air; he never wrote down as he composed, but ## p. 296 (#352) ############################################ 296 THE AUTHOR. composed walking, riding, or in bed, and wrote down after. Southey worked with a clerk-like regularity; but, Milton, Gray, and Coleridge had to wait for their inspiration. De Quincey was amazingly unmethodical; Charles Lamb did not write with ease, and acknowledged himself " an author by fits"; while the poet Campbell was a prodigious procrastinator, who often ran away into the country from his work at the time when, as an editor, he was most wanted in London. Sir Walter Scott confessed to a capricious kind of indolence, which very often inclined him to ex- change the task of the day for something he was not obliged to do at the moment, or, perhaps, not at all. Stevenson, unlike his great master, Scott, worked slowly, and toiled over his sentences; and we know that Carlyle, when at Ashestiel, rose at five, seated himself at his desk at six, and, by the time the family had assembled, had done enough to " break the neck of the day's work." Anthony Trollope was so business-like as to write the same number of lines on each page. Pope used to call a servant from her bed four times in oue night to supply him with ink and paper, lest he should lose a thought. BOOK TALK. WE regret to announce that the hope held out quite recently by a correspondent in this journal, that English readers of German will soon be provided with a thoroughly reliable German-English Dictionary, by Dr. Daniel Sanders, will not be fulfilled, that distinguished lexicographer having died on the nth ult., in his seventy-seventh year, in the midst of his arduous work. The loss to Teutonic philology is almost irreparable, but let us hope that the publishers of Muret's excellent "Encyklopadisches Worterbuch der Deutschen und Englischen Sprache," the first part of which has just been completed, will be able to secure for the second part the services of a German scholar who is fully conversant with English, both theoretically and practically. Mr. Wilfrid Ward is in sight of the end of his long-expected work, the "Life of Cardinal Wiseman," and the publication will take place shortly. Mr. Fitzgerald Molloy has just completed a story entitled "A Devil's Hand,'' which will run in serial form. Mrs. Riddell is the author of " Did He Deserve It ?" a story which Messrs. Downey will publish shortly. Mr. J. C. Snaith, who is a Nottingham young man still under twenty years of age, has written a second novel, which is to be published by Messrs. Innes. It is a romance of the Prince Charlie rebellion, called "Fierce Heart, the Soldier." Mr. Snaith's first book, " Mrs. Dorothy Marvin," appeared about two years ago. Mr. Ricardo Stephens has written a novel called "Mr. Peters," which Messrs. Bliss, Sands, and Co. are to publish before Easter. The biographer of the late Professor Drummond will in all probability be the Rev. Dr. Stalker, of Glasgow, who is also of the Free Church denomi- nation. Mr. Kipling's short story," "Slaves of the Lamp" is to appear in Cosmopolis for April and May. Mr. Henry Ochiltree, author of "Redburn," has written a story called " Out of Her Shroud," which Messrs. Black have in hand for publi- cation. A novel by Mr. Christie Murray, entitled " A Rogue's Conscience," will be published by Messrs. Downey in a few days. Mr. Murray is issuing a cheap edition of the "Life and Letters of Princess Alice," in view of the Queen's Record Reign celebrations. Princess Christian, who edited the work, has now revised it, and added the last letter written by Princess Alice. The " Memoirs of Hawthorne," which appeared in the Atlantic Monthly from the pen of his daughter, Mrs. Lathrop, are to be published in book form. They deal with Hawthorne's life in Salem, Lennox, and Concord, his consulate at Liverpool, and the years of travel in France and Italy. Dr. J. C. Wills has written a novel called "His Dead Past." It will be published shortly by Messrs. Chatto and Windus. This firm also announces " Rie's Diary," a volume of a gossipy character by Miss Anne Coates. The seventh, or supplementary, volume of Professor Skeat's edition of Chaucer's Works will shortly be ready. It will be entitled " Chaucerian and Other Pieces," and will contain a selection of twenty-nine pieces that have been at various times printed in the chief editions of "Chaucer's Works." It is remarkable that the number of authors represented in this selection can hardly be less than sixteen, of whom no less than nine are known by name, viz., Usk, Gower, Hoccleve, Scogan, Lvdgate, Ros, Henrvson, Clanvowe, and Walton. ## p. 297 (#353) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. The bound volume of the Critic for July- December, 1896, contains the record of 2815 new books published during that period, and reviews of 1635 of the more important—among them being Mrs. Humphry Ward's "Sir George Tressady," Eudyard Kipling's "Seven Seas," Barrie's "Margaret Ogilvy" and "Sentimental Tommy," Shorter's "Emily Bronte and Her Circle," the first volume of Professor Sloane's "Life of Napoleon," and Dr. Hirsch's " Genius and Degeneration," to mention but a few. Added to this are a number of essays and sketches— among them Mr. Zangwill's papers on literary criticism, an account of the sesquicentennial of Princeton, with portraits of the receivers of honorary degrees-; Mr. Gerald Stanley Lee's account of Ian Maclaren as a lecturer, and records of the dramatic, artistic, and musical happenings of the period covered. Biographical sketches and estimates are given of the work of the writers who have died—Harriet Beecher Stowe, George du Maurier, William Morris, and others. Mr. H. G. Wells's new serial, " The War of the Worlds," will begin in the April number of Pearson's Magazine. It is a story describing the invasion of the earth by the inhabitants of Mars, the war they made against men, and the terrible destruction, chiefly in England, caused by this war. The story culminates in an account of London silent and deserted save for the Martians. Dr. Edward Eggleston's history of life in the United States during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries will be published in this country at the same time as in America, and the first volume may be looked for within the next few days. "Naples in the Nineties," by Mr. Neville Rolfe; "Through Finland in a Cart," by Mrs. Alec Tweedie; "A Handbook on Christian Rome," by two writers whose names will be known by their initials OLly; and a volume by Mr. F. C. Burnand, called " Zig-Zag Guide to the Coast of Kent," with illustrations by Mr. Phil May, are announced by Messrs. A. and C. Black for early publication. "The death of Professor Drummond," remarks the Academy, "calls to mind the warfare that waged between the booksellers on the publication of ' The Ascent of Man.' Professor Drummond had great faith in the net system, and the book was issued at ys. 6d. net. Though the majority of booksellers sold it at the net price, there were exceptions. A large firm of London booksellers, for instance, declared that they did not recognise the right of the publishers to dictate terms, and sold the book at 7*. A large number of book- sellers refused to stock the book at all, and, in the trade, the comparative small sale of 22,000 which the 'Ascent of Man' has attained is generally attributed to this fact. This seems to show that, at least with high-priced books likely to have a large sale, the net system does not answer." Mr. J. W. Hales states that enough money has been subscribed for the Goldsmith memorial in the village church of Ferney, and a design for the window h-is been approved. A Goldsmith window is also to be erected in St. Saviour's, South wark. A grant of .£150 has been made by the Trea- sury out of the Royal Bounty Fund to Mrs. Fox and Mrs. Brush, the two surviving daughters of William Carleton, the Irish novelist. Professor Skeat has given notice that no more publications will be issued by the English Dialect Society. The roll of the society's books amounts to eighty, several of which have only recently been published by Mr. Frowde. Now that the "English Dialect Dictionary " is well started, the object for which the society was originally estab- lished is practically attained, says Professor Skeat. "Since the society was first founded in June, 1823, up to the close of 1896," he continues, "work has been accomplished of which we have all some reason to be proud, notwithstanding many shortcomings and occasional errors." It is hoped that members of the society will now transfer their subscriptions to Professor Wright for the purposes of the Dictionary. The Bishop of Durham has placed with Messrs. Macmillan, for publication, a work entitled "Christian Aspects of Life." Mr. John S. Farmer has in preparation a series of privately printed reprints of scarce books and unique MSS., which will bo issued by Messrs. Gibbings and Co. The first of the series, to appear immediately, will be Goddard's " Satiry- call Dialogue," of which only one copy is known to exist. Goddard flourished in the early part of the seventeenth century, belonged to the Middle Temple, and was extremely caustic in his satire on women. He published three books, which Dr. Furnival prepared in 1878 for republication, but they were never issued. His notes and material have been placed at the disposal of the present editor. A "Chinese Biographical Dictionary," com- piled by Mr. Herbert A. Giles, late English Consul at Ningpo, will shortly be published by Mr. Bernard Quaritch. Two volumes of Mrs. Oliphant's history of the Blackwoods are finished. They deal with the first William Blackwood and his son John. ## p. 298 (#354) ############################################ 298 THE AUTHOR. Sir Herbert Maxwell is publishing, through Mr. Arnold, a book of sketches of nature, entitled "Memories of the Months." There is about to be issued by Messrs. Putnam's a seventh edition, re-written and with new material, of a manual of suggestions. for beginners in literature, entitled "Authors and Publishers." It contains, together with general hints for authors, a description of publishing methods and arrangements; directions for pre- paring MSS. for the press; explanations upon book manufacturing; the text of the United States Copyright Law; and information regarding international copyright. Mr. Arthur Pearson is starting about the middle of May a daily newspaper to be called the Daily American. It will, of course, cater specially for American readers in London. Mayfair is the title chosen for a new literary and artistic weekly, edited by Mrs. Roy Devereux, which is about to appear. The Reformer, a new monthly political and religious journal, will be on the lines of Mr. Bradlaugh's National Reformer, and will have among its contributors Dr. Moncure D. Conway, Mrs. Hypatia Bradlaugh Bonner, Mr. Edward Carpenter, and Mr. H. S. Salt. Mr. James Nieol Dunn, editor of Black and White, has been appointed editor of the Morning Post. Tolstoy's " Ivan the Terrible" has been drama- tised by Dr. Arnold Eilvart, of the Croydon Brotherhood. The original autograph manuscript of Keats's "Endymion" was sold at Sotheby's on the ioth ult. for £695. It consists of 181 leaves, all but one in the handwriting of the poet. At the same sale the au'ograph MS. of "Lamia" sold for £305. Mrs. Hays Hammond is writing an account, from a personal point of view, of the occurrences in Johannesburg during the disquietude of fifteen months ago, during which her husband, who is an American mining engineer, played a not unimportant part. Professor James, of the chair of pyschology in Harvard University, ispublishing, throughMessrs. Longman's, a volume of essays entitled "The Will to Believe." The author is brother to Mr. Henry James. Dr. Murray's stupendous new English Diction- ary has been brought to the end of the first five letters of the alphabet. The number of words which this involves is no less than 89,591, of which 62,254 are main words, 10,156 special com- binations explained under main words, and 13,181 subordinate words. From an analysis of the main words we gather that 47,786 are in current use, 15,952 are obsolete, and 2516 are alien. Mrs. Campbell Praed has written a story called "Nulnia," which will be published by Messrs. Chatto and Windus shortly. The next volume in the Book Lover's Library, published by Mr. Elliot Stock, will be " The New Novels of Charles Dickens: A Bibliographv and Sketch," by Mr. F. G. Kitten. Miss Hannah Lynch has written a new novel entitled " Jinny Blake," which Messrs. Dent have in the press. Mr. Joseph Hatton's new novel, " The Dagger and the Cross," will be forthcoming early this month. "The Romance of Isabel, Lady Burton: The True Story of Her Life," told in part by herself and in part by Mr. W. H. Wilkins, will be issued in two volumes by Messrs. Hutchinson. OBITUARY. PROFESSOR HENRY DRUMMOND died on the 11 th ult., at Tunbridge Wells, after a long illness. He was born at Stirling forty-six years ago, and studied at Edinburgh University with R. L. Stevenson and John Watson, afterwards proceeding to Tubingen. In 1883 was published his first book, " Natural Law in the Spiritual World," which attracted great attention among theologians and scientific men. The book sold very largely, having gone through twenty-nine editions, and was translated into several languages. "The Ascent of Man," pub- lished in 1894, was most critically received. It consisted of the Lowell Lectures which Professor Drummond delivered in America, and the object of the work was to show how the greatest factor of evolution had been overlooked iu almost all contemporary scientific thought—this factor being the "struggle for love," as a corollary to the struggle for life, or, in other words, the "struggle for the life of others." More than 20,000 copies of this work have been sold, but the most popular of Professor Drummond's books is the non- controversial pamphlet "The Greatest Thing in the World," of which 300,000 copies have circu- lated. Of " Pax Vobiscum," also a shilling booklet, 130,000 copies have been disposed of. In 1877 Professor Drummond was appointed lecturer in science at the Free Church College in Glasgow, ## p. 299 (#355) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. 299 and in 1884 was raised to the rank of professor. He accompanied Sir Archibald Geikie on a geological expedition to the Rocky Mountains, as well as to Africa, and had also visited Australia, China, and Japan. His African travels resulted in the popular account entitled "Tropical Africa." Mr. Henry Blackburn died on the 9th ult., at Bordighera, while returning from Rome, where he had been wintering. He originated and edited the well-known publication "Academy Notes," and many other guides to picture galleries during recent years. His best-known work is probably the " Memoir of Randolph Caldecott," published in 1889, which enjoyed a considerable success. Prior to this caine various books of continental travel, such as " Picluresque Normandy," "Art in the Mountains: the Story of the Passion Play," "Artists and Arabs," "Summer Life in the Pyrenees," "Travelling in Spain," "Breton Folk," and "The Harz Mountains." The last book published by Mr. Blackburn was " The Art of Illustration." The Rev. Robert Hunter, LL.D., the distin- guished lexicographer, died at his residence in Epping Forest, aged seventy-four. While residing in Edinburgh he wrote a school " History of India" and a "History of the Missions of the Free Church." During the years 1864-66 he was resi- dent tutor in the Theological College, Queen's- square, London, and on his retirement from that position he began the great work of his life, " The Encyclopaedic Dictionary." Seventeen years later the work reached completion and was published by Messrs. Cassell.—He had since written a " Bible Student's Manual." Dr. E. Cobham Brewer, author of the widely- known "Dictionary of Phrase and Fable," died on the 6th ult., at the residence of his sou-in-law, Edwinstowe Vicarage, Notts, aged eighty-seven. Previous to this work, which has gone into twenty- five editions, Dr. Brewer published in 1850 a "Guide to Science." Other works which subsequently came from his pen included a "Political, Social, and Literary History of Germanv," " The Smaller History of Germany," "The "Reader's Handbook," "The Historic Note-Book," "Theology in Science," a "Dic- tionary of Miracles," and many other educational books. Mr. Wilton Jones, the well-known London play- wright, was for many years on the staff of the Vorkshire Post, and wrote a large number of pantomimes, and several dramas. "The Cruel City," a successful Surrey drama, was written by Mr. Jones in conjunction with his wife (Miss Gertrude Warden). Mr. Jones, who was in the prime of life, died from heart mischief on the 1 st March. Abroad, the deaths occurred of Alexander Petrovitch Milukov, the veteran Russian his- torical and literary authority; and the poet Friedrich Emil Rittershaus. THE BOQES OP THE MONTH. [February 24 to March 23—207 Books.] Adye, F. The Queen of the Moor. 6/- Macmillan- Ameriean Text-Book of Prosthetic Dentistry. 26/- Hlrschtleld A. M. O. T. C. M. The Marriage Question. 1/- Sinipkin. Andrews, W. England in the Days of Old. 7/6. Andrews. Anonymous. The Descendant; a Novel. 6/- Osgood Anonymous. The Unknown God. 2/6. net. Redway. Anstey, F. Puppets at Large. 5-'- Bradbury. Arber, E. The Story of the Pilgrim Fathers. 6;- Ward and Downey. Atherton. G. Patience Sparhawk and Her Times. 4,0. Lane. Bailey, M. B. A New Industry. 7 6. Simpkin. Balfour, F. H. Unthinkables. Bentloy. Baring-Gould, S. Guavaa The Tinner. 6/- Methuen. Barnes. M. 8. Studies in Historical Method. 2/6. Isbister. Barrere, A., and Leland, C. G. A Dictionary of Slang, Jargon, and Cant. 15/- Bell. 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HATHERSAGE: A Tale of North Derbyshire. BY CHARLES EDMUND HALL, Author of " An Ancient Ancestor," Ac. London: Horace Cox, Windsor Houso, Bream's-buildings. E.G. Published every Friday morning: price, without Reports, 3d.; with Reports, Is. THE LAW TIMES, the Journal of the Law and the Lawyers, which has now been established for over half a century, supplies to the Profession a complete Record of the Progress of Legal Reforms, and of all matters affecting the Legal Profession. The Reports of the Law Times are now recognised as the most complete and efficient series published. Offices: Windsor House. Bream's-buildings, E.C. Printed and Published by Horace Cox, Windsor House, Bream's-buildings, London, E.C. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Author, Vol. 07 Issue 11 (April 1897) Subject The topic of the resource The Author, Vol. 07 Issue 11 (April 1897) Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015049239455" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015049239455</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Publication Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 1897-04-01-The-Author-7-11 publications The Author https://historysoa.com/files/original/5/300/1897-03-01-The-Author-7-10.pdf 02046037fb6563e2f33655075e4685fb 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 The Author Description An account of the resource A digitised run of the Society of Authors' monthly periodical, The Author, 1890–1914, made available together for the first time. Currently users can browse issues and <a href="https://historysoa.com/items/browse?search=&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bjoiner%5D=and&advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=51&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Index&collection=&type=&tags=&exhibit=&date_search_term=&submit_search=Search+For+Items&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) 1897-03-01 Volume 7 Issue 10 Pages Page range in volume 237–272 Ngram Date Version of the date in YYYYMMDD format for use by the Ngram plugin 18970301 Ngram Text Version of the text with no HTML formatting for use by the Ngram plugin XL he Hutbot\ (The Organ of the Incorporated Society of Authors. Monthly.) CONDUCTED BY WALTER BESANT. Vol. VII.—No. 10.] MARCH i, 1897. [Price Sixpence. CONTENTS. PAOE Notices. Ac. 237 Prom the Committee 239 Literary Property— 1. An Agreement—With a Heply 2*0 2 Public Performance of a Dramatic Work not Equivalent to Publication 241 ■% The Beginnings of Literary Property 248 Notes from Elsewhere. By R. H. Sherard 244 New York Letter. By Norman Hapgood 246 The Literary Year Book 247 The Return of MSS 248 Notee and NewB. By the Editor 248 Sunnysiie— the Home of Irving 251 PAGE Theocritus 253 Vilstor Rydberg 253 An Intelligence Department 255 Annual Dinner of the Incorporated Society of Authors 256 The Battle of the Books 2*9 Subjunctive Mood: its Present-day Use 261 Correspondence—1. The I.S.A. as Publisher. 2. Editor and Contributor. 3. Reviewing. 4. Popularity. 5. The House where Byron was Born. 6. Paying for Publication 2«2 Book Talk 267 Literature in the Periodicals ■ ... 269 Obituary 271 The Books of the Month 271 PUBLICATIONS OF THE SOCIETY. 1. The Annual Report. That for January 1896 can be had on application to the Secretary. 2. The Author. A Monthly Journal devoted especially to the protection and maintenance of Literary Property. Issued to all Members, 6*. 6d. per annum. Back numbers are offered at the following prices: Vol. I., io«. 6d. (Bound); Vols. II., HI., and IV., 8s. 6d. each (Bound); Vol. V., 6s. 6d. (Unbound). 3. Literature and the Pension List. By W. Morris Colles, Barrister-at-Law. (Henry Glaisher, 95, Strand, W.C.) 3*. 4. The History of the Societe des (Jens de Lettres. By S. Squire Sprioge, late Secretary to the Society. I*. 5. The Cost of Production. In this work specimens are given of the most important forms of type, size of page, Ac, with estimates showing what it costs to produce the more common kinds of books. Henry Glaisher, 95, Strand, W.C. 2*. 6d. 6. The Various Methods of Publication. By S. Squire Sprigge. In this work, compiled from the papers in the Society's offices, the various forms of agreements proposed by Publishers to Authors are examined, and their meaning carefully explained, with an account of the various kinds of fraud which have been made possible by the different clauses in their agreements. Henry Glaisher, 95, Strand, W.C. 3*. 7. Copyright Law Reform. An Exposition of Lord Monkswell's Copyright Bill now before Parlia- ment. With Extracts from the Report of the Commission of 1878, and an Appendix containing the Berne Convention and the American Copyright Bill. By J. M. Lely. Eyre and Spottiswoode. is. (id. 3. The Society of Authors. A Record of its Action from its Foundation. By Walter Besant (Chairman of Committee, 1888—1892). u. 9. The Contract of Publication in Germany, Austria, Hungary, and Switzerland. Bv Ernst Lunge, J.U.D. 2s. 6d. ## p. 236 (#288) ############################################ 11 AD VEIi TISEMENTS. ^t)e gioctefp of Jlutl)ors (gncoTporafeb). 8ir Edwin Arnold, K.C.I.E., C.S.I. i lfred Austin. J. M. Barrix A. W. a Beckett. F. E. Beddard, F.R.S. Robert Bateman. Sir Henry Berone, K.C.M.G. Sir Walter Bksant. AU0U8TINE BlRRELL, M.P. Rev. Prof. Bonnet, P.R.S. Rioht Hon. James Brtce, M.P. Right Hon. Lord Burohclere, P.C. Hall Caine. Egerton Castle, F.S.A. P. W. Clatden. Edward Clodd. W. Morris Colles. Hon. John Collier. Sir W. Martin Conway. P. Marion Crawford. PRESIDENT. G-EOEO-E MEEEDITH. COUNCIL. The Earl of Desart. Austin Dobson. A. Conan Doyle, M.D A. W. Dubouro. Prof. Michael Foster, P.R.S. Richard Garnett, C.B., LL.D. Edmund Gosse. H. Rider Haggard. Thomas Hardy. Anthony Hope Hawkins. Jerome E. Jerome. Rudyard Kipling. Prof. E. Ray Lankester, F.R.S. W. E. H. Lecky. J. M. Lely. Mrs. E. Lynn Linton. Rev. W. J. Loftie, F.S.A. Sir A. C. Mackenzie, Mus.D. Prof. J. M. D. Meiklejohn. Herman C. Merivale. Rev. C. H. Middleton-Wake. Sir Lewis Morris. Henry Norman. Miss E. A. Ormerod. j. c. parkin80n. Right Hon. Lord Pirbriqht. Sir Frederick Pollock, Bart., LL.D. Walter Herries Pollock. W. Baptists Scoones. Miss Flora L. Shaw. G. R. Sims. S. Squire Spriooe. J. J. Stevenson. Prof. Jas. Sully. William Moy Thomas. H. D. Traill, D.C.L. Mrs. Humphry Ward. Miss Charlotte M. Yonoe. Hon. Counsel E. M. A W. a Beckett. Sir Walter Besant. Eqerton Castle. W. Morris Colles. Underdown, Q.C. COMMITTEE OF MANAGEMENT. Chairman—H. Rider Haggard. Hon. John Collier Sir W. Martin Conway. Anthony Hope Hawkins. J. M. Lely. Sir A. C. Mackenzie, Mus.D. Henry Norman. S. Squire Spriooe. Solicitors— ( Messrs. Field, Roscoe, and Co., Lincoln's Inn Fields. \ G. Herbert Thring, B.A., 4, Portugal-street, W.C. Secretary—G. Herbert Thring, B.A. OFFICES: 4, Portugal Street, Lincoln's Inn Fields, W.C. .A.. IP. WATT &c SOlsT, LITERARY AGENTS, Formerly of 2, PATERNOSTER SdUARE, Have now removed to HASTINGS HOUSE, NORFOLK STREET, STRAND LONDON. W.C. WINDSOR HOUSE PRINTING WORKS. IBIRylE.A.IMI'S BTJILTJIZCsTO-S, lE.C. Offices of "The Field," "The Queen," "The Law Times," &e. Mr. HORACE COX, Printer to the Authors' Sooiety, takes the opportunity of informing Authors that, having a very large Office, and an extensive Plant of Type of every description, he is in a position to EXECUTE any PRINTING they may entrust to his care. ESTIMATES FORWARDED, AND REASONABLE CHARGES WILL BE FOUND. ## p. 237 (#289) ############################################ XL he Hutbor* (The Organ of the Incorporated Society of Authors. Monthly.) CONDUCTED BY WALTER BESANT. Vol. VII.—No. 10.] MARCH i, 1897. [Price Sixpence. For the Opinions expressed in papers that are signed or initialled the Authors alone are responsible. None of the papers or para- graphs must be taken as expressing the collective opinions of the committee unless they are officially signed by G. Herbert Thring, Sec. THE Secretary of the Society begs to give notice that all remittances are acknowledged by return of post, and requests that all members not receiving an answer to important communications within two days will write to him without delay. All remittances should be crossed Union Bank of London. Chancery-lane, or be sent by registered letter only. Communications and letters are invited by the Editor on all subjects connected with literature, but on no other sub- jects whatever. Articles which cannot be accepted are returned if stamps for the purpose accompany the MSS. GENERAL MEMORANDA. I7>OB some years it has been the praotioe to insert, in 'every number of The Author, certain " General Con- fiderations," Warnings, Notices, Ac., for the guidance of the reader. It has been objected as regards these warnings that the tricks or frauds against which they are directed cannot all be guarded against, for obvious reasons. It is, however, well that they should be borne in mind, and if any publisher refuses a clause of precaution he simply reveals his true character, and should be left to carry on hit business in his own way. Let us, however, draw up a few of the rules to be observed in an agreement. There are three methods of dealing with literary property:— I. That of selling it outright. This is in some respects the most satisfactory, if a proper price can be obtained. But the transaction should be managed by a competent agent. II. A profit-sharing agreement. In this case the following rules should be attended to: (1.) Not to sign any agreement in which the cost of pro- duction forms a part. (2.) Not to give the publisher the power of putting the profits into his own pocket by charging for advertisements VOL. VH- in his own organs: or by charging exchange advertise- ments. (3.) Not to allow a special charge for " office expenses," unless the same allowance is made to the author. (4.) Not to give up American, Colonial, or Continental rights. (5.) Not to give up serial or translation rights. (6.) Not to bind yourself for future work to any publisher. As well bind yourself for the future to any one solicitor or doctor! (7.) To stamp the agreement. HI. The royalty system. In this system, which has opened the door to a most amazing amount of overreaching and trading on the author's ignorance, it is above all things necessary to know what the proposed royalty means to both sides. It iB now possible for an author to ascertain approximately and very nearly the truth. From time to time the very important figures connected with royalties are published in the Author. Readers can also work out the figures themselves from the "Cost of Production." Let no one, not even the youngest writer, sign a royalty agreement without finding out what it gives the publisher as well as himself. It has been objected that these precautions presuppose a great success for the book, and that very few books indeed attain to this great success. That is quite true: but there is always this uncertainty of literary property that, although the works of a great many authors carry with them no risk at all, and although of a great many it is known within a few copies what will be their minimum circulation, it is not known what will be their maximum. Therefore every author, for every book, should arrange on the ohanoe of a success which will not, probably, come at all; but which may come. The four points whioh the Society has always demanded from the outset are:— (1.) That both sides shall know what an agreement means. (2 ) The inspection of those account books which belong to the author. We are advised that this is a right, in the nature of a common law right, which cannot be denied or withheld. (3.) That there shall be no secret profits. (4.) That nothing shall be charged which has not been actually paid—for instance, that there shall be no oharge for advertisements in the publisher's own organs and none tor exchanged advertisements; and that all disoounts shall be duly entered. If these points are carefully looked after, the author may rest pretty well assured that he is in right hands. At the same time he will do well to send his agreement to the secretary before he signs it. C C 2 ## p. 238 (#290) ############################################ 238 THE AUTHOR. HOW TO USE THE SOCIETY. i. I/WERY member has a right to ask for and to receive I'J advice upon hia agreements, his choice of a pub- lisher, or any dispute arising in the conduct of his business or the administration of his property. If the advioe sought is such as can be given best by a solicitor, the member has a right to an opinion from the Society's solicitors. If the case is such that Counsel's opinion is desirable, the Com- mittee will obtain for him Counsel's opinion. All this without any cost to the member. 2. Bemember that questions connected with copyright and publisher's agreements do not generally fall within the experience of ordinary solicitors. Therefore, do not scruple to use the Society first—our solicitors are continually engaged upon such questions for us. 3. Send to the office copies of past agreements and past accounts with the loan of the books represented. This is in order to ascertain what has been the nature of your agree- ments, and the results to author and publisher respectively so far. The Secretary will always be glad to have any agreements, new or old, for inspection and note. The infor- mation thus obtained may prove invaluable. 4. If the examination of your previous business trans- actions by the Secretary proves unfavourable, you should take advice as to a change of publishers. 5. Before signing any agreement whatever, Bend the pro- posed document to the Society for examination. 6. The Society is acquainted with the methods, and—in the case of fraudulent houses—the trioks of every publish- ing firm in the country. 7. Bemember always that in belonging to the Society you are fighting the battles of other writers, even if you are reaping no benefit to yourself, and that you are advancing the best interests of literature in promoting the indepen- dence of the writer. 8. Send to the Editor of The Author notes of everything important to literature that you may hear or meet with. 9. The committee have now arranged for the reception of members' agreements and their preservation in a fireproof safe. The agreements will, of oourse, be regarded as con- fidential documents to be read only by the Secretary, who will keep the key of the safe. The Society now offers:—(1) To read and advise upon agreements and publishers. (2) To stamp agreements in readiness for a possible action upon them. (3) To keep agreements. (4) To enforce payments due according to agreements. THE AUTHORS' SYNDICATE. MEMBERS are informed: 1. That the Authors' Syndicate takes charge of the business of members of the Society. That it submits MSS. to publishers and editors, concludes agree- ments, examines, passes, and collects accounts, and, gene- rally, relieves members of the trouble of managing business details. 2. That the terms upon which its services can be seoured will be forwarded upon detailed application. 3. That the Authors' Syndicate works only for those members of the Society whose work possesses a market value. 4. That the Syndicate can only undertake any negotiations whatever on the distinct understanding that those negotia- tions are placed exclusively in its hands, and that all communications relating thereto are referred to it. 5. That clients can only be seen by the Director by appointment, and that, when possible, at least two days' notice should be given. 6. That every attempt is made to deal with all communi- cations promptly. That stamps should, in all cases, be sent to defray postage. 7. That the Authors' Syndicate does not invite MSS. without previous correspondence; does not hold itself responsible for MSS. forwarded without notice; and that in all cases MSS. must be accompanied by stamps to defray postage. 8. That the Syndicate undertakes arrangements for lectures by some of the leading members of the Society; that it has a "Transfer Department" for the sale and purchase of journals and periodicals; and that a " Register of Wants and Wanted" is open. Members are invited to communicate their requirements to the Manager. There is an Honorary Advisory Committee, whose services will be called upon in any case of dispute or difficulty. It is perhaps necessary to state that the members of the Advisory Committee have no pecuniary interest whatever in the Syndicate. NOTICES. THE Editor of The Author begs to remind members of the Society that, although the paper is sent to them free of charge, the cost of producing it would be a very heavy charge on the resources of the Society if a great many members did not forward to the Secretary the modest 6«. 6d. subscription for the year. The Editor is always glad to receive short papers and communications on all subjects connected with literature from members and others. Nothing can do more good to the Society than to make the Author complete, attractive, and interesting. Will those who are willing to aid in this work send their names and the special subjects on which they are willing to write? Communications for the Author 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. Members and others who wish their MSS. read are requested not to send them to the Office without previously communicating with the Secretary. The utmost practicable despatch is aimed at, and MSS. are read in the order in which they are received. It must also be distinctly under- stood that the Society doeB not, under any circumstances, undertake the publication of MSS. The Authors' Club is now open in its new premises, at 3, Whitehall-court, Charing Cross. Address the Secretary for information, rules of admission, &o. Will members take the trouble to ascertain whether they have paid their subscriptions for the year? 11 they will do this, and remit the amount, if still unpaid, or a banker's order, it will greatly assist the Secretary, and save him the trouble of sending out a reminder. Members are most earnestly entreated to attend to the following warning. It iB a most foolish and may be a most disastrous thing to enter into an agreement binding for a term of years. Let them ask themselves if they would give a solicitor the collection of their rents for five years to come, whatever his oonduct, whether he was honest ## p. 239 (#291) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. 239 or dishonest? Of course they would not. Why then hesitate for a moment when they are asked to sign them- selves into literary bondage for three or five years P Those who possess the "Cost of Production" are requested to note that the cost of binding has advanced 15 per cent. This means, for those who do not like the trouble of "doing sums," the addition of three shillings in the pound on this head. In other words, if the cost of binding is set down in our book at eight pounds, to this must now be added twenty-four shillings more, so that it now stands at J69 4«. The figures in our book are as near the exact truth as can be procured; but a printer's, or a binder's, bill is so elastic a thing that nothing more exact can be arrived at. Some remarks have been made upon the amount charged in the " Cost of Production " for advertising. Of coarse, we have not included any sums which may be charged for inserting advertisements in the publisher's own magazines, or in other magazines by exchange. As agreements too often go, there is nothing to prevent the publisher from sweeping the whole profits of a book into his own pocket, by inserting any number of advertisements in his own magazines, and by exchanging with others. Some there are who call this a form of fraud; it is not known what those who practise this method of swelling their own profits call it. FROM THE COMMITTEE. I. AT a meeting of the Committee of the Society of Authors, held 011 Wednesday, Jan. 20th, Mr. Ri.ler Haggard was unanimously elected Chairman for the second time. Mr. F. Storr accepted a seat on the Committee of Management. n. At a meeting of the Committee of Management of the Society of Authors, held at the offices of the Society, on Wednesday, Jan. 20, it was decided, with a view of broadening and strengthen- ing the usefulness of the Society, to appoint two permanent affiliated committees to deal with questions arising with regard to the copyright in musical publications and artistic productions. The Honourable John Collier has consented to become chairman of the committee dealing with Art. Other members of the committee are not yet formed, nor have the members of the musical committee yet been settled. m. The court that you keep is the only one open to all. I cannot allow the apology which has lately appeared in the Artist to be printed and published without asserting my right to reply to it. This apology runs as follows (omitting names, which are immaterial for the purposes of this letter) :— On page — of our issue for there appeared an article under the heading of" "commenting upon an advertisement inserted by Messrs. in the ""newspaper of the last. We have referred to this advertisement and find nothing in it to support the statements, or warrant the insinuations made by our contributor, and we very much regret that such an article should have appeared in our columns On the matter being called to our attention, we recalled the issue as far as possible, and cancelled the article, and we now desire to express our regret and offer our Bincere apologies to the proprietors of the" "and to Messrs. for its appearance, and for any annoyance or damage it may have caused them. The so-called article (one of a number of paragraphs) was written by me. Now, permit me to say in reply to what has been said on one side, that in writing it [ was stoutly supported by the parties concerned in the Artist. I submitted to the editor what I had written, and asked him to look to it before decid- ing to publish—an unusual precaution to take. He afterwards reported to me that what I had said was juRt what should have been said; that the proprietors shared his opinion that it was time for the Artist to declare its position, and to make a determined stand; that the impend- ing threat of an action was a matter of no account: that they would adopt my words as their own, and stand by me whatever befel. There was more to the same effect which need not be repeated. He remembers, and cannot deny, that, referring to a particular passage in the article, he even suggested to me that I might have strengthened my case. This, I should say, was said after the number was published, and pending the issue of the negotiations with the parties who claimed to be aggrieved. Now, the editor has informed me, in reply to a pressing question of miue, that these parties have been pacified by an assurance that nothing with my name attached to it should be allowed, for the present at least, to appear in his paper, and I have satisfied myself, as I have every one of my friends, that the proprietors of the Artist, in order to exonerate themselves, have merci- lessly sacrificed their contributor. As if to add insult to injury, they have used, directly referring to me, a very offensive word. They may perhaps say in reply that the word "insinua- tion " as commonly used means less than it does to me, and that they did not suppose it would be taken so seriously. If they are willing to say only so much, and that publicly, they will be understood to have apologised for their apology. I have respectfully submitted the facts and as ## p. 240 (#292) ############################################ 240 THE AUTHOR. respectfully ask if I have not just cause of complaint? _, 1 Ernest Radford. Hillside, Liverpool-road, Kingston- on-Thames, Feb. 20, 1897. LITERARY PROPERTY. I.—An Agreement—With a Reply. ri^HE following notes on this agreement I appeared in The Author of lust month. As a reply has been received from the publisher concerned, the notes and the agree- ment are reprinted, so that readers may be able without reference to the February number to form their own conclusion on the subject. I. NOTES ON AN AGREEMENT. The following agreement has been handed 1o the secretary of the Society. It has been signed by an author, and, like all the agreements printed in The Author, can be verified by any member of the Society who cares to inquire at the office for full particulars. The outlines of this agreement have been printed in The Author two or three times previously, as the publisher issues the same printed form on nearly every occasion. On this panicular occasion the figures of the agreement are perhaps rather more in favour of thepub.isher than usual, owing to the author's ignorance, and to the fact that he obtained no advice before signing the document, It will be seen 011 perusal that the publisher is to publish " an edition" of a certain woik, and to sell it at the published or advertised price of io*. 6d. per copy; this edition is to be the pro- perty of the said publisher. There is no state- ment as to how large the edition is to be, so that if the book should prove a success the publisher might, if he chose—there is nothing to prevent him—claim the first edition to be one of 3000 or perhaps 5000 copies. Next, the author is to guarantee at the end of nine months the sale of 450 copies at the price of six shillings, or ,£135. This amount will almost certainly cover all the cost of production, if only a small edition is produced in the first instance, and will also put a certain sum into the publisher's pocket. Remark, therefore, that it is not to the interest of the publisher to push the book until the expira- tion ot the nine months, because he will then demand the author's money according to the agreement, and afterwards he will put in his own ket the proceeds of every book sold. If the k is not a success, the publisher is well paid, and the author, inasmuch as he has to purchase three or four hundred copies of his own book, has to take upon himself really the publisher's duty of putting these copies upon the market in order to endeavour to recoup his outlay. For writing the book therefore; for paying for the cost of production; and for undertaking to a large extent the publisher's duty, the author obtains nothing whatever; and, further, has very little probability of ever obtaining anything, if, as has been pointed out, there should be practically no limit to the first edition. Memorandum of agreement made this day of between (publisher) of the one part, and (author) of the other part. Tbe said publisher hereby agrees to produce in tasteful form, and publish in the usual manner at his own expense, an edition of u volume written by the said author and entitled" ," the said volume to consist of 504 pages, crown octavo size, and to b« published at ten shillings and sixpence per copy. The said author hereby agrees to be responsible for tbe salo of 450 copies of the said volume, and undertakes, at the expiration of nine months from the date of publication, to purchase at the rate of six shillings per copy whatever number of copies, if any, be necessary to make the sales up to the said number of 450 oopies. This edition to be the property of the said publisher, and all proofs of the same to be corrected and returned promptly to the printer by the said author. It is understood that the copyright of the said volume is, and remains, the property of the author. As witness, Ac. II. THE PUBLISHER'8 ANSWER. In the February number of The Author, on page 213, there is a reference to one of my agree- ments (although my name is not mentioned), on which I should be glad if you will allow me to make some observations. It is stated by the writer of the "Notes " :— 1. "That the publisher is to print an edition of a certain book and sell it at the published or advertised price of 10*. 6d. per copy. 2. "That there is no statement as to how large the edition is to be, so that, if the book should prove a succees, the publisher might, if he chose —there is nothing to prevent him—claim the first edition to be one of 3000, or, perhaps, 5000 copies. 3. "The author is to guarantee at the end of nine months the sale of 450 copies at the price of bs. 4. "It is not in the interest of the publisher to push the book until the expiration of the nine months, because he will then demand the author's money according to the agreement." In answer to No. 1, it is only needful to point out that no publisher could sell copies of a book he issued at the published price. The rate at which the work mentioned in the agreement was sold was 6*. 2d. net. The other points_ had better be answered by a poc boo ## p. 241 (#293) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. 241 statement of what actually took place in regard to the book to which the agreement applied, as actual fact and practical instance are more con- clusive than general speculation :— 2. The number of the edition which it was arranged to print at starting was 750, and this number was actually printed; not "3000 or perhaps 5000." 3. The author does not guarantee the sale of 450 copies, under the agreement, but to take what ever number of copies it may be necessary to briny the sales up to this quantity, should it not have been reached in nine months, from the date of publication; all the sales going towards the 450. As a matter of fact in this case the sales only reached 189, the author was asked to take 261 copies at the agreed price, minus seventy-two which he drew for his own sale among friends, amounting in effect to 199 copies. 4. Whatever the " interest of the publisher " may mean as spoken of by the writer in The Author, in the present instance the book was certainly pushed adequately. It was advertised in twenty- six newspapers and magazines at an outlay of .£20 ; announcements were sent out to the extent of 16,500 to private persons and the trade, by post; and seventy-eight copies were sent for review and presentation. That a book thus worked should have sold so poorly scarcely seems the fault of the publisher. With regard to the agreement itself, it may be well to say that it is not used in the case of books for which a large sale can be certainly expected, and is only employed where it is needful, either because of the subject of the book in hand, or because the author is unknown. It is a via media between the author taking the risk upon himself, and the publisher purchasing the copy- right. For the instances it is applicable to, the agree- ment is an equitable one; at all events, it cannot be a very bad one, for it has been used in the case of many members of the Society of Authors; and one of the best known members of its Council has had two books brought out under its conditions quite recently. The Publisher Concerned. iii. rejoinder. The price of the book has nothing to do with the case. The actual treatment of the book in question has nothing to do with the case, which turns on the wording of the agreement. The objections to the agreement are left abso- lutely untouched, viz.: The publisher may make his edition consist of any number that he pleases. The author certainly does guarantee the sale of 450 copies. The words of the agreement are "agrees to be responsible for the sale of 450 copies." He guarantees, therefore, so much money as represents that sale. It certainly is not to the interest of the pub- lisher to push the book till after nine months, when the whole edition becomes his. The actual sale of the book in question: the management of the book by the publisher: the cost of adver- tising: these things have nothing to do with the wording of the agreement, or with the powers which it gives the publisher. That members of the Society or its Council have accepted the agreement is to be lamented, but the fact does not make it a good agreement, nor does it deprive the agreement of the objec- tions pointed out last month. II.—Public Performance of a Dramatic Work not Equivalent to Publication. That the public performance of a dramatic work under certain statutory regulations is equivalent to its publication, has become generally accepted in England as a kind of axiom. It is therefore at least interesting, if not instructive, to find this opinion treated by a legal tribunal not only as no axiom at all, but also as a view distinctly con- trary to fact. This has recently happened in Italy, and full reports of the case, and of an application for leave to appeal (which was immediately refused), are contained in the official organ of the Italian Society of Authors, which the secretary of the Society has been so courteous as to send us. These reports, of some length, contain a number of particulars of a very interesting kind, which we omit here, in order to give as briefly as possible the main facts of the case. These are as follows. In the year 1883 Meilhac and Grille produced in Paris a comedy entitled "Ma Camarade," and a few days after the first representation ceded the Italian rights to Teodoro Michaelis. These rights subsequently changed hands several times. (The Italian "Society for the Acquisition, Protec- tion, and Encouragement of Dramatic Works" bought them for 4000 francs, and sold them again for 4250.) But in 1895 the Marchese Theoduli was the sole proprietor of all the Italian rights. In 1894 (nine years after the production of the piece) the Parisian publisher, Caiman Levi, printed " Ma Camarade" and offered it for sale in Paris, after having duly complied with the requirements of the French law by depositing two copies of the work at the Ministry of the Interior, on March 3, 1894. In the year 1895, Luigi Raspantini, manager ## p. 242 (#294) ############################################ 242 THE AUTHOR. of an Italian dramatic company, "La Compagnia Pia Marchi, Maggi, e Soci," having procured a copy of the printed work, had a free translation of it made by Giuseppe Brignone, and with the consent of Giuseppe Pietriboni (director of the company), the play was performed at thePaganini Theatre at Genoa in May 1895, and the following June at the Politeama of Livorno, without the consent of the Marchese Theoduli having been either obtained or even sought. Hereupon the Marchese took legal proceedings against Raspantini, Pietriboni, Brignone, and Pia Marchi. The defendants failed in an attempt to dispute the Marchese's rights, which were easily estab- lished; but they pleaded that "Ma Camarade" having been performed for the first time in 1883, the right to translate had become public property after Dec. 31, 1893, in accordance with the terms of the Berne Convention. Bv the terms of the Berne Convention the author has the exclusive right of making or authorising translations fur a period of ten years, dating from the publication of the original work. On this point all parties were agreed. But the question arose, "At what date was 'Ma Camarade' published?" The defendants con- tended that the play was published at the date of its first performance in Paris in 1883. The Marchese Theoduli, on the contrary, maintained that the work was not published until Caiman Levi offered it for sale in 1894. And the court decided in favour of the Marchese, affirming that the ten years during which the author held the right of translation dated from March 3, 1894. The reasons given for this verdict are deserving of attention. "The publication of a work," it was said, "does not consist in any kind of production, by which it is made known to a larger or smaller number of persons. The author him- self, or any other person, by his authority, may make known the subject of the work, or the work itself, by acquainting others, and that even in public, with the manuscript, or design, or rough draft, or by reading the work, or by causing it to be represented, or by delivering a speech, without thereby publishing his work, or prejudicing his rights. "In short, publication is not the same thing as publicity. Publication is a complex act, by virtue of which a work, or its subject, is not merely communicated to the public in some way or another, but also is, so to say, placed at the common disposal of the whole of the public. So long as a dramatic work has been only represented, it cannot be said to be published; because by representation it has acquired only a more or less extended publicity; and it still remains within the power of the author to with- draw the work from the stage, or absolutely to destroy it. But when a work intended for dramatic representation is disseminated in a printed form, it may then be really said to be published, because everyone is at liberty to j>rovide himself with a copy and to make any use of it which he pleases." And, in support of the decision that represen- tation is not publication the following passage was quoted from the Italian code: "In the declarations concerning musical works and compositions, intended for dramatic repre- sentation, it should be explicitly stated whether they have been or have not been performed pre- viously to their publication." The defendants were sentenced to pay an augmented fine. In the terms of the sentence, "inasmuch as the law respecting the author's rights has been violated on various occasions, with an identical criminal intention, so that the offence assumes the character of a repeated mis- demeanour, the ordinary fine is increased by one- sixth." The translator was subjected to the same penalties as the director, the manager, and Pia Marchi, and the question of damages remained to be settled elsewhere. Subsequently the defendants applied for leave to appeal. By no means the least interesting feature of this application was a document of considerable length laid before the court by the Advocates Coen and Trincheri, in which they discuss, with much learning and acumen, the whole question of the relations of public represen- tation and publication. Leave to appeal was refused on the ground that the case was not one for appeal, seeing that the law was perfectly plain. But the court at the same time expressed itself in terms even stronger than those used at the trial. "Representation and publication are two terms absolutely opposed to each other, and without a point in common. The publication of a work is the permanent dissemination of the work itself, which passes into the hands of the public and remains there, so that the sphere of its action is limited neither by time nor by locality. The work can be procured and used everywhere. Representation, on the other hand, is of a tempo- rary character. The form which the work assumes in representation depends upon the kind and variety of the interpretation given to it by those who perform it, upon the exigencies of the theatre, and the ability of the actors. And the work is not placed at the disposal of the spec- tators." In commenting upon this interesting case, the ## p. 243 (#295) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. 243 Droit d'Auteur, whilst applauding the sentence of the Italian tribunal, aptly draws attention to a "declaration " made at the Paris Conference on the May 4, 1896:— "By published works (oeuvres publiies) must be understood works that hare been published {iditees) in one of the countries of the Union. Consequently the representation of a dramatic, or an operatic work, or the performance of a musical work, or the exhibition of a work of art, does not consti- tute publication." It is true that the Italian court took no notice of this declaration. And it has not yet, indeed, been ratified by the countries represented at the Paris Conference. But it will be seen that the declaration exactly accords with the view taken by the Italian law. It also suggests a very natural question: Why should the performance of a drama be equivalent to publication, when the exhibition of a picture is not? A picture exhibited at the Royal Academy must be placed before a very much larger section of the public than a play which has a short run. Still the legislatures of Great Britain and the United States of America, that is to say, the laws by which almost the whole of the profits of English dramatic authors are secured to them, hold that the play is published. Probably that opinion is also so engrained into the minds of most English- men that the advocates of a reform of the copy- right laws would hardly think of modifying a principle so universally accepted as that "public representation of a play is publication." But this view can no longer be considered incontestible. Even in the present state of the law it seems possible for the view taken by the Italian Legis- lature to be of importance to English dramatic authors. Popular English plays are reproduced abroad, in countries belonging to the Berne Union as well as in countries outside it. The English dramatic author seldom publishes, as the Italian law defines publication. What would happen if, finding that ten years after the production of his play in London a "free translation" of it was running on the continent, he were to print and publish r It is evident that in Italy, at any rate, he would have created himself ten years of dramatic rights. III.—The Beginnings op Literary Property. The second and last volume of Mr. George Haven Putnam's work on "Books and Their Makers in the Middle Ages," carries the study of the conditions of the production and distri- bution of literature from 1500 to 1709. Down to the latter year, the conception of literary pro- perty had not yet reached any very advanced VOL. VII. stage of development; but students of the whole question of book-production will follow with interest Mr. Putnam's narrative of the gradual change in the direction ultimately of making property in an intellectual creation fully analo- gous to property in a material creation. In the section devoted to this part of his subject, he shows that during the first two centuries after printing, the conditions in England had very little influence upon the development of any European system for controlling literary produc- tion. The work of the earlier English printers was addressed much more to the tastes of the local public than to the requirements of the scholars of Europe, and while a certain propor- tion of books in Latin were printed here, this proportion was small compared with the under- takings of the contemporary publishers of Holland, Prance, and Germany. In the two latter countries the State followed Italy's policy towards literary production, namely, of legisla- tion upon a system of privileges for short terms and limited territory; while Holland differed only in being the first of the European States to issue privileges without conditions depending upon censorship. The English system appears to have taken shape without any reference to Continental precedents. It grew up in connec- tion with the monopoly of printing in the United Kingdom given by charter in 1556 to the Stationers' Company, an organisation which differed from the book trade association of Paris in that it had no direct connection with either of the two Universities, and held its authority from the Crown. The regulations of this Company became the law for the control of the book trade, and for the control also of the literary property (the property in "copy ") that was from year to year increasing in importance. The basis of the authority of the Stationers' Company was the theory that all printing was the preroga- tive of the King, who asserted direct ownership and monopoly in the most remunerative of the earlier productions of the English Press, namely, prayer-books, editions of the Bible, year- books, Acts of State, &c. Mr. Putnam shows, however, how the later effect of this royal absolutism was, curiously enough, to secure an earlier and more definite recognition in England than was reached in any other country for pro- perty in literary production, and for the right of literary producers to control and to enjoy the results of their labours. It was the general understanding at the close of the seventeenth century that authors possessed in their produc- tions a perpetual right of property, and that this right could be assigned. Had the practice con- tinued of retaining one literary language for D D ## p. 244 (#296) ############################################ 244 THE AUTHOR. Europe, the possibility of securing one system for controlling and protecting literary production throughout Europe, Mr. Putnam thinks, would have been much furthered, and the date of inter- State European copyright probably advanced by a century or more. Finally, the conclusion Mr. Putnam has arrived at upon the copyright legislation of the present day is that a compact between the author and the State is not only equitable but logical, and that it secures a satis- factory solution for the vexed question concerning copyright in perpetuity. "The author," he con- cludes, " asks for a larger measure of protective service from the State than that required by the owner of property like a house (or, for that matter, of any other class of property), and he is willing in return for such special service, if the results of his labours may, by adequate legisla- tion, be assured for his immediate descendants, to surrender to the community the property-right in perpetuity, which under his inherent right and at common law was as fully vested in him, as is the title of a house in the man who has pro- duced it." NOTES FROM ELSEWHERE. IT may interest some of my readers to know that I have taken steps that a full and complete inquiry be held into the facts in dispute between Dr. Ibsen and myself. In the meanwhile I will say nothing more as to the newspapers which treated me, as I consider, with gross unfairness; one was a paper to which I have contributed since its foundation. There is little solidarity amongst English journalists. In Paris an editor sticks to his contributors, and the contributors stick to one another, as long as no mala fides has been proved in any one of them. It is a pity that there is not more of that spirit elsewhere. I am writing this particular letter from St. Ives, in Cornwall, where I am taking a writer's holiday, which means that I am writing here harder than ever. It is a pretty place, and the people are interesting, and the walks in the lanes, with the primroses on the banks on either side, or on the cliffs, with the Atlantic, and so on; but I fear there is little of literary interest to chronicle in this place, so that I should have difficulty in complying with the request of a member of the Authors' Club, who writes to me saying, "Write us letters from Cornwall, and give France a rest." The people seem great readers—of penny novelettes; except the artists, v?ho subscribe to White's lending library or to Smith's bookstall. We get our London papers at six in the evening, and never get a sight of the evening papers, and on Sundays we are altogether without news of the remote world. The most popular book in St. Ives at present, that is to say the book which is most asked for at the lending library, is Guy Boothby's "The Beautiful White Devil." I have heard it much discussed. There are two or three literary people here, amongst others a young Swede named Carl Olson, who writes excellent English, and has high ideals. He lives amongst the fishermen and dresses in corduroys, and will do well yet. One real literary trouvaille which I have made here is in the person of Mr. Anthony, the post- master of St. Ives, an old gentleman who knows Cornwall and the Cornish an fond, and writes about them in a highly entertaining manner. He has read me several of his manuscripts, poetry and prose (for he has published little, and that little only in the local papers), and I was really interested. There are fine turns in the Cornish dialect, and a particular humour which has a savour of its own. I told Mr. Anthony to send some of his papers up to the London magazines, but he will not believe that anyone would care to print his writings, much less to pay for them. I am endeavouring to induce him to try the experi- ment. Our literature is sadly deficient in pict ures of provincial English life. Cornwall should be at least as interesting to English readers as the Kail-yard, and far more understandable. Halestown, near here, was once the home of Sir Henry Irving, as a lad, for some years. • I have seen the dame's school where he was first taught, and the little chapel—it is the chapel of the Halestown Bible Christians—where, as a boy of eleven, he gave his first recitation. He has always kept a soft place in his heart for Halestown and St. Ives. It is not, I hope, impertinent to add that he paid the old lady's rent up to her death, and that she was buried at his expense. Further, that he interests himself in local charities in his well-known manner. Some people here remember him as a lad, but do not seem to realise to what an eminence he has raised himself. For the rest, "play-acting" is for the most part looked on with holy horror in this pious and dissenting land, and one old man has been heard to say, when told of Sir Henry's great success on the stage, "Nay, nay, he's never come to that, surely," meaning to defend him against a supposed calumny. Bravo, Rodenbach! I say bravo, Eodenbach, because George Rodenbach has put his heel on a scandal which was being fanned into bright flame by certain scandal-mongers in Paris, and, I hope, crushed and extinguished it. I refer to the scandal about the Victor Hugo mhiage and ## p. 245 (#297) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. 245 Sainte-Beuve. Sainte-Beuve's doubtful morality has been already alluded to in these pages, and in his " Livre d'Amour," originally published in 1843, he made certain insinuations which give some appearance of truth to things which the boulevard scandal-mongers are saying of her of whom her husband wrote in 1834: C'est elle, la vertu but ma tfte penchee, La figure d'alb&tre en ma maison caohtte. I knew the Victor Hugos a quarter of a century ago, and have remained on friendly terms with the family ever since. Indeed, the very last signature which Victor Hugo wrote was in a certain birthday book which I had taken to his house for the purpose. I may, therefore, with some authority, echo George Rodenbach's " Lie!" and I do so here. This raking-up of scandals about the dead is the work of literary hyaenas and jackals, and should be severely condemned. Those who think as I do were disgusted with the Georges Sand-Musset expose, because we admire and love both Georges Sand and Alfred de Musset, and respect their memories. We were delighted that the Censor prohibited the produc- tion of a play which was intended to spread the scandal still wider. As I wrote once in these pages, there was in Sainte-Beuve a Jekyll and a Hyde. He was Jekyll till noon, and Hyde till 5 a.m. He was Jekyll in all his writings, except in this fatuous "Livre dAmour," in which he was emphatically Hyde. Hugo turned the Hyde out of the house, for all that he admired the Jekyll, and the follow- ing lines were left by him "to be published in case the libel (" Le Livre d'Amour," which was withdrawn almost immediately after publication, by Sainte-Beuve) appears, otherwise let this ugly wraith be spared." As the scandal-mongers are republishing here and there, in suggestive frag- ments, the " Livre d'Amour" libel, Hugo's answer, his posthumous defence of his honour and of the honour of his descendants, has now been made public. This is a copy of it: A S...-B... Que dit-on? on m'annonee nn libelle poethume De toi. C'est bien. Ta fange est faite d'amertnme; Rien de toi ne mY'tonne, 6 fourbe tortaenx. Je n'ai point oublio ton regard monstmenx, Le jour oil je to mis hors de chez moi, vil drole, Et qne, snr l'esoalier te ponasant par l'epaule, Je te dis: "N'entrez pins, monsieur, dans ma maison!" Je vis luire en tee yeux toute la trahison, J'apercus ta fureur dans ta penr, 0 coupable, Et je oompris de qnoi pouvait ctre capable Ta lucbett! changoe en baine, le dugout Qu'a d'elle-m<?me une ame oil s'amasse un egout, Et ce que mtfditait ta laideur dcdaignee; Car on pressent la toile en voyant l'araignee! A subscription has been started in Paris for the erection of a statue to Paul Verlaine, and. vol. VII. already <£6o has been collected. The committee expects to have the necessary amount in a short time. Subscriptions are coming in from all parts, especially from Belgium. To think that poor Verlaine has been gone from us for more than a year! Great complaints are being made about the want of room in the Bibliotheque Nationale. The distracted librarians do not know where to store the books and papers which come pouring in every day. Seventeen years ago a fine piece of land at the corner of the Rue Colbert and the Rue de Richelieu was bought by the Government for =£280,000 for the purpose of extending the buildings of the National Library, but no use has been made of this land except as a cabbage field. A few lop-eared rabbits have also been reared upon it by a bucolic sub-librarian. I suppose that the money cannot be spared. Yet France spends one thousand francs a minute on her army. "Messidor," a lyrical drama, libretto by Zola, and music by Alfred Bruneau, was performed on Saturday night, for the first time, at the Opera. I hear it was a great success. The work is pub- lished by Fasquelle. The sale of Edmond de Goncourt's pictures alone has realised upwards of ,£20,000. An attempt was made last century by a worthy citizen of the town of Caen to found an academy bearing his name. He bequeathed his house, library, and a sum of money for this purpose. His heirs-at-law, however, refused to carry out his wishes, and nobody seemed to think it worth while to sue them. Goncourt's relations seem to take the same view of the matter , and there are good times in store for the Parisian lawyers. All authors are interested in newsagents, who for the most part, especially in the country, are booksellers also, and this being so, any influence which we possess as a society should, I think, be used in furtherance of an amendment of the law on libel, which, as it stands at present, bears heavily and with great injustice on newsagents, who, as distributors of the paper or book con- taining the alleged libel can be sued as co-defen- dants. A case came recently before Justice Vaughan Williams at the Bodmin Assizes, in which Mr. White, bookseller and newsagent in this town, was sued as co-defendant in an action for damages (.£5000 was claimed) for an alleged libel which had appeared in one of the papers which Mr. White keeps in stock. The judge from the very first refused to admit that the newsagent was in any way liable, and the whole case was eventually dismissed, each party having to pay its own costs. The unfortunate newsagen had accordingly to pay his solicitor and counsel, D D 2 ## p. 246 (#298) ############################################ 246 THE AUTHOR. was put to other expense, suffered great anxiety, was forced to waste a whole week hanging about the Assize Court at Bodmin waiting for the case to come on, and all this because he had sold a few copies of the paper containing the passages complained of. The matter is being taken up in Parliament, and it is to be hoped that the law may speedily be amended. As it stands, it exemplifies admirably the " Summum jus, aumma injuria" of the Romans. Robert H. Sherard. St. Ives, Cornwall. NEW YORK LETTER. New York, Feb. 15, 1807. ABOOK of four short stories to be published in March by the Century Company has, among many points of interest, the suggestion of a very individual note of the treat- ment of East-side life in fiction. Mrs. Schuyler Van Rensselaer, after gaining a high reputation as a critic of art and a writer and worker for political and social improvement, has recently taken to making sketches of several parts of New York life. The four stories in this volume have already appeared in magazines. The first two published dealt with the poor quarters which in common parlance are called "the East Side," although a large part of the west side has exactly the same nature. Of the other two, the first, from which the book bears its name, "One Man Who Was Happy," has no special local significance, but as a piece of strong intimate analysis of personal character, it is the most remarkable piece of writing in the book. The other, "Mary," is a slight sketch, graceful and complete in form, suggesting the mode of exis- tence of an old lady of the former generation in prosperous circumstances, who has outlived all the elements of her former world. The two stories which tell of the slums are "Corinna's Fiametta" and "The Lustigs." They are not especially skilful in construction, for Mrs. Van Rensselaer has not yet fully mastered the narrative art, but they throw7 an interesting light on the question so much discussed here of how this part of the city ought to be treated in fiction. After a life crowded with experiences and successes of many kinds, Mrs. Van Rensselaer finds actual work with the simple poor, without sentimentality— pure friendship in short—as interesting a thing as there is in the town. The majority of our writers about these districts look only for local colour and put it on by the pailful. Mrs. Van Rensselaer knows her East-side friends intimately enough to keep her perspective, to see that the larger, more important elements of human nature are the same up town and down, and so in showing the peculiarities, the especial conditions and problems of their existence, she keeps her sense of proportion. This accurate striking of the right note makes many of her readers hope she may give more time to fiction, in which her mixture of strong understanding, experience, humour, and seriousness find a field where these qualities are needed. Two publishers have given informally, in con- versation within the past week, their ideas on this subject. One of them, speaking to a young man. J. L. Steffens, for whom he had sent an account of the new spirit shown in his newspaper sketches of East-side daily happenings, said that most of the fiction that has been made out of the poor quarters of New York had marked faults of scope and manner. Stephen Crane, for instance, sought always either the horrible or the picturesque episode, and his stories did not include the essen- tial conditions of that part of the city, did not give to the various elements their proper relative importance. Cahn, the last writer to gain notice, a young Jew, knew the life intimately, but did not have an adequate command of the language. What the publisher hoped that Mr. Steffens might furnish in a novel was what he has been giving in his newspaper sketches, a perfectly cold, objec- tive, half humorous account of scenes which he sees in his experience as a police reporter. Another publisher also said last week that this is especially demanded as a re-action from the emphatically picturesque and sentimental. Still he would be a rash person who would undertake to say what the best manner is for the treatment of this subject. Some go so far as to say we shall never make literature out of it by any device. Most observers, however, believe that the public want to know more about it, and that the man who strikes the right vein will have unlimited appreciation. A young critic remarked the other day that he believed the fortunate man would be either a Baudelaire or a Kipling, a man who would treat it for the pictures it offered, and not bother about any significance but the pic- turesque; or a man who would get hold of the dramatic human elements and idealise them in the artistic, although not in the ethical, sense, represent them rather than copy them, and make good literature by making good narrative. "Any good story is good literature," said Charles Dudley Warner a couple of weeks ago. Another decidedly individual book will come out of Chicago in a month or two. For some years Peter Dunne, an Irish-American, not yet ## p. 247 (#299) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. 247 thirty, has been writing sketches in the Chicago Evening Post and the Chicago Times-Herald, telling the opinions of a philosophical saloon- keeper named Dooley, upon the events of the day. They were uneven, naturally, as they were turned out every week, but undoubtedly the collection will include the shrewdest and wittiest, and if it does it will be one of the pleasantest manifestations of Chicago literary activity that have appeared for a long time. Dooley repre- sents at his best, as well as anyone, the spirit and attitude of the Irishman whose experience has been gained in America. Mr. Dunne himself began as a boy selling newspapers, was a reporter in his earliest teens, then an editorial writer, and now has an important editorial position on the Times-Herald. Way and Williams are the publishers of the sketches. Leaving the books about people for the books by them, one notices as the most conspicuous produc- tion of the last month a volume of sea stories by a labouring man, called " On Many Seas," published by the Macmillan Company. The writer, who has always been an engineer, sometimes on the elevated railroad, sometimes running a standing engine, calls himself Frederick Benton Williams, but his real name is Herbert E. Hamblen. He never got higher, in spite of his intelligence, on account of his lack of tact, and the same spirit has been brought out strongly by his literary success. A friend of his, an Englishman named William S. Booth, now acting as librarian for the East Side House, used to hear him tell these stories and finally induced him to write them down. After very slight corrections, mainly in punctuation and in capitals, Mr. Booth had them published, and the first edition of 1700 was exhausted on Saturday. S. S. McClure and Co. immediately asked for a series of similar stories. The narration in the novel had been simple and strong, absolutely without literary affectation, but the author has had his head turned a little, and now he is producing high sounding phrases which McClure and Co. cannot use. They ask in vain for stories like "On Many Seas." Mr. Hamblen has become literary, and tells them he will write as he chooses. In noticing recent fiction, mention should be made of "Old Dorset; or, Chronicles of a New York Country Side," by Robert Cameron Rogers, published by G. P. Putnam's Sons. He is the author of "The Wind in the Clearing," a volume of poems, and" Will-o'-the-Wisp," a sea story of the war of 1812. The new volume treats of a part of the country less written about than New England and the west and the south, but central New York, although it has perhaps less striking characteristics than many States, is yet worth picturing. Mr. Rogers has done it simply, with enough accuracy of observation and pleasantness of feeling to make the book worth reading by anyone who is interested in keeping up with that part of our literature which relies especially on the interest in certain localities. A piece of news is just now finding its way among the magazine men, and will soon be public. Two years ago Mr. A. F. Jaccaci left McClure's Magazine, tempted by an attractive offer to become the art editor of Scribner's Magazine. His success in two years has been so great that, when the McClures felt able to make him an offer to return, the Scribners offered him a salary just about twice the size of the one with which they originally tempted him. In spite of that Mr. McClure has been able to secure him, and he will go, as soon as his place at Scribner's can be filled. He not only becomes the art editor, but has a certain part in the literary editing of the magazine. The stock of that periodical is now worth 200 per cent. The circulation is about 300,000. It has just reached the stage where it pays for itself, as it has been in existence just about three years, and the owners are full of unlimited confidence in its future. Norman Hapgood. THE LITERARY YEAR BOOK. ACOPY of the "Literary Year Book" for 1897, edited by F. G. Aflalo and published by Mr. George Allen, has been received by the Editor. The book must be judged, not as though it was one of a long series, but as the first of a new series. A literary Year Book has long been wanted. The Committee of the Authors' Society considered last year a project for starting such an annual themselves, but abandoned it when it was dis- covered that a serious attempt to supply the want was being undertaken by Mr. George Allen. The book contains a literary causerie; the law and university terms; an account of public libraries and of literary clubs; certain articles on literary subjects; a conspectus of books published within the last six years; notes on copyright, printing, and magazine articles; the correction of proofs; a Directory of Authors, another of publishers, and a third of booksellers; with many other points. The literary causerie with which the book opens is pleasantly written. One would, however, point out that in a literary year-book we do not want criticism or even praise. The work should be ## p. 248 (#300) ############################################ 248 THE AUTHOR. strictly practical. There are a good many portraits, about which one would also remark that the selection, year by year, of Authors for such repre- sentation, is perhaps calculated to displease those who are not selected. Some of the addresses are absurd, as, for instance, the address of Mr. James Bryce, which is given as the "Society of Authors." The Directory of Authors is defective; but this was to be expected in a first beginning. A list of Authors can hardly be called exhaus- tive, when a very brief examination proves the omission of the following names, among others :— Marie Corelli, Maxwell Gray, Justin H. Mc- Carthy, W. E. Henley, Gilbert Parker, Mrs. Clifford, F. Wedmore, Walter Crane, W. Prothero, Canon Knox Little, Louis Becke, Guy Boothby, Sarah Tytler, Florence Warden, Helen Mather, Mary A. Dickens, William Archer, Joseph Knight, Dean Farrar, Beatrice Whitby, Mrs. Molesworth, George Macdonald, Edna Lyall, J. E. Muddock, L. T. Meade, Rhoda Broughton. The same objection holds as to the list of booksellers. In short, the book is useful as it stands, but incomplete. It begins on right lines. We are quite prepared to believe that the points we have noted, with others not noted, will be rectified before the next edition. THE RETURN OF MSS. WITH reference to the opinion given in the last number of The Author as to the law on the subject of MSS. offered to a magazine or paper, the editor of the Bookman publishes in the February number opinions from many other editors on the subject. The general opinion and practice seem to be: (1) that the return of uninvited MSS. is not guaranteed: (2) that MSS. are returned when stamps are sent in: (3) that it would be unjust to make editors responsible for uninvited MSS. All these points are simply stated by the editor of the Pall Mall Magazine. The editor of the Windsor states that last year he received 1500MSS., out of which he accepted thirty-five, i.e., less than 3 per cent. The editor of the English Illustrated will not guarantee the safe return of MSS., yet does his best to return them. The editor of the Westminster Gazette will not hold himself respon- sible, and gives advice to contributors, which they would do well to read and to remember. The editor of Cassell's Magazine says that he con- siders himself free from liability if he announces that opinion beforehand. The editor of Temple Bar sends back everything he can. The editor of the St. James's Gazette does not guarantee return, but does in practice return MSS. The editor of the Idler follows the same practice. The editor of Macmillan's Magazine relies on a long standing notice in his journal, but does not state what it is. The editor of the Woman at Home will not promise to return unsolicited MSS., but, in fact, does do so in every case. This lady also points out the fast increasing practice of choosing beforehand the writers and the subjects for a magazine so that an editor does not any longer depend upon the casual post. These letters are very satisfactory, so far as they go. That is to say, practice seems everything while opinion matters little. "You shall have your MSS. back," say the editors in effect; "most of them are awful rubbish; we can only use about 3 per cent.; they would be better in the basket; you shall have them back however, only we do not hold ourselves responsible." To all of which the opinion of Mr. Chitty, contained in The Author last month, remains unanswered. He says, in effect, "Gentlemen, whether you hold yourselves responsible or not; whether you announce your refusal to guarantee return or not; you are in the eyes of the law, under certain conditions, which I have set forth, respon- sible for the safety of authors' MSS." So that these letters in the Bookman do not seem to answer the question at all, which is one of law, not of opinion. As for the courtesy and the patience of long- suffering editors struggling with piles of MSS., mostly rubbish, most of us have experienced these qualities, and are ready to recognise them fully. Having done so, the question of respon- sibility remains, and we still await an answer to, or a criticism upon, the opinion of Mr. Chitty. NOTES AND NEWS. ANOTE will be found in "Book Talk" of this month which illustrates the great and growing difficulty of finding a title not already used. There are few writers of novels, . plays, poems, or essays who have not experienced this difficulty. Twice have I changed my title: twice have I been permitted to keep a title although it had been used before. I remember reading once how Miss Braddon had to change her title three times. This is especially an Authors' question, and I would suggest that our members should them- selves consider and suggest how it can be met. To begin with, it is rare indeed to select a title already used by any well-known writer—though in the case referred to above this has been done. ## p. 249 (#301) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. 249 We may assume that the rights invaded are, as a rule, only nominal. But we cannot narrow our case to this single point. We must assume that the possession of the title is literary property. What should be done, in case of infraction by another writer, either to protect property or to get possession of the title? On another page will be found an extract from a New York paper called the Progress of the World, containing an account of Washington Irving's house " Sunnyside." It is now proposed to buy up the house and preserve it as a national monument. There are many of our readers who, like myself, cherish the greatest affection for the memory of Washington Irving. If any reader of this paper would wish to communicate his sympathy with this intention, or would wish to be allowed to contribute, I shall be very glad to send his name to the American Committee, as soon as it is formed, for the purchase of the house. . I beg to thank my correspondent, "Author and Editor," for his letter on the rights of correction. It is a pity that it is unsigned, because his name would carry even greater weight than his very sensible remarks. He says in effect: (1.) Signed papers by known writers must not be altered without their consent. (2.) In case of errors of language, fact, or taste, interference must be made by the editor, always, as a rule, with the approval of the writer. In other words, we lay down a principle; but in practice we allow a certain amount of infrac- tion. We say to an editor, "No. Tou shall not alter my work which is signed." And we add, "Yes, you were quite right to put that date right, and to put that fact more correctly." Yet the principle remains. It is like a weapon, only to be used in case of necessity. We trust our editors, as a rule, implicitly in such matters. It is only in such cases as that referred to last month, where the editor chose to alter, against the author's wish, a work of imagination, that the principle must be asserted, the weapon drawn. ... I hare received a letter on writers and reviewers-, which is signed. I do not, therefore, feel myself at liberty to cut it about or to omit passages. Yet I must either omit passages or refuse to print the letter. Will correspondents understand that this is not a paper for "slashing" paragraphs about individual writers or classes of writers? Several other letters have reached me on the subject, about which enough has for the moment been said. It is quite wide of the mark to say that there is excellent criticism to be found. Nobody denies it. Also it is quite untrue to say that reviewers never read books; are always incompetent; are log-rollers; and so forth. Yet it is true that there exist such persons who in some quarters are allowed to write what they call reviews. I hope that out of this corre- spondence, which has been falsely called an attack upon critics, there has emerged a general feeling that a book is not advanced in the esteem of the ublic by an off-hand, vague notice among a ateh; but that a serious review by a writer who knows the subject and has read the book, is, and must be, of the greatest advantage to that book. Therefore, that such a review is a gift—a most important gift—in the hands of the editor. I learn by a paragraph in the St. James's Gazette that Mr. Charles Dudley Warner is about to edit, in thirty volumes only, the whole of the best literature of the world, from the stone records of Assyria and Egypt down to our own times. Picture the pride at finding your own pro- ductions in this collection! Imagine yourself one-thirtieth of humanity, so to speak, of the whole of humanity as represented by its litera- ture. The best literature in the world in thirty volumes. Let us see. We must leave one volume to the stone records of Assyria and Egypt, at least . Homer will want a place, and — but let us draw up a list:—Homer, JSschylus, Euripides, Sophocles, Aristophanes, Thucydides, Pindar, Plato, Aristotle, Theocritus, Virgil, Horace, Terence, Catullus, Plautus, Ovid, Livy, Caesar—we cannot spare one of these, and no doubt there are many others. China will send Confucius. I omit the sacred books of the world. Then England will contribute Chaucer, Shakespeare, Milton, Dryden, Pope, Fielding, Keats, Byron, Wordsworth, Browning, Tennyson, Scott—say a round dozen. France will be represented by Moliere, Eabelais, Montaigne, Boileau, Voltaire, Hugo, say but six; Spain by Cervantes and Calderon; Portugal by Camoens; Germany by Goethe and Schiller— and here we stop, for we have got forty Masters already, without counting the quantities of "best" literature produced by the "second best" writers when at their " best." A stupendous task, indeed! "Maxwell Gray " has placed in my hands the following appeal:— "When Christina Rossetti died, more than two years as;o, there was a chorus of appreciation of her work from the Press. Not only great, but the greatest woman-poet of the age, she was called. It may not be generally known that a memorial has long been planned in the shape of a, reredos in Christchurch, Woburn-square, the P 1) ## p. 250 (#302) ############################################ 25° THE AUTHOR. church she regularly attended. Sir Edward Burne-Jones has kindly consented to design a series of paintings for this when the necessary funds for its erection in the church are found, ▼iz., ,£150. Of this, I believe only about £70 or .£80 has been subscribed. In the printed list before me I find only eight names known in literature, including that of Mr. Swinburne. "Of the thousands who delight in Christina Eossetti's poems, both in England and in America, there must at least T>e hundreds who would be glad to contribute some small sum to this modest and beautiful memorial of one of the greatest ri, Colville Houses, W.; Rev. J. J. Glendinning Nash, 92, Gower-street, W.C., Incumbent of Christchurch, Woburn-square." The following amounts have been received by Miss Ellen T. Masters for Mrs. Eliza Warren since the publication of the last list. The total now reached is £62. 18*. id.: £. e. d. £. x. ,i. "Alpha" 1 o o "Jessie" o 1 o "Anon" o 3 o N. C. W o 2 o Cooke-Taylor, Mrs. 050 Robins, The Misses o 10 o Gooddy, Mibb o 1 o 8UNNYSIDE. poets and writers of the age; while her brothers and sisters in letters, poor though the majority must be, should feel it a stigma upon them that the work is still waiting for want of so pitiful a sum. "I therefore beg of your courtesy space for this letter calling attention to the proposed memorial. It has the sanction of Mr. Rossetti, whose sub- scription heads the list. Donations may be sent to the Rossetti Memorial Account in the Bank of England, or to—W. M. .Rossetti, Esq., 3, St. Edmund's-terrace, N.W.; R. W. Dibdin, Esq., 17, Russell square, W.C.; G. A. A. Nelson, Esq., Mrs. Warren is suffering mich from dropsy, and is in a distressing condition of weakness which keeps her now entirely confined to her room. Her mental powers have retained their vigour throughout, and her strength of character is but little impaired. Mrs. Warren expresses much gratitude to all those who have so kindly responded to Miss Masters' appeal on her behalf. Walter Besant. ## p. 251 (#303) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. 25" SPNNYSIDE-THB HOME OF IRVING. ABOUT five and twenty miles from the ancient and renowned city of Manhattan, formerly called New Amsterdam, and vulgarly New York, on the eastern hank of the expansion of the Hudson, known among the Dutch mariners of yore as the Tappan Zee, being, in fact, the great Mediterranean Sea of the New Netherlands, stands a little old-fashioned stone mansion all made up of gable ends, and as hill of angles and corners as an old cocked-hat. It is willows, we come to the famous old Dutch cottage covered with a tangled maze of ivy, wisteria, and other vines. Beyond rolls the Hudson, its broad expanse dotted with sails, and its distant views terminating in rocky headlands and wooded hills. High up on the gable end looking toward the Hudson, fastened securely to the wall, are the figures in iron—1656. Of course this does not mean that the building, as it is, was finished at that early date. It merely marks the date when the beginning was made from which the present structure has been evolved. said, in fact, to have been modelled after the cocked-hat of Peter the Headstrong, as the Escurial was modelled after the gridiron of the blessed St. Lawrence." Such is the description which Washington Irving gives of Sunnyside—the home in which this pioneer of American letters rounded out a mellow and beautiful old age. Turning west from the old post road, which skirts the eastern bank of the Hudson, down the winding lane, which follows the course of Willow Brook, deeply shaded by elms, chestnuts, and. VOL VII. Irving, in "Wolfert's Roost," and in other sketches, has invested the old Dutch cottage with a unique legendary history. In the famous days of Peter Stuyvesant, as Irving relates it, there lived an intrepid Dutch burgher of no mean repu- tation, Wolfert Acker, who gathered up his valuables, and, with his household, sought the unmolested solitude of the wilderness. He built him a house on the banks of the stream which his own countrymen had introduced into the geographies of the world. He took possession uf thi8 new home in the eventful year 1656. ## p. 252 (#304) ############################################ 252 THE AUTHOR. Bidding farewell to the world of conflict, he determined henceforth to claim the deeper joys of peace and prosperity. In token of this fixed purpose he inscribed over his door his favourite Dutch motto, "Lust in Rust" (pleasure in quiet). The mansion was henceforth called Wolfert's Rust (Wolfert's Rest), but by the uneducated, "Wolfert's Roost," probably from its quaint cockloft look, and from its having a weathercock perched on every gable. The drowsy days of the seventeenth century rolled on, and Wolfert Acker slept with his fathers—not altogether peacefully, it seems, for among the old gray, moss-grown trees of his apple orchard behind the house—the only remaining relic of his labours—may be seen, according to the popular legend, his restless ghost stealing pensively along of a bright moonlight night. Jacob Van Tassel, with his " great goose-gun," next appears on the scene, whose patriotic exploits in the Revolutionary war brought down the wrath and the guns of the British on his devoted head. The venerable walls and gables were shattered, the creaking weather-cocks were brought low. The valiant defender fled, leaving behind shapeless ruins. Years of conflict ensued. In the meantime the Roost remained a melan- choly ruin, its stone walls and brick chimneys alone standing, the resort of bats and owls. Superstitious notions prevailed about it. None of the country-folk would venture alone at night down the rambling lane which led to it, over-hung with trees and crossed here and there by a wild wandering brook. The story went that one of the victims of Jacob Van Tassel's great goose- gun had been buried here in unconsecrated ground. But during the peace that followed the Revolu- tion, Jacob Van Tassel returned and again made the wilderness to blossom as the rose. Once more he put up the glittering weather-cocks and hung his great goose-gun over the fireplace. Here the venerable Diedrich Knickerbocker found him tilling his broad acres and smoking his pipe contentedly in the chimney corner. His last days were lighted up by the golden visions of the past, and his great Dutch heart beat its last patriotic beat beside the river of his fathers. In the spring of 1835, on his return from his tour on the prairies, Irving spent a few days with a relative at Tarrytown, and it was during this visit that he decided to settle down in some snug retreat, and shortly chose the location of the old Dutch cottage on the present site of Sunnyside. The deed of purchase was signed June 7, 1835. Irving began remodelling the old house at once, and frequent reference is made in his letters of the year to the work which received so much of his attention. The next month after the deed was drawn he writes to his brother Peter: "You have been told, no doubt, of the purchase I have made of ten acres, lying at the foot of Oscar's farm, on the river bank. It is a beautiful spot, capable of being made a little paradise. There is a small stone Dutch cottage on it, built about a century since, and inhabited by one of the Van Tassels. I have had an architect up there, and shall build up the old mansion this summer. My idea is to make it a little nookery in the Dutch style, quaint, but unpretending. It will be of stone." He seems to have torn down the old cottage nearly to the ground, for in a letter written early in October of the same year he writes: "It has risen from the foundations since my previous visit, and promises to be a quaint, picturesque little pile." Toward the close of the same month he again writes: "The porch is carried up and the workmen are in want of the inscription stone, previous to removing the scaffolding." A month later he says that " like all meddling with stone and mortar the plan has extended as I built, until it lias ended in a complete, though moderate- sized family residence. It is solidly built of stone, so that it will last for generations." The cottage was completed, furnished, and Irving first made it his home in October, 1836—fifteen months after he had purchased the property. Later a wing was added to the cottage and eight adjoining acres to the estate. For nearly a quarter of a century Sunnyside was the home of Irving. The interior of Sunnyside, as one would suspect from the outward view, is full of corners and crannies. The dining room, sitting room, and library take up nearly all of the first floor. The library, a "workshop" as Irving called it, is a cosy little room at the south-east corner. With- out and within the cottage is practically unchanged since Irving's death. The library, containing chiefly choice editions of authors whom he personally knew, remains intact as he left it. The study table presented to him by his publishers stands in the centre of the room; scattered through the house are interesting pictures, among which are several choice portraits of the author, repre- senting him at the various stages of his career, with here and there many mementoes which Irving brought back from his long residence in Europe. As the Progress of the World said last month, "the time is not a long way off when Sunnyside can be purchased." The letters which we print herewith, and addit ional ones which space will not permit publication this month, but will appear next, indicate howr enthusiastically the country would respond to a well-directed effort to pur- chase and preserve this great literary landmark. —From the Progress of the World, New York. ## p. 253 (#305) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. 253 THEOCRITUS. I reached a wood of olives grey, Beneath whose boughs yon saw the sea, Bright pastures fringed the sunny bay, There at one tall tree's foot he lay, Theocritus of Sioily. The Bunshafts nickering through the shade Fell on his brow ; a pipe had he Whereon a lovely strain he played, (Babbled a brook, the branches swayed), Theocritus of Sicily. "Sweet is the murmur of the pine, And sweet the streamlet's melody. Nor Ibbs the goat-herd's song divine;" (Ab, sweet indeed that pipe of thine, Theocritus of Sioily !) "Begin, dear Muse, the pastoral strain, Sing wild Simaetha'B agony, Sing PolyphemnB1 love-sick pain, And Daphnis dead,"—(oh, Bweet refrain, Theocritus of Sicily!) It is thy very voioe I hear! Sundered by many a century, The bee hums round, the nooks browse near, Thy form before me rises clear, Theocritus of Sioily. For we who love the grassy shade, The woodland's tranced mystery, Still hear thy piping faintly played, And see thee 'neath the olive laid, Theocritus of Sioily! Emma Gubney Salter. VILSTOR RYDBERG. A SWEDISH AUTHOR. THE man who bore the above name has been dead more than a year. But that name will remain, and its fame will no doubt increase the more the life and works of its owner will be known. Maybe his name will be one of the standard names, not only in literature, but even in the history of humanity and Christianism. As it is now in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Finland, that is in all countries where the Scandinavian tongue is spoken and understood, there is but one opinion about ViUtor Rydberg—that of admiration and respect. Literary men from the most radical to the most conservative agree in honouring his memory, though it is true that until now he is wholly understood only by a few, and very likely will remain so for many and many a year. And the reason is that he is quite single, stands entirely alone in the Scandinavian literature. He never belonged to any party, he never, like Bjornson and partly Ibsen, and many others followed the literary paths which superficj„n Danish critics pointed out to Scandinavian authors. He never became common or vulgar, but always went his own way. Above the level of the parties, as well as above the level of modern times, he seems to be a man of the future. And that is, perhaps, the more the case, as his occupation as an author was nearly con- nected with that of a philosopher. Few poets ever understood to dress their thoughts of the mysteries of life in such a harmony and beauty. In philosophic or religious matters h»- wrote the most upon the topics of the doctrines of the Bible. Among such works are to be noticed "The Genealogy of the Patriarchs in the Genesis" and "The Doctrine of the Bible, con- sidering the Last Times." He took the position of a critic, not exactly against the Bible itself, but rather against the orthodox views of the Church, and he tried and succeeded in putting the doctrines of the Bible in a clearer and more satisfying light. It is only too natural that his books should excite a storm on the part of the orthodox clergy, but Rydberg was determined to fight the battle out, and he did it in a glorious way. The greatest excitement and opposition was erected by his book, "The Doctrine of the Bible about Christ," a standard work of religious philosophy, where the author holds quite a new opinion as to the doctrine of the Bible about the person of Christ. He says that the Bible never taught that Christ was God, and he proves it not only by the words of the New Testament, but also by showing the views of the Hebrews in the Old Testament upon the matter. But according to the Bible, Christ is not an ordinary man either. He is the first man in spirit as Adam was the first man in the flesh, he is th« first-born of the Eternal, and therefore able to save the lost mankind. Man- kind is an integrity, Christ is the ideal of man kind as well as its "heart," and mankind never can be happy until all are united in Christ. So he takes the same views upon the doctrines of the Bible about "the last times," as the Rev. Dr. Farrar; but Rydberg proves his point of view strongly and irresistibly only from sentences in the Bible i self. The Church, of course, has not changed views upon the matter, but there are thousands and thousands of men and women who have adopted Viktor Rydberg's views upon those important questions. Vilstor Rydberg must be regarded as a founder of a novel view of life. His own views do not quite clearly appear in his critical essays. But these views he exhibits more in his literary works of prose and poetry. The philosopher and the poet melt into one in his artistic novels and j,j9 beautiful rhymes. His first novel, "Friby- ## p. 254 (#306) ############################################ 254 THE AUTHOR. taren i Ostersjon" (" The Pirate in the Babic Sea") was not of very great value. His most important novel, "Den siste Athenaren" (" The last Athenian "), a story from the fourth century, treating the fights between the Athanasian and Arian creeds, must be regarded as a classical work of the highest standard. It is a work historically true as well as perfect in composition form—the best historical novel that has ever been written in the Scandinavian language His last novel," Vapensmeden " (" The Armourer"), a tale of the time of the Reformation in Sweden, is a story full of clever thought, but more a praise of beauty and fullness in life than an exactly true description of the existence of man in the sixteenth century. In all his works Vilstor Rydberg preaches a new, and still an old, gospel: the necessity of art in literature, the necessity of showing thu essence of life, not its mere surface. He pro- claims the right of beauty against the rising spirit of materialism, the spirit of engines and business, a spirit that already possesses a whole part of the world, and now, under the name of "Americanism," is going to make everything base, mean, common, and vulgar in the old world, and until yet almost seems to have con- quered the French literature. In a preface to the Swedish translation of Benjamin Kidd's boot "The Social Evolution," Vilstor Rydberg has expressed his thoughts about the danger that threatens the white race on the part of the yellow one, and that danger is the god that rules the present time: the all conquering money, the industrialism, the sin-flood of engines and busi- ness upon earth. In his religious books he puts down rather the true doctrines of the Bible than his own thoughts. His own views upon matters of life and death and of the whole existence, are, as has been already said, expressed in his poems in the most clever and convincing way. There are three collections of these. The outward form is perfect, but their contents are such that they fill up the form ; form and idea are one. In the first collection there are among the most charming and playful poems, as forinstance,"DeCadandeCarnen" ("The Bathing Children "), some of grand power and wild despair. But behind the deepest despair, there shimmer rays of consolation and hope for mankind. Such is "Den Flygande Hollandaren" (" The Flying Dutchman"), where the author makes the ghostly captain meet with the wandering Jew. Such is even his "Oro" (" Restlessness "), and many others. "Dexippos." is a song of the most classic value. "Prometheus and Ahasoerus" is, perhaps, the most important and epoch-making of his first collection. Here Noah tells his children how the gods threw Prometheus from Heaven and fettered him in an abyss of the Caucasus, because he had stolen the light from Heaven for the benefit of the poor chil- dren of the earth who dwelt in darkness. And he will be free if he subjects to the Zens, the " god of time." But then mankind again will be imprisoned in darkness. The old Greek tale makes him free through Herlailes. Rydberg makes him still dwell there in the abyss of the Caucasus. To Prometheus comes here the wandering Jew, who often appears in Rydberg's poems. He is the practical man, the business man, a kind of representative of Americans, the man who accommodates himself to the struggle for life and money, who bows to the " god of time," and tries to persuade Prometheus to submission. But there lies Prometheus still fighting against the "Olympus," against the "god of time," aud counselling the sons of men to despise the "god of time" and worship the God of Eternity. But Prometheus will never submit; he waits for the hour of his salvation, when he will be free and throw down 'the god of time from hiu throne. But now he lies there in fetters and the vulture tears his breast. Vilstor Rydberg's first collection contains a wonderful translation of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven." It might be said that the trans- lation even gives more than the original. The third collection contains another translation from the same author, that of "The Bells." This third collection marks the highest point of Vilstor Rydberg's development. It is his last work, crowning his attainment in life. It con- tains among others the poem "Grottekvarnen" ("The Mill of Grotte"), one of the finest and most striking poems ever written in the new or t he old age. The giant women Feuja and Meuja threw two rocks on the surface of " Midgard." Of those two were made two millstones, which were given to the king Frode Fridleifsson in Switiod. In a war he succeeded in taking prisoners the two giant women, and he let them turn the stones in the Mill of Grotte. First they produced gold and gave safety to the king and his people. But the king's heart was hardened by the craving for gold, and he refused the giant women sufficient rest, and so they let the mill go at such a speed that the millstones burst, and there came fire and death to destroy the king and his people. But in reality King Frode is not yet dead, and the Mill of Grotte still works with might and main. The mill is immense. It is as big as the world. Its middle pillar is the axis of the world, around which the heavens are revolving. The mill is revolving more and more wildly round its ## p. 255 (#307) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. 255 axis; this mill of industrialism and money craves more and more people for its destroying work, and the wandering jew, the old Ahasverus, tells its story to the author, as he heard it already in the first century. King Frode is sitting on his throne, and his first chancellor, the Mammonspriest, comes. He wants more people for the Grotte mill; the men are too few, he wants all the women, young and old, all the "serf-women," to work the damned work of Grotte. He gets them. But Grotte is not satisfied. The Mammonspriest therefore wants all the little children to grind in the Mill of Grotte. He gets even them. But the Mammonspriest invents still more effective means of doubling the production of Grotte. This means is competition, and now the Mill of Grotte is a power of the world. All men, women, aud children work and labour for their life, not to he trampled down in the struggle round the pole of Grotte or to be whipped to death by the drivers of the priests of Mammon. The priests of Mammon make a feast every year, and they paint the colours of joy on the withered faces of the tormented slaves of Grotte. But from thousands and thousands of throats there arises a roar and cry of agony, mixed with curses over the god Mammon and prayers to the Lord Eternal to crush the priests of Mammon and save Mankind. Now follows a song from one of the serfs, an almost heaven-storming protest and cry for vengeance over the spirit of money and engines that puts its stamp upon all the best in the world, upon the work and mind of men. The serf is trampled down and killed, but he dies with a triumphing security of coming vengeance and deliberation. The Mill of Grotte stands still. But the poem ends with a sermon by the high priest of Mammon—a bloody satire upon American utili- tarianism—where he preaches the gospel of money and egotism against the gospel of humanity and Christianism. And he ends his sermon with the words: Yes, our realistic politics is successful and glorious, And more than Adonai and Oden, Zeus and Ammon, la glorious and fall of grace Oar Mammon. "The Mill of Grotte" is the last great work Vilstor Rydberg left to posterity. It might be called his will. It is impossible to give a complete picture of this very remarkable poem. It would require a translation of the whole work, because almost every line contains a treasure. But in a few words it will suffice to say that this work, like Vilstor Rydberg's others, is a fight against ugliness, commonness, and plainness in life, art and literature, a fight fought with weapons of beauty and genius. The writer of these lines was once fortunate enough to see the famous author in his home. Vilstor Rydberg owned a pretty villa by the sea, looking upon the beautiful islands near Stock- holm. Here in the midst of a fine scenery I had the opportunity of seeing and speaking to him. He was a thorough gentleman of an almost supernatural calmness, and though I only saw and talked to him for a little while, I got the impression of a high, powerful spirit, of an influ- ence that will outlive material destruction and death. His gospel of beauty and human love, contrast- ing against the spirit of industrialism and ugli- ness, has not be^n preached in vain. There are signs that the fruits of his work will ripen in some of the best and noblest of the young Scandinavian authors who have thrown off the "Grotte-yoke" of French literature and Danish criticism, which long has put its superficial stamp on Scandinavian literature. Vilstor Rydberg has kept up the standard of beauty in Sweden. Tliis standard has after his death been taken up by two young Swedish authors, and those two must now be regarded as the first poets of the north. W. Hermanson AN INTELLIGENCE DEPARTMENT. ACORRESPONDENT "A Well Wisher" has called atteution to the existence of a want felt especially by authors who reside at a distance from London or any other central fount of literary information, or who reside abroad. Your correspondent has, however, only touched in his note upon the fringe of wider question. Take the example of an author who spends some months of his year in London and some months in the country or abroad. I estimate that the amount of literary work tint I can do in the country is four or five times what I can get done in London, as the calls upon one's time and attention in London are so constant and so many. The advantages of foreign residence or foreign travel to a writer are inestimable, esp cially so I think in the United States. But there is this drawback: the English or London author far away from his reference libraries, such as the London Library or the British Museum, is very much it the same disadvantage as a mechanic 0(11(1 be who goes to a distant " job" without his ## p. 256 (#308) ############################################ 256 THE AUTHOR. tools ; only the position of the author is rather the worse. For an author to carry a reference library in his portmanteau or box is impossible or impractic- able, even if he own the books. At any rate he is pretty sure not to get far on with his work without experiencing the want of some item of information which he is equally sure not to have at hand. It has occurred to me that a department or adjunct to the Society of Authors—call it if you will the "Intelligence Department"—might be established with but little trouble, and be made perhaps a source of some profit even to the parent Society, rather than of any expense. I would venture to suggest that this depart- ment be placed in charge of a gentleman of some literary acquirements, and that he be made responsible to the Committee of Management and be under its control; his duties to be to make such references and researches at the libraries on behalf of members, and to make such extracts, as may be desired. I do not of course suggest that members or others (for others might employ the department as well) should be allowed the advantages of this "Intelligence Department " for quite the value of a "footless stocking without a leg," but I think no member desiring the services of such would object to a subscription of say 5*. a year (or non-members, say, 10*. 6c?.). At this rate 800 subscribers would produce an income of =£200 a year or more with which to pay the expenses of management and working, and might leave some balance of profit towards the funds. The "Intel- ligence Department" would of course have a small beginning like many things besides, but might like all things be hoped to grow. I merely put my suggestion forward in the rough for what it is worth, and trust that, if practicable, it may be thrashed into better shape, and that other members may express their views. I would also suggest that part of the duties of the department be the supplying of subscribers thereto with new or secondhand or library books on such special subjects as they might desire, which would be an additional source of revenue or profit, although, of course, I cannot go into details here. T. W. D. L. ANNUAL DINNER OP THE INCORPORATED SOCIETY OP AUTHORS. rl!HE Right Honourable Sir John Lubbock, I Bart., M.P., presided at the annual dinner of the Society of Authors, held on Wed- nesday, Feb. 10, at the Holborn Restaurant. The following members and guests were present:— His Excellency the Italian Ambassador, Mr. A. W. a Beckett, the Eev. Dr. H. Adler, Mr. Grant Allen, Mrs. Grant Allen, Sir Arthur Arnold, Lady Besant, Sir Walter Besaut, the Rev. Pro- fessor T. G. Bonney, F.R.S., Ac., Lady Colin Campbell, Mr. Egerton Castle, Mr. Edward Clodd, the Hon. John Collier, Sir Martin Conway. Dr. Moncure D. Conway, Mr. Conan Doyie, Mr. R. Garnett, C.B., Mr. Kenneth Grahame, Miss Clo. Graves, Sir W. J. Grove, Mr. H. Rider Haggard, Mr. A. Hope Hawkins, Mr. Holman Hunt, Mr. R. Le Gallienne, Mr. J. M. Lely, Sir James Linton, Mrs. Lynn Linton, Mr. J. N. Maclean (President Institute of Journalists), Miss Florence Marryat, the Rev. C. H. Middleton-Wake, Mr. Felix Moscheles, Mr. Henry Norman, Mr. Joseph Pennell, Mrs. Steel, Mr. J. Ashby Sterry, Air. J. J. Stevenson, Mr. Samuel Wilks, M.D., F.R.S. (President Royal College of Physicians), Mr. C. T. Hagberg Wright, Mrs. Abrahall, Mr. J. R. Adam- son, Mr. Percy Ames, Mr. A. Armstrong, Mrs. Armstrong, Mrs. Gertrude Atherton, Mr. James Baker, Mr. E. A. Barron, Mr. Louis Becke, Mrs. Bchenna, Mr. Mackenzie Bell, Mrs. Oscar Beringer, Mr. P. Besant, Mr. J. A. Blaikie, Mr. C. F. Clifford Borrer, Mr. J. S. Cowley Brown, Mr. Bernard Bussy, Lieut-Col. J. R. Campbell, Miss Beatrice Chambers, Miss E. R. Chapman, Mr. A. Chatto, Sir W. T. Charley, Q.C., Mr. E. T. Cook, Mrs. G. Corbett, Mrs. Craigie, Mrs. Cuthell, Mrs. Dambrill Davis, Mr. Edward Dicey, C.B., the Rev. J. Meldrum Dryerre, Miss Doyle, Mrs. E. M. Edmonds, Mr. E. M. Edmonds, Mr. Charles Edwardes, Mr. T. Mullett Ellis, Mr. E. J. Garwood, Mr. C. Goi-e, Mrs. Aylmer Gowing, Mr. R. Greene, Mr. H. G. Groser, Captain E. A. Haggard, Mr. Bernard Hamilton, Colonel Har- court, Mrs. Haweis, Mr. Clive Holland, Mr. Percy Hulburd, the Rev. Prebendary Harry Jones, Mr. Kennedy Jones, Mr. C. A. Kelly, Miss A. Kenealy, the Rev. S. Kinns, D.D., Miss Knight, Miss Augusta Larner, Miss Lefroy, the Rev. A. G. L'Estrange, Lady William Lennox, Mr. Stanley Little, Mrs. Stanley Little, Mr. Algernon Locker, Mr. J. Louis, Mr. Sidney Low, Mrs. Belloc Lowndes, General Macdonald, Mr. J. De Courcy Macdonell, Mrs. Marillier, Mr. H. W. Massingham, Mr. S. B. G. McKinney, Mr. H. Morrah, Mr. A. P. Murphy, Mrs. Orpen, Miss Emma Phipson, Mr. L. Owen Pike, Mr. J. Prelooker, Mr. John Rae, Mr. F. A. R. Russell, Mr. Owen Seaman, Mr. R. Sisley, Mr. Douglas Sladen, Mrs. Burnett Smith, Mr. R. K. Spender, Mrs. Spender, Mr. M. H. Spielmann, Mrs. Sprigge, Mr. S. S. Sprigge, Mr. Malcom Stark, Miss Steel, Mr. A. S. Stevenson, D.L., Mr. W. G. Thorpe. Mr G. H. Thring, Mrs. Thring, Mr. H. Thornhill ## p. 257 (#309) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. 257 Tiinmins, Miss Grace Toplis, Mr. T. S. Townend, Mr. Andrew Tuer, the Rev. Charles Vovsey, Mr. A. P. Watt, Mrs. Woolaston White, Mr. W. H. Wilkins, and Mrs. Yonge. A part of the following report, is taken from the Daily News. The translation of the Italian Ambassador's speech is special for the Society. The toast of "The Queen" having been pro- posed, The Chairman gave " The Incorporated Society of Authors." He said he had been looking through the accounts of some previous dinners of the Society, and he had studied what his dis- tinguished predecessors in the chair had said in proposing that toast. What was his surprise and almost indignation to find that they had said already, but more eloquently, what he had in- tended to say himself. He thought he had just reason to complain. What could have come, feebly perhaps, but appropriately, from him was mere affectation from them. (Laughter.) It was useless for him now to repeat, with more reason, no doubt, but less skill, what they had so well said—so well, indeed, that they ought ob- viously never to have said it at all. (Laughter.) They had been told on high authority that no wise man should ever read a new book. But while he yielded to no one in his admiration for the masterpieces of antiquity we must remember that they were now but thinly spread over the past. In the first place there was no such thing as a really old book. Mr. Gladstone wrote a book on Homer, and called it " Juventus Mundi." He (Sir John Lubbock) could not help thinking that a very misleading title. In the history of the world—-he did not mean the physical universe —but even in the history of the world of man, the siege of Troy was an affair of yesterday. And yet few, if any, books went back even that little way. Take Homer as having written three thousand years ago — had there been down to the present time one book in ten years which could be called a masterpiece from a literary point of view? Indeed, until quite recently there were no novels, there were no children's books. The Romans had a saying that a child should learn nothing that he could not learn on his feet. (Laughter.) The devo- tional works of mediaeval times, with some few exceptions, were no doubt works of art, and full of lovely pictures, but as for the meaning, they might apply what the school child said, of a parable—that it was a heavenly story with no earthly meaning. (Laughter.) When they came to this century—and even omitting living writers, of whom they could not judge fairly—the case was surely different. It had produced in England alone Scott, Thackeray, Dickens, George Eliut Kingsley, Macaulay, Carlyle, Grote, Tennyson, Browning, Wordsworth, Shelley, Keble, Byron, Darwin, Tyndall, Huxley, and many others. (Cheers.) Moieover, the progress had been steady and gradual. Even thirty years ago edu- cation was at a low ebb. At that time there were several hundred schoolmasters and school- mistresses — mainly, he believed, the latter— who could not write. (Laughter.) So that we had not only, as Lord Sherbrooke said, to educate our masters, but even to educate our schoolmasters. (Laughter.) The Queen's reign had been remarkable in many respects, but in nothing more than the extraordinary develop- ment of English literature. Moreover, if books had increased, readers also had, happily for authors, multiplied at least in proportion. During the present reign more schools, and colleges, and polytechnics had been founded in the British Empire than in all its previous history. Every town and even every village had an efficient elementary school. All these spread a love of reading; perhaps, however, not so much as they might. Then there were the public libraries. For his part, however, he was disposed to think that anything which developed the love of read- ing must in the long run enhance the demand for books. (Hear, hear.) It was often said that the number of works of fiction read far outnumbered those on science or art; but it must be remem- bered that they took a much shorter time to read. It was generally assumed that every educated person knew how to read. That was one of the many popular delusions. Some books should be skipped through. Those which deserved to be read carefully required not only attention, but imagina- tion, and from that point of view the University Extension Society and the Home Reading Union were doing valuable service. (Hear, hear.) In conclusion, Sir John Lubbock said he wished to express what he knew was the appreciation which scientific men had for literature. Scientific men looked upon the works of authors with feelings not indeed of envy, but of congratulation. In some respects authors had the advantage of scien- tific men. Who now read Kepler, or Galileo, or Buffon, or Cuvier? Science was so progressive that even the works of the greatest observers and discoverers were soon out of date. With literature it was very different, and in proposing the health of the authors and their society he would say that hardly any company could be brought together which had contributed, and was contributing more, to brighten the lives of our countrymen. (Applause.) With the toast Sir John Lubbock coupled the name of Mrs. Steel, regarding whom he remarked that her works had done much to increase our understanding of ## p. 258 (#310) ############################################ 258 THE A UTHOR. India, and therefore to promote the maintenance of our rule in that country. (Applause.) Mrs. Steel, in rising to reply, was loudly cheered. She spoke with complete self-possession, and in a voice which was well heard throughout the room. That the hearing or making of speeches—especially after a good dinner—coidd be anything but disagreeable to any sane and healthy man or woman she could not believe. In India upon such occasions they always called upon the youngest member present to speak, and he was called the sacrificial lamb. (Laughter.) She could lay no claim to youth, but as she had been asked to make the sacrifice she did it gladly. She paid a tribute to the reception which women writers met with in England. It was true that a captious critic might think that the composition of the Council of the Authors' Society, which consisted of fifty-six men and four women, was not quite what it should be. However, it was ever thus. She remembered visiting a prison in India, over whose portals was inscribed, " Room for 700 men and six women." (Laughter.) What a tribute, she thought, to female virtue! But her guide corrected her; it was evidence, he said, only of the superior cleverness of women. (Laughter.) Passing to deal with the work of the Authors' Society, Mrs. Steel referred to the fact that in seventeen years the membership of the Society had increased from thirteen to 1300, and she mentioned its efforts with regard to pro- te' ting authors' interests in regard to copyright. The ambition of the Society was to become the recognised headquarters of the literary profession, just us the Royal Academy was recognised as the headquarters of the artistic profession. This aim would never be attained unless the members of the Society cultivated esprit de corps. She had been much struck in reading Lord Roberts's auto- biography, with his account of a fight in which soldiers of the East and of the West, of white skin and of dark, of the Crown and of the Crescent, were alike engaged, and the record of their victory was t his :—" Taken in the name of the 2nd Ghoorkas." That was the spirit in which Mrs. Steel desired to see the authors win their victories. Let their hits be made " in the name of the Society of Authors." (Cheers.) Mrs. Steel, it may be added, had occasion incidentally to " refer to the Prince of Darkness. He figured as the author (I should sav the publisher) of all evil." The toast of "The Guests" was proposed by Sir Martin Conway. Mr. Justin McCarthy had lieen put down to propose this toast, but he was not present, so Sir Martin Conway at short notice waa called upon. Referring to Mrs. Steel's speech, Sir Martin said he was not the sacrificial lamb, but the scapegoat. Then he made a sort of an apology to Mr. Holman Hunt, and the company, including Mr. Hunt, laughed heartily. Then Sir Martin looked over to Sir Walter Besant, who had not got to speak, and said the latter was digesting his dinner as comfortably as he (Sir Martin) ought to have been doing. Another good joke, and there was more laughter. Then Sir Martin chaffed the editors of London daily newspapers who had been amongst the company, but who, of course, had long ago left to discharge their arduous duties (we will not mention names, but most seemed to have delayed going to Fleet-street long enough to hear Sir Martin's speech), and then he spoke of the literary and art work of the Italian masters, and coupled with the toast the name of General Ferrero, the Italian Ambassador. The Italian Ambassador responded to the toast in French. The following is a translation of his speec h: Monsieur le President, Mesdames, Messieurs,— I fully appreciate the importance of an invitation which procures me the honour of finding myself in the midst of so many thinkers of a great country. I wish to express my gratitude for the kind reception I have found among you. I am particularly touched by the sympathetic discourse of the speaker I have just heard. He has referred to my country's literature in a manner which few Italian men of letters could equal. I cannot attempt to compete with his courtesy and eloquence by putting into words my admiration for the literature of England. But it will not, I believe, be inappropriate to this occasion to advert to some of the broad impressions which the thinking man of a foreign land experiences when contem- plating the manifestations of the intellectual life of your great country. There is no need to con- sult bibliographies in order to form an idea of the enormous wealth of your literature in every conceivable branch of learning. Indeed, the only cause for wonder would be were it otherwise. In a nation which extends its dominions over a large portion of the globe, in a nation which occupies by far the highest place in commerce and industry, in a nation the triumphs of which are mainly due to the influence of some of the finest inventive and and creative intelligencies o the world; in such a nation, I say, we must find at the same time the cause and the effect of the highest literary and scientific develop- ment. I have spoken of the wealth of your literature; allow me to speak of a quality which strikes us strangers more especially—I mean the measure, the soundness, the healthiness of thought which preponderates in it. An essen- tially practical people, endowed with a degree of mental calmness rarely met elsewhere, a people ## p. 259 (#311) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. 259 that ever checks its thought by fact, that is ever absorbed in great enterprise, could not allow itself to be attracted by a literature devoid of a practical, or, as the phrase goes, of common sense. It is true that phantasy and imagination have their place, and a great one too, in intellectual manifestation, but, in this atmo- sphere they are not allowed to fly away beyond the pale of reason. A palpable proof of this is to be found in philosophical literature. Among the thinkers of the world, English philosophers, in my opinion, occupy the very first rank, chiefly, be it said, on account of the intellectual equilibrium which is one of their most distinguishing cha- racteristics. In your philosophical literature we find no sign of nebulosity on the one hand, of hard "doctrinarianism " on the other. English literature at large seems indeed to cany with it an atmosphere of its own, the healthiness of which the foreign reader breathes with a new delight; it alway bears a special stamp, immediately recognisable. This originality is no doubt due to the exceptional position of the country, and to the mental character of a nation geographically so situated. In such a country a dislike for the majority of ideas proceeding from outside is almost an affair of instinct. A comparative study of the mutual borrowings, of the reciprocal infiltrations, as one might say, of the literature of different countries would doubtless be highly instructive. It would certainly prove that the literature of England remains that which is the least indebted to the others—and happily so; she lias thus been saved from the contagion of the doctrinal ideas which have brought so much harm to other countries. There can, however, be nothing absolutely hard and fast in a statement of this kind, and I shall, therefore, allow myself a passing allusion to the inspirations which English literature has found from time to time in that of Italy. My country owes to yours a debt of gratitude for the profound study which you have devoted to its glories of old, artistic and literary, and for the appreciative sympathy you have always displayed in that quarter. And here I owe an expression of thanks, cordially given, to the gentleman who has proposed the health of your guests, for his courteous and warm-hearted remarks on this subject. One of the observations which the foreigner cannot fail to make concerning men of letters and men of science, is that here, more than anywhere else, they play an important part in the political life of their country. Of such we have not a few illustrious examples in this very gathering to- night. England is essentially the land of freedom. Many other nations, of course, possess institu- tions similar to yours, but the habit of freedom dates in this country from an older period; all the trials, the ordeals that a people has to go through when it has only just lately conquered its liberty, are long since past with you. Freedom asserts itself even more by the manner of thought than by laws. Now this freedom, which is to human thought what pure air is to the lungs, is the main cause of the glorious soaring, not only of the literature, but also of every display of the intellectual life of Great Britain. It is to this honest conception of the meaning of freedom, among other things, that we must attribute the qualities which more particularly distinguish English journalism. Monsieur le President, Mesdames et Messieurs,—Among the virtues which more specially belong to your nation, one of the greatest is the gratitude with which you reserve the memory of the men who have made er glorious. When I visited for the first time this vast metropolis, I felt immediately drawn towards Westminster Abbey. The sight of so many monuments dedicated to the memory of men who have brought honour to humanity, evoked before my mind a magnificent ideal picture of this country's greatness. Never shall I forget the impression made upon me by the stone which covers the ashes of Newton, whereon are inscribed these noble and simple words: "Quod mortale erat Isaaci Newton." When, in so vivid a manner, almost tangible I might say, we see before us so many men who have been an honour to mankind, there surges in our heart a feeling of gratitude for the fatherland of those illustrious dead; and it is impossible to resist a feeling of sincere affection for a nation which has done so much for the progress of human intel- lect. The countries that gave birth to Dante and Shakespeare, to Galileo and Newton, have cer- tainly an intellectual kinship, and it is by you, thinking men and women, that this kinship will best be understood. Mr. Rider Haggard then proposed the health of the Chairman, and the proceedings terminated. A reception was subsequently held. THE BATTLE OP THE BOOES. I. E paper with this title in last month's Author will have been published in vain if it does not lead to the consideration of the present position. In 1852 all the men of letters spoke without hesitation in favour of free trade. Would they do so at the present day? This remains to be ascertained. P h ## p. 260 (#312) ############################################ 26o THE AUTHOR. Let me remark that in 1852 the publishers had not yet arrogated to themselves the complete con- trol of the circulation of literature. A certain defe- rence was still paid to those who produce the literary wares—the creators of literary property. Their opinion was actually asked. Some deference was also paid to the booksellers. At the present moment the creators and the owners of literary property are contemptuously thrust aside. The recent proposal to sell books at a net price—fixed—without discount—has been made without the least recognition of the right of authors to have any voice in the management of their own affairs. Now the practice at the present moment is this: All retail bookshops have to take off 2 5 per cent. The railway stalls do not take off this discount. The 25 per cent, off is now so much an esta- blished reduction that if a net price were imposed the public would not buy the book until the discount was allowed. To speak, therefore, of a 6*. book is to speak of a 4*. 6d. book. The trade of bookselling has long been decay- ing, and is now in a very bad way indeed. It is reported that 70 per cent, of country booksellers have succumbed during the last ten years. Publishers have refused to recognise the fact of the discount. If a 6s. book is ordered, the bookseller has to pay for it 4*. id. in some houses; 4*. in others; with a discount for pay- ment within a certain limited time. If the book- seller can order twelve copies of the book, he receives thirteen for the same price. If he can order twelve copies of other books from the same publisher, he gets thirteen as twelve. If he orders twelve copies from the distributing agency of any books he gets thirteen as twelve. The publisher receives about 3*. 6d. a copy for a 6s. book, in some cases a little more, in some a little less. If the 6s. book is an average size, and has a large circulation, he can most certainly (see the February number, p. 212) produce it for a shilling a copy. If he only prints a thousand copies, each copy would cost him about is. ^d. Here, then, are the data for an average 6s. book with a large circulation: Cost of production is is. a copy. The public pay for each copy, 4s. 6d. There remains the sum of 3s. 6d. to be divided between author, bookseller, and publisher. The question is as to the share to be taken by each. Whenever the question is put publicly, the red-herring crosses the trail. There are two principal red-herrings— I. The risk. The answer to this is (1) that there are hundreds of writers whose works carry no risk whatever; (2) that publishers when they bring out any kind of book generally get it sub- scribed by the London trade before they go to print with it. If they were to obtain no sub- scriptions, I very much doubt whether they would ever publish it. Their real risk, then, is the difference between the actual cost of production and the amount realised by the subscriptions. Thus, if the book costs ,£100 and the subscription list is £99 19s. iod., the risk is twopence. Again, as to risk, what about the bookseller? He has to stock the book. Every book on his shelves means risk; every book that remains on his shelves means failure and loss. And as to the author. The risk to him, apart from that of reputation, is the cost of time and work—his personal expenses and maintenance— in preparing, studying, and writing. Is that no risk? In point of fact, in far the greater number of cases, the respective risk may be stated as—the author's first, the bookseller's next, and the pub- lisher's last and least. II. The second red herring is " office expenses." This is an amazingly daring pretence. Why should the publisher's "office expenses" be con- sidered more than the solicitor's, or the draper's, or the doctor's? Why should his office expenses be considered more than the author's? Why more than the bookseller's? Have not the booksellers their rent to pay; their assistants; their taxes? Now, with these data before us, let us face the question and endeavour to find an answer. We have always, even while exposing the most malig- nant misrepresentations, endeavoured to find such a solution as will safeguard the rights of pub- lishers. We must not forget, however, that jmblishers in most cases and—except when they are editors—are middlemen. Now, no middlemen are absolutely necessary; they are only useful in saving trouble. Their place may be taken any day either by printers, or by papermakers, or by booksellers, or by authors themselves. The Editor. II. The paper on this subject in The Author for February is interesting and instructive. Men of letters, the Commission of Inquiry, and the Times and Athenieum representing the Press, were in favour of the sound principles that a bookseller, having bought a book, ought to be free to sell it at any price which paid him and suited his trade. Free trade in books has been the rule for two generations, much to the advantage of authors and the public. During the last few years some publishers have been introducing the thin end of a harmless- looking wedge into the book trade, which might easily be driven home, and which, ifj[driven home ## p. 261 (#313) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. would make it necessary for the whole " Battle of Books" to be fought over again in the last years of the century. The name of this harmless- looking wedge is—" net price." John Lascelles. HI. May I bring before your readers another point in the discussion of the conditions of bookselling in the early fifties, not involved in the ground covered by the interesting article in The Author for February. Mr. Chapman pointed out that advertisements formed a terrible item in the cost of a great majority of books. This outlay was caused, first, by the great number of advertising media, in which the publisher must make known his publications if he would reach each class; and secondly, by the fact that the millions, having no literary appetite, had to be tempted by every device that ingenuity could suggest. Were the people generally educated, they would be on the alert for every new product of the Press, and then one adver- tising medium would suffice. "If the publishers were to issue a weekly periodical, containing classified advertisements of all the works pub- lished in Britain during the successive intervals, each contributing towards the cost in proportion to the space his advertisement might occupy, to which should be added an accurate and compre- hensive report, classified with equal care, of all works published abroad, a million copies (or several millions, if found needful) could be distri- buted gratis throughout the country to every literary institution, reading-room, book society, and private individual that would apply for it, at a small expense compared with the enormous aggregate sum now annually lavished on the same object. The result would obviously be a great advantage to authors, publishers, and the public. By the concentration of literary adver- tisements into one medium, a large number of second and third rate periodicals now mainly dependent upon them would fall to the ground, and thus a barrier to sound instruction in the form of the superficial and profitless reading they too often supply, would give way to books of a truly informing and elevating kind." T. SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD: ITS PRESENT-DAY USE. ""T"TTHETHER she possesses the means of V Y realising it or not," "If it were not for the guarantee of Europe," " If Greece is incapable and unfitted to undertake the task," "If they are unable to maintain an agreement on this point," are four sentences taken from the first leader only in the Times of to-day (Feb. 19), and suggest the heading of this article, for a hundred years ago one of the best of English prose writers would have said, "Whether she possess," "If Greece be incapable," and "If they be unable," and many authors even now would say that the latter was the more elegant form of the two. But which is correct—and why is it so? Will some learned grammarians aid the readers of these pages by expounding the present rule upon this subject, which, when followed, will be acknowledged by authorities, and at the same time be so succinct and clear as to be of practical service in the everyday life of a writer? That brief rules are in existence, and are followed not only by those with a University training, but by those yclept "'Varsity Dons," may be gathered from such remarks as one sometimes hears them make—" Oh! if there's doubt use 'be,' if not use 'is.'" "If you can get 'should' into the sentence, but not without, put 'be.'" That the question at issue is not so simple as may at first appear will be evident on taking a brief glance at its history. In 1819, William Cobbett, in his interesting and readable "Grammar of the English Language," with the curious title- page, " Intended for the use of schools and young persons in general, but more especially for the use of soldiers, sailors, apprentices, and plough- boys," says, in reply to the question " What are the cases in which we ought to use the subjunctive form ?" that " Bishop Lowth, and, on his autho- rity, Mr. Lindley Murray, have said that some conjunctions have a government of verbs; that is to say, make them or force them to be in the subjunctive mode. And then these gentlemen mention particularly the conjunctions if, though, unless, and some others. But (and these gentle- men allow it) the verbs which follow these con- junctions are not always in the subjunctive mode; and the using of that mode must depend, not upon the conjunction, but upon the sense of the whole sentence. How, then, can the conjunctions govern the verb? It is the sense, the meaning of the whol« sentence, which must govern, and of this you will presently see clear proof. 'If it be dark, do not come home. If eating is necessary to man, he ought not to be a glutton.' In the first of these sentences the matter expressed by the verb mag be or mag not be. There exists an uncertainty on the subject. And if the sentence were filled up it would stand thus: 'If it should be dark, do not come home.' But in the second sentence there exists no such uncertainty. We know, and all the world knows, that eating is necessary to man. ^e could not fill up the sentence with should > an<^' therefore, we make use of is. Thus, ## p. 262 (#314) ############################################ 262 THE AUTHOR. then, the conjunction if, which you see is em- ployed in both cases, has nothing at all to do with the government of the verb. It is the sense which governs. . . . As to instances in which authors have violated the principles of grammar with respect to the use of the modes, I could easily fill a book much larger than this with instances of this kind from Judge Blackstone and Dr. Johnson." How frequently the subjunctive mood—as we now say—was used before, and at the time the foregoing was written, will be evident to all those who remember the works of one whom Sir Walter Scott described in his diary as "That young lady [who] had a talent for describing the involve- ments, feelings, and characters of ordinary life which is to me the most wonderful I have ever met with. The big bow-wow I can do myself like anyone going; but the exquisite touch, which renders commonplace things and characters interesting from the truth of the description, and the sentiment, is denied to me." He speaks of Jane Austen, whose style has been praised by Southey, Coleridge, and Macaulay. There can, therefore, be no hesitation in saying that a hundred years ago the subjunctive was very much used. What is its position now? Mr. Mason, in the thirty-seventh edition of his " English Grammar," published last year, writes: "In modern English it is getting (unfortunately) more and more common to use the indicative mood in cases where the subjunctive would be more correct. Thus, for 'see that all be in readiness,' many people say ' see that all is in readiness '; for ' if that were to happen' they say 'if that was to happen.'" Professor Meiklejohn, in the fourteenth •edition of his "English Language" (1896) says: "The subjunctive mood has for some years been gradually dying out. Few writers, and still fewer speakers, use it. Good writers are even found to say, 'If he was here I should tell him.'" He goes on to state that "the sub- junctive mood was used—and ought to be used— to express doubt, possibility, supposition, conse- quence (which may or may not happen), or wish, all as moods of the mind of the speaker." His very phrase " ought to be used " leads the reader to doubt whether he quite expects this very com- plex rule to be followed by all good writers, especially as "the subjunctive mood has for some years been gradually dying out." To repeat my question—is there no rule for this mood acknowledged by the authorities, and so succinct and clear as to be of practical service in the everyday life of a writer '( F. Howard Collins. CORRESPONDENCE. I.—The I. S. A. as Publisher. In The Author of this month the Editor gives more excellent advice to aspirants after literary fame. But there is one flaw in his suggestions. There will often be an insuperable objection to publishing a book either from the home of the writer or from the house of his bookbinder or printer. Could not the Society of Authors remove this difficulty by establishing an office from which books published at the risk of authors could be issued, copies sent to chosen London and country papers for review, advertisements arranged, and copies offered on sale or return where such a step is desirable. Of course an author would have to make a suitable d-posit to meet out- goings, and to pay a fee that would cover office expenses. Where a book succeeded the office could continue to publish it, and give the writer the whole net profit on its sale. Is not this worth trying? Robert B. Holt. 10, Bedford-place, Russell-square, W.C., Feb. 13. II.—Editor and Contributor. 1. Your remarks on the ethics of editorship can hardly, I think, be accepted beyond a certain point. In the case of signed articles by profes- sional writers of ability, nothing, I admit, should, or need, be touched by the editor, save with the writer's consent. This may be taken as an axiom —in theory. In practice it is not possible: at least, in many magazines. In my ten years' experience, during which many of the most eminent writers in the country have contributed over their names to my pages, I have never but twice received any objection from writers for such editorial interference as I am forced to make, and I am constantly in receipt of letters of acknowledgment and thanks. It is obvious that in a signed article no opinions, nor sense, may be altered, no additions made with- out the author's approval. This rule is absolute; but at times it may be necessary to expunge, if trouble is not to ensue. There are three forms of errors constantly to be dealt with—errors of language, errors of fact, and errors of taste. If the editor is not to be judge in these matters, what is the use of an editor? If these errors are made, where is the " degradation" of having them put right? It would manifestly be objectionable, for several reasons, for me to give examples that would satisfy your readers; but I am convinced that were you, Sir, to glance through the corrected pages that I pass for press, you would acknow- ## p. 263 (#315) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. 263 ledge that your desire to see such errors as those to which I have referred pass uncorrected would tell against the literary quality of the magazine, and against the reputation of the writers them- selves. You may reply that in the case of a magazine devoted to special interests, contributors, even though professional writers, are looked to rather for their knowledge than for their literary style, and that, therefore, some beneficent inter- ference with their text is not to be regarded as objectionable. But it is a matter of principle which you assert, and which in practice is not of universal application. Author and Editor. 11. In your note on Mr. Chitty's opinion as to the liability of editors for the return and safe custody of unasked-for MSS., you say your own sym- pathies are entirely with the editors. I should say most men of sense will agree with you. The whole point in the case is to fix the senders of MSS. with notice of the terms on which they will lie received. The burden of proving that notice was actually received is on the editor. In this an editor is nearly sure to fail, as MSS. are now sent in on approval. An editor can give himself absolute protection in this way. With each number of his magazine he must issue one or more coupons ; each of those coupons containing the terms on which he will receive unsolicited MSS., together with a state- ment that no MS. will be read unless it is accompanied by a coupon signed by the sender. As all persons who send MSS. wish them to be read, the writers of papers would lose no time in acquainting themselves with the rule as to coupons, and in complying with it. The editor would then, in every case, have the most positive evidence that notice of his rules had been received by the sender of a MS., and that the MS. was sent subject to his rules. An editor who did not wish to oblige all his would-be contributors to buy his magazine or beg one of his coupons, might state that either a signed coupon or a signed copy of it must accompany every un- solicited MS. as a condition of its being read. If I were an editor I should give the alternative, so as not to seem to force my magazine upon persons wishing to submit their work for my approval. John Lascelles. hi. One aim of our Society is to raise the tone of all connected with literature, and there is no doubt that it is doing much towards that end. I recently wrote a polite note to the editor of one of our leading "religious" (!) weeklies, offering him an article (gratuitously), but saying before sending it 1 should be obliged if he would say whether (pro- vided, of course, he should approve of it when read) such an article would be acceptable or not. I may add that I have often written articles for that paper, which have been published by a former editor, but for which I have never received one penny of remuneration. I may also say that, being a brother clergyman and a vicar of some standing in London, and an author of several books, I wrote to him not as "Editor," but under his own proper name. He was not courteous enough even to reply; in fact, the offer was rudely snubbed. Further, I sent an article to this same editor some months before, inclosing stamps for its return, and though I begged that, if not accepted, it should be returned, it was never returned, the stamps were kept, and no notice whatever was taken of my note. I am sorry to say I have received similar treatment from other editors. Is this conduct worthy of literature? If an editor has not time just to write "declined," to say nothing of two more words, "with thanks," he might have politeness enough to let one have a MS. back that he must know cost the writer hours of labour. „.„ C. J. III.—Reviewing. 1. May I add my testimony to a point touched on by Mr. George Gissing and Mrs. Sarah Grand on the subject of reviewing; namely, the habit of some reviewers "of quotiug sentences uttered by a character in a novel as though they came from the author himself." I read some years ago in a Church paper of high standing a review of a novel of mine in which the reviewer, after animadverting in unfavourable terms on the persons" of dull religious habits" with whom he suggested that my lot was probably cast, proceeded to comment in the strongest manner on my supposed views respecting the clergy, giving quotations from my book in proof of his assertions. The first of these quota- tions was so much altered for the worse that I did not immediately recognise it. The second was correctly rendered. Both were spoken by cha- racters in the booh, respecting a type of cleric not more worthy of reverence than the well-known "Mr. Slope." The reviewer omitted to mention the cordial praise of another class of clergyman which immediately followed on the same page. M. C. 11. The following is au illustration of the above letter. "Jr. "]Sote by the Author" is Dickens's own note "A n^. * VloBOP^y arises here whether Mr. Peck- eniff b^?^\0tl 0*? ^ good reason to say that he was ## p. 264 (#316) ############################################ 264 THE AUTHOR. specially patronised and encouraged in his undertakings. All his life long be had been walking up and down the narrow ways and bye-places with a hook in one hand and a crook in the other, scraping all sorts of valuable odds and ends into his pockets. Now, there being a special pro- vidence in the fall of a sparrow, it follows (so Mr. Pecksniff would have reasoned) that there must also be a special providence in the alighting of the stone, or stick, or other substance which is aimed at the sparrow. And Mr. Peck- sniff's hook or crook, having invariably knocked the sparrow on the head and brought him down, that gentleman may have been led to consider himself as specially licensed to bag sparrows, and as being specially seized and pos- sessed of all the birds he had got together. That many undertakings, national as well as individual—but especially the former—are held to be specially brought to a glorious and successful issue, which never could be so regarded on any other process of reasoning, muBt be clear to all men. Therefore the precedents would seem to show that Mr. Pecksniff had good argument for what he said, and might be permitted to say it, and did not say it presumptuously, vainly, or arrogantly, but in a spirit of high faith and great wisdom meriting all praise."—(Excerpt from " Martin Chuzzlewit.") Note by the author.—" The most credulous reader will scarcely believe that Mr. Pecksniff's reasoning was once set upon as the author's!" III. I glean from the opinions recently advanced by some of those whose duty it is to review works of fiction that the avalanche of volumes which at times descends upon the editorial throne is chiefly responsible for the desultory notices complained of. Few will regard this as a sound excuse. If the rush be so great as to endanger the prospects of individual and thorough examination, let the selected few have the l)enefit thereof, the balance being greeted with an acknowledgment only, until such time as the stream runs quieter. If we get ignored, it would be a more pleasant expe- rience than being made the victims of a slovenly verdict against which there is no appeal. In the matter of criticism our forefathers may not have been so smart. They were certainly often more just, courteous, and, above all, careful. Authors' Club, S.W., Cecil Clarke. Feb. 9. IV. I have read with increasing surprise the letters on this subject which have been appearing in The Author. Tour correspondents 6eem to regard reviewing as a religious function, involving I know not what moral responsibilities on the part of the reviewer. In my opinion they expect too much. To begin with, you must not expect a reviewer to be a critic. There are not a hundred critics alive in the whole world at any one time, so there cannot be enough of them to go round. A reviewer is a man who can write rapidly a rough estimate of the kind of opinion of any book likely to be held by the average reader of the journal in which the review appears. It is his business to consider his readers as much as the book reviewed. He has to tell his readers whether the book is the kind of book they, being possibly the fools they are, will like to read. Thus the same reviewer writing in half a dozen journals on the same book will write of it in half a dozen different ways. He may justly praise it in one journal and damn it in another. I will give an instance. There is a book called "Dolomite Strongholds" by J. Sanger Davies. As editor of the Alpine Journal, I inserted in that magazine a strongly condemnatory review. The book was not a good one from the point of view of an expert climber. But I myself reviewed the same book in a popular weekly, and I praised it, for it is quite amusing, and even informing, to non-mountaineering folk, and will give them no false notions of any importance compared with the utterly false conceptions of the whole moun- taineering business which they bring to the reading of it. As to novel reviewing I know nothing, having never read a new novel in my life, but always come to novels long after public opinion on their merits was declared and confirmed by time. Other sorts of reviewing present other kinds of problems. If a book pretends to be a contribu- tion to knowledge, the reviewer's business is to find out whether the facts in it are correct and the research scholarly. If he finds facts inaccu- rate and research slipshod, it is his duty in mercy to studious persons to kill that book if he can. I have killed three books in my time for such reasons, the only three I ever reviewed with open hostility, and I did so over my own name where I was permitted to sign it. Where a book is harm- less, one does one's best to praise what can be found praiseworthy in it. We have all had experience of being reviewed, but our reactions from such experiences seem to be various. I never go out of my way to collect and read reviews of my own works, but a certain number always come under an author's eye, and he naturally reads the earlier ones. Once or twice I have detected the hand of a foe; but seldom. What strikes me most forcibly is the general capacity manifested by the modern journalist, his skill in finding out what a book contains, his facility in setting it out. As a rule I have recognised the justice of a reviewer's condemnation, from his own point of view. A book of mine, which was a catalogue of fifteenth century Dutch prints, was once sent by an editor's oversight (very forgivable surely in the hurry of to-day) to his reviewer of novels, and included in the weekly batch. The man could make nothing of it—of course not; he was reduced to joking about it, and so solved what must have ## p. 265 (#317) ############################################ THE AUTHOB. 265 been an awkward problem for him. His praise or blame were alike immaterial, and could neither help nor harm the book. A single review has very little effect on a book, for the simple reason that few people read only one journal. Most of us skim a number of journals, and see several reviews of any book. Verbal recommen- dation is what makes the fortune of a book. When a man says, in a club smoking-room, "You should read such a book; I have read it; it is very interesting "—that does a book good. Most reviewers go about town talking of books. They do more good to authors by that means than by their written notices. It is nonsense to rave against the nature of things. Reviewing is a necessity of the day. It has to be done by the writers of the day under the conditions that exist. If you can change the conditions and re-educate the writers you can change the reviews; not otherwise. You might as well rave against the east wind and hope to soften i4, W. Martin Conway. IV.—Popularity. 1. The Editor in last month's Author, asks: What are the qualities which create popularity in a writer? I have thought a good deal on the subject, and have gleaned many opinions from the novel-reading public of a small country town. The conclusion I have arrived at is that the first quality necessary to popularity, and the one cloaking a multitude of literary sins, must be a certain rousing power, the gift of arresting attention and stirring emotion, either by startling plot, exaggeration and caricature, or vivid sensa- tional diction. Of course when this quality is allied to artistic taste we all recognise genius, but the majority knows nothing about art canons, and accepts fustian for force. It is not "silliness, weakness, or vulgarity " that attracts the ordinary reader, but a perfervid emotionalism, and if this be combined with well-established moral senti- ments, so hammered in and driven home that there can be no mistaking the author's meaning, so much the better for the author. Life is a dull thing to most persons, and they like their fiction to supply the lacking colour without shocking or perplexing them. Next to the arresting quality, I would place perfect simplicity, prettiness, and pathos, at- tributes dear because soothing to every one of us. A word in regard to Dickens. From many inquiries I find that, in the provinces at least, it is difficult to make young persons read him at all. And I cannot help thinking the Editor is mistaken in his opinion that Tennyson, Scott, Longfellow, Marryatt, and Dickens have still "an immense hold on the people." New editions are bought by old lovers, and given by parents and guardians to the young, but I believe librarians and booksellers will confirm my view that the youth of to-day does not read these, and others of our best authors, except under compulsion. I should be only too glad to learn that I am wrong in this conclusion. M. L. P. 11. In your paragraph (p. 223) relating to Free Libraries, are you falling into the error of the newspapers, in which one so often sees the con- clusion drawn that the popularity of a work is shown by the frequency of its issue? Is not frequency of issue rather dependent on notoriety—from whatever cause arising? The number of copies of any work in a library being limited, applicants for books really liked will commonly hear that they are "out." The persons who have hold of them may often keep them as long as they are allowed—to read a seeond time, or to pass from hand to hand through a family; whereas books which are only got through by much skipping are soon brought back to the library, where they are ready for reissue to people who are prepared to take what they can get. At the British Museum there is a copy of Tennyson's "In Memoriam," the first pages of which are very dirty, but the latter quite clean, fairly showing, to my mind, the extent to which each portion has been read. Are we to conclude, therefore, that the last part is much less to the public taste than the first? Rather it is to be supposed that the fame of the poem led people to commence its perusal, but that it really afforded them little entertainment. So with books. Before speaking of, say, Martin Tupper as a popular author, one would like to see whether the sold copies of his works have become much soiled, as well as how often they show evidence of being gifts—their notoriety often leading to a purchase, the possessor on experience of their contents being disappointed. As regards taste, a good deal may be learned by examining the edges of the pages of some works in public libraries, e.g., volumes of State Trials. F. R. V.—The House where Byron was Born. Now that we are promised what the newspapers somewhat irreverently term a Byron " boom," it may j±qI Y>e inopportune to mention a fact which will pT0\)ably come as a surPrise to many rea,3ers ## p. 266 (#318) ############################################ 266 THE AUTHOR. of The Author. When the house, No. 24, Holies- street, Cavendish-square, where the illustrious poet was born, was rebuilt, the tablet notifying the circumstance was taken down. This, I think, was in the spring of 1891. More than once I have agitated through the Press and elsewhere that so suitable a spot should not be allowed to remain without an inscription of some kind. The owners and occupiers, a large firm of haber- dashers, who carry on their business in this and the adjacent houses, promised a long while ago to remedy their neglect. But that promise has never been fulfilled, although Lord Byron's effigy is used by them as a trade-mark. Is not this a case the Byron Society should take up? It is only the site of the original house, but none the less it seems a pity that the record of so noteworthy a birthplace should be allowed to sink out of notice, when its per- petuation could be so easily accomplished. C. VI.—Paying for Publication. I am still rather puzzled by your advice to authors never to pay for publication, unless it is intended to apply only to such books as novels, volumes of essays, and the like. I freely admit, however, that my experience is limited, and that my perplexity may be due to ignorance. But it seems to me that if authors never paid for publi- cation, a large number of really useful books in the drier departments of literature would never see the light. I know of at least a few instances. I remember that some years ago a friend of mine who is rather an authority on history, began to write a book on an historical subject with which he was well acquainted, and on which a book was then (and still is) much needed. He went up to London with his manuscript to see a prominent publisher, and bore as the certificate of his ability to do the work creditably a letter of introduction from a historian of some celebrity. The pub- lisher received him graciously and offered to publish the first volume of his work for a pay- ment of ,£400. When the kind offer was declined, he said that out of consideration for the letter of introduction he would consent to take three-quarters of the expense upon himself, if my friend would pay the other quarter. This also was declined, and the book never appeared. I have done some historical work myself, and having published some books through the Chris- tian Knowledge society, for which I was paid by them, wished some time ago to bring out another book, somewhat longer and more important. For certain reasons I was un- willing this time to offer the book in the first place to the S.P.C.K. I wrote accordingly to a well-known firm mentioning the subject of the book and what I had previously written, stating that I did not wish to publish it at my own expense, and asking whether I should send the MS. for their consideration. I received a reply that they declined its publication. Another leading firm subsequently offered to publish it for about .£140, and finally I allowed a third firm to bring it out, but I had to bear all the expenses. The book has been well reviewed, and has been adopted as a text-book in one degree-giving college, but it has not yet paid expenses. On the other hand I have gained in reputation by its publication, and I believe that a sudden tem- porary rise in my income was largely due to the publicity I thereby gained. I may be mistaken, but I do not think it would have been so well received had it been brought out by the S.P.C.K. I am pretty sure it would neither have done so much good nor brought me so much credit had it been brought out otherwise than through a regular publisher as suggested in your February number. I mention these points in no spirit of carping criticism, but because I am anxious to know whether there are publishers who would take such books aud publish them except at the author's cost, and whether I have acted foolishly or not in publishing as I did. I was told by a fairly good authority that the publication of historical works, unless they were "popular" works, must cause loss either to publisher or author. This may not apply to authors of celebritv, but is it generally true? L. M. N. [It is a very good thing for " L. M. N.'s " friend that he refused to pay £400. That must have been a stupendous MS. which would cost =£400 to produce, unless there were many illustrations. Probably it was only that publisher's little way. It used to be a very common little way to multiply the cost of production by three or four when the author was going to pay for publish- ing. The way is not so easy now, which explains the otherwise strange dislike with which some publishers regard the Society's "Cost of Production." "L. M. N." seems to think that literature considered as an article of commerce is different from anything else. He should under- stand that publishing is a trade, and a very good trade too: that it is conducted in order to make money: that all books which are "popu- lar" are eagerly published: and that unless a book is popular enough to be bought, that book will be a loss.—Ed.j ## p. 267 (#319) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. 267 BOOK TALE. THE subject of Mr. E. F. Benson's novel is opportune, the scene being laid in Greece seventy years ago, during the struggle between the G-reeks and the Turks. The story will first run in the Graphic. An Irish story by Mr. Richard Dowling will be published by Messrs. Chatto and Windus, entitled "Old Corcoran's Money," Mr. Zangwill's "Dreamers of the Ghetto " will appear in the autumn. Mr. Sidney Pickering, author of " The Romance of His Picture," has another novel appearing through Messrs. Lawrence and Bullen next month, called "Margot." Mrs. Edith E. Cuthell's novel, "Sweet Irish Eyes," will be published this month by Messrs. Skeffington. Mr. Kipling has completed a new short story, entitled " Slaves of the Lamp." Mr. Robert Buchanan is about to issue two new books, "The Ballad of Mary the Mother " and "The New Rome." Mr. Buchanan says he is the only surviving religious poet, and possibly the last of the race. Messrs. Bliss, Sands, and Co. announce "The Adventures of John Johns," by Mr. Frederic Carrel, and "Her Fortunate Grace," by Miss Gertrude Atherton. Mr. Meredith's article, " An Essay in Comedy," is being published in a small volume by Messrs. Constable. It appeared originally in the New Quarterly Review in 1877. Mr. Meredith entered upon his seventieth year on the 12th ult. A new story by Mr. Silas K. Hocking, entitled "The Blindness of Madge Tindall," will be pub- lished shortly by Messrs. Warne. "Who is She?" is the title of a novel by Professor P. Jones, to be published by Messrs. Nichols. Mr. Crockett's " Lad's Love " is due for publi- cation on the 12th. The personal life of the Queen which Mr. Richard Holmes is writing for the Goupil Gallery art monographs is expected to be ready by the great celebrations in June. The Edition de luxe, on Japanese paper, price J68, is sold out. A new edition of "Letters addressed to A. P. Watt," has just been issued by Messrs. A. P. Watt and Son, with a number of additional letters from authors. These all testify to the value of the literary agent, or, to be precise, of Mr. Watt's services in selling the writer's literary works to the greatest possible advantage. Major J. R. Macdonald, of the Royal Engineers, who was engaged in the survey for the Uganda railway, has written a work on "Soldiering and Surveying in British East Africa," which will be published by Mr. Edward Arnold. A record by Mr. Francis McNab of his journey in South Africa is to be published by Mr. Arnold, entitled " On Veldt and Farm." Sir George Trevelyan, who has retired from Parliament because of ill-health, is engaged upon an historical work dealing with the end of the last century. Sir Martin Conway's book on his recent expe- dition is expected to be ready this month, and will be called "The First Crossing of Spitz- bergen." "British Moralists " is the title of two volumes of selections, principally from writers of the eighteenth century, which Mr. L. A. Selby-Bigge has prepared for publication by the Clarendon Press. A new series of classical texts for the use of English-speaking students, edited by well-known scholars, is about to be published by Messrs. Methuen. Among the editors are Professor Tyrrell of Dublin, Dr. Sandys of Cambridge, and Professor Robinson Ellis of Oxford. A Somali-English Dictionary is to be published by Messrs. Kegan Paul. There are 2186 magazines published in the United Kingdom. Fifty years ago the number was 200. The Bronte Society's museum at Haworth is to be formally opened at Easter. Two new romances by the late William Morris are about to be published from the Kelmscott Press. The first to appear will be "The Water of the Wondrous Isle," and some time after- wards there will come "The Sundering Flood," which is the last romance written by Mr. Morris. The Rev. Morris Fuller, vicar of St. Mark's, Marylebone, is writing the biography of Bishop Davenant, who occupied the See of Salisbury and assisted Archbishop Laud in carrying out his reforms. Messrs. Methuen will publish the volume. The book called "Four Generations of a Literary Familv—the Hazlitts," by Mr. Carew Hazlitt, has been withdrawn from sale by Mr. Redway, owing to complaints as to its character. ## p. 268 (#320) ############################################ 268 THE AUTHOR. Mr. Gosse is to edit for Mr. Heinemann a series •of short histories entitled "Literatures of the World." Among those who will contribute volumes are Professor Dowden, Dr. Garnett, Dr. Verral, Professor G. G. Murray, and Dr. C. H. Herford. A new and cheap edition of Dr. Hill Burton's "History of Scotland" will be published by Messrs. Blackwood in eight volumes. Professor Rhys and Mr. Brynmor Jones, who sat on the Welsh Laud Commission, are joint authors of a work entitled " The Welsh People," announced for publication by Mr. Unwin. "England in the Days of Old " is the title of a work which Mr. William Andrews has written, and will publish shortly. The life of the late Lord Tennyson, by his son, the present lord, will be published in October. When Sir Kichard Burton was Consul at Damascus, he collected material for a work now entitled " Human Sacrifice among the Sephardi'm, or Eastern Jews; or the Murder of Padre Tomaso." The book was written, but, owing to its strong anti-semitic tendencies, publication was delayed. It is now about to be published, prac- tically as it left the author's bands, by Messrs. Hutchinson. Mr. Gladstone will publish this spring a second series of " Gleanings" from his occasional writings. The first volume will contain ecclesiastical and theological essays. An uncatalogued collection of nearly 40,000 volumes, containing the greater part of Bishop Stillingfleet's library, has been discovered by Dr. Stokes in Marsh's Library, Dublin. The book of chapters of medical life and work, which was finished by Sir Benjamin Ward Richardson just before he died, is to be published immediately by Messrs. Macmillan, entitled "Vita Medica." Mr. Francis Thompson's new book, to be pub- lished by Messrs. Constable, will be called " Odes and Other Poems." In sending copies of Dr. Nansen's book to the Press for review, the publishers, Messrs. A. Constable and Co., requested editors not to publish extracts or quotations from it exceeding in all 1000 words. "The safeguarding of our interests in this country and in America," they added, "compels us to impose this condition." We imagine that Messrs. Constable have thus set an example that is likely to be followed by many other hrinses. "Here is rather a novel experience for people of letters," says the Daily Chronicle. "An author has just received the following letter :— My attention has been attracted by a notice in the of [naming the book]. In it the reviewer finds fault in style and English. You might find me useful. I devote myself wholly to revising, and work for some of the most successful authors. Naturally, I never give their names, but I can refer you to Messrs. Hutchinson, the publishers, for whom and for whose authors I do a good deal of work. The inclosed circular, too, will probably satisfy yon of my competence for what I undertake.—Yours faithfully, A. Heald (Anglophil). "The author's first impulse was naturally to desire the scalp of the person who wrote the letter. On second thoughts, however, it was regarded as a good joke," and sent to our contemporary for publication. Mr. Eustace Reynolds-Ball contributes to the March English Illustrated Magazine an article (illustrated from original protographs) on Shelley Land and the Levantine Riviera. It appears that there is some risk of the historic Casa Magna, near Spezia, where Shelley lived during the last few months previous to his death, being pulled down to make room for "eligible villa residences." Mr. Reynolds-Ball suggests that a fund should be raised by subscription to preserve the house as a memorial of the poet. Perhaps the Society for the Preservation of Places of Historic Interest will consider the proposal. Mr. Herbert Flowerdew, whose satire, called "The Tenth Muse," was announced in these columns, now writes to explain that he has unwittingly taken a title already used by Sir Edwin Arnold, and that he has therefore changed his title to " In an Ancient Mirror." Headon Hill has delivered complete "copy" of the serial which he was recently commissioned by Messrs. Cassell and Co. to write for their Family Magazine, and is now engaged upon the proofs of his next volume. The book, which will shortly be issued by Messrs. Ward, Lock, and Co., is entitled "Beacon Fires," and deals with stirring events on the British coasts in war time. Messrs. Chapman and Hall will shortly publish a novel by Mr. Alan Oscar, entitled "Captain Kid's Millions." The first part of the story appeared in Chapman's Magazine for February; with a sequel added it is now to appear as a 6*. book. Mr. John Pendleton, the author of "Our Railways," and other works, has just completed a novel, "The Ivory Queen," a story of strange adventure, which will be published shortly by Messrs. Osgood, Mcllvaine and Co. ## p. 269 (#321) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. 269 Here is a pretty subject for the research of the unoccupied specialist in Court literary affairs. A second-hand bookseller offers in his recently issued catalogue, under the number 9282, "Deutsche Gedenkbliitter, 1870-1871" (German memorial leaves), published for the benefit of the funds of the Patriotic Women's Aid Society. The price is twenty marks. The volume so offered for sale is, the Berlin correspondent of the Daily News says, the copy which the late Empress Augusta sent to Queen Victoria, as a present, and bears the follow- ing dedication written by the Empress: "To my dear Victoria, from her faithful sister, cousin, and friend, Augusta." Nobody can say how this book came into the possession of the bookseller. A correspondent of the Daily Chronicle has been "discovering" Pietari Paivarinta, who was born seventy years ago at Ylivieska, not far out- side the Arctic circle. The son of a poor labourer, his youth was spent in abject misery. He married at twenty, and cleared himself a patch in the vast forest. Later on he became parish clerk, and, enjoying a little leisure, wrote letters to the patriotic papers. At forty, he ventured to pub- lish a volume entitled "Episodes of the Great War," and every Tear he has repeated the experi- ment. His tales have a distinct flavour, marking well the difference between the Turanian type of humanity and the more familiar type of peasant of Russia or Scandinavia. Paivarinta is hale and hearty, and not without honour in his own country. Two of the scarcest of the Kelmscott Press books, namely, "King Florus,'' on vellum (of which the issue was but twelve copies in all), and the same on paper, have been stolen from the shop of Messrs. Jones and Evans, Queen-street, Cheap- side. A propos the theft, some particulars of how such things are done have been supplied to the Westminster Gazette. Sometimes the thief leaves behind him another volume which is out- wardly the same as the one taken. A single leaf is often all that he wants to complete a volume, and in this event he simply slips in a piece of wet string and puts the book back on the shelves; then, when the leaf has been rotted through, he returns and carries it off. Occasionally, as in the case of the house painter who carried off a first edition of Burns from Lord Rosebery's house, the thief is ignorant of the value of the book, but the most daring thefts are usually committed by those who know something about the subject—broken-down publishers, literary hacks who have seen better days, and so on. LITERATURE IN THE PERIODICALS. The Bookselling Trade in 1896. Bookseller for Feb. 5. Reviewing. Opinions of authors in Westminster Gazette for Jan. 27 and Feb. 10; of Mr. Lang in Longman's for March; of Mr. Payn in Windsor for March. The Battle of the Books. Professor Raleigh. Cosmopolis for February. The Child in Recent English Literature. Pro- fessor Sully. Fortnightly Review for February. Wordsworth's Youth. Leslie Stephen. National Review for February. The Rival Poet in Shakespeare's Sonnets. O. A. Leigh. Westminster Review for February. The Indian Mutiny in Fiction. Blackwood for February. The Celtic Renascence. Andrew Lang. Blackwood for February. Ancient Bohemian Poetry. Frederick Count Lntzow. New Review for February. William Morris, Philanthropist and Poet. D. F. Hannigan. Westminster Review for February. Gibbon's Life and Letters. H. W. Paul. Nineteenth Century for February Reminiscences of Matthew Arnold. Dean Farrar. Temple Magazine for March. Notable Review. Of Morris's ■• The Well at the World's End." Athensrum for Feb. 20. The apotheosis of the six-shilling novel, in one volume, was the leading feature of the bookselling trade of 1896—according to the results of an inquiry which the Bookseller has been conducting. A complete consensus of opinion is found as to the benefit which the bookseller has gained from the abolition of the three volume novel, and the subs itution of the single volume one. The latter is purchasable by the majority of people at the very time that all the papers are full of its merits or demerits, while under the previous regime the six-shilling edition was often kept back till all active interest in the book had died away. The prosperity of the six-shilling novel has meant the decline of the cheap yellow-back and the shilling shocker, and curiously enough, the latter has been supplanted by the 6rf. popular magazine. The growth of magazine literature, indeed, has been so grrat that some booksellers are afraid that it will do permanent harm to the craft of hook- selling pure and simple. A competitor more often complained of however, is the " cycling mania." "We fear," says our contemporary, "that we cannot offer our readers any hopeful anticipation, at least for two or three years, as cycling certainly seems to have come to stay, and whether for good or evil, will have to lie made the best of." There is a feeling in favour of other classes of books besides fiction being offered in the popular six-shilling form. History, biography, and travel, the Bookseller informs us, find ready purchasers, but in many cases these books are issued at prices which are almost prohibitory, ## p. 270 (#322) ############################################ 270 THE AUTHOR. and compel readers to obtain them from the library. Fiction was the literature most in demand during 1896, especially tales dealing with the romance of history. "The 'problem' novel and the ' sexual' novel would seem to have had their day, and have ceased to be at any rate." Another important feature in the past year was the increase of tasteful reprints, and it is clear that this field is capable of great development. Although the year throughout the Kingdom was successful beyond the average of the last two or three years (and it is interesting to note, by the way, that in Ireland reading has increased at an abnormal rate), the booksellers continue to air their grievance of discounts. In some towns associated action is being taken to put down undercutting; this movement, says the Bookseller, indicates the only way out of the difficulty, "and we are told more than once that the discounts now given do not sell a single copy more than would be bought under contrary con- ditions." There is a general desire to see the net system largely extended, and some even see in its entire adoption a way out of the present difficulties of the book trade. As to which, hear our contemporary :— However this may be, it is clear enough that, under the existing system, books of solid literature and of permanent learning, appealing to the fen rather than the many, must be at a great disadvantage, as booksellers are afraid to stock them, the profit resulting being usually too small to cover the risk; for with the minimum profit at present possible, the quicker return offered by ephemeral literature is the only means ef keeping out of the bankruptcy court. The Booksellers' Association has moved in this matter by lately issuing a circular to its members informing them that at a meeting of delegates of their society and the Publishers' Association, it was sugge>ted by the latter that to improve the state of the retail trade an effort should be made to revert to 2d. in the i*. discount, and that net books should be sold at net prices. In order to enforce this, the sub-committee of the Pub- lishers' Association are prepared to recommend to their Council that the present trade terms should be given only to those booksellers who pledge themselves not to exceed 2(2. in the 18. discount, and to maintain the published price of net books; those who are unwilling so to pledge them- selves, to be supplied at script, net, and no odd copy. "Unless the booksellers are practically unani- mous in giving their assent to the proposal," the circular added, " it cannot proceed further." Miss Florence Marryat has no reason to com- plain of her own critics, but she thinks the reading world would get on just as well if there were no criticism at all. The time is not very different, remarks Miss Marryat, from that in which Churchill wrote: Through whim (our critics) or by envy led; They damn those authors whom they never read. Mr. Lang does not regard ordinary reviewing of books which are not novels as very healthy. Mr. James Payn thinks signed critiques a mistake, as the critic ought to be impersonal, and in a signed criticism of your friend's work, he says, you are speaking directly to him. Anonymity lends a fictitious importance to journalists, says Ouida, who also believes that only two out of every hundred books issued in England are worth the paper they are printed upon; while Mr. Muddock regards it as a matter of common justice that the producers of books should know who are the persons who sit in judgment upon them. The ideal novel of the Indian Mutiny has still to be written, says a critical writer in Blackwood. Of all the trreat events of this century, as they are represented in fiction, the Indian Mutiny has taken the firmest hold on the imagination, yet the many novels, beginning with " Maurice Dering" in 1864, which have treated the subject have been dealing with the trivialities. The Blarfticood writer wants the great living facts of the Mutiny taken up. It should stand to the epoch of which it treats as "Westward Ho !" does to the age of Elizabeth, ever stimulating, ever refreshing. And who should we like to write it? He, says the writer, "upon whom more than on any other in this generation the mantle of Charles Kingsley has fallen "—Mr. Rudyatd Kipling. Professor Sully analyses some of the recent child books by Mr. Kenneth Grahame, Mr. Canton, Mr. Barrie, Mrs. Meynell, and others. With growing intimacy and with deeper observa- tion, our writers, he says, may be expected to do better. What is wanted is a frank recognition of the truth that a child is a subject worthy in itself of the finest artistic pourtrayal, and that in the hands of a man it may be admirable with- out being elongated into a prodigy, and highly entertaining without being broadened out into a huge joke. Mr. Gosse gives a portrait of the late Coventry Pat more, and Mr. Louis Garvin praises his odes. To know the man is here indeed, says Mr. Gosse, essential to the apprehension of his writings. And the man was angular, vivid, discordant, and yet exquisitely fascinating. Some called him " namby- pamby " and " mild," but to hear this was only entertainment to those who really knew that "he was the most masterful of men, the very type of that lofty moral arrogance which antiquity identified with the thought of Archilochus." Mr. Garvin is among those who believe Pat- more's "St. Valentine's Day" to be not un- worthy of comparison with the "Ode to tiie Nightingale," of Keats, and with Shellev's " Skv- lark." ## p. 271 (#323) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. 271 OBITUARY. THE BOOKS OF THE MONTH. PROFESSOR CHARLES TOMLINSON, F.R.S., died at Highgate in his eighty- ninth year. He was the author of many handy text-books on natural philosophy, meteor- ology, and natural history; and in 1854 he edited " Tomlinson's Cyclopaedia of Useful Arts, Mechanical and Chemical Manufactures, Mining and Engineering." He wrote the lives of Smeeton, Cuvier, and Linnaeus, and was also the author of "The Inferno of Dante Translated into English Tierce Rhyme," "Essays Old and New," "The Chess-Player's Manual," and other works. Professor William Wallace, of Oxford Univer- sity, died at Oxford on the 19th ult. from the effects of a bicycle accident. Since 1882 he was White's Professor of Moral Philosophy, succeed- ing Mr. T. H. Green. As a writer Professor Wallace was known as the interpreter of certain German schools of philosophy. Among his works were "The Logic of Hegel," "Epicureanism," "Kant," " Prolegomena to the Study of Hegel," and " Hegel's Philosophy of Mind." The Rev. Samuel Harvey Reynolds, scholar, teacher, and man of letters, died at Biarritz on the 7th ult., at the age of sixty-five. He edited "Bacon's Essays" and "Selden's Table-Talk," wrote many magazine articles, and was an earnest student of Dante. When the Professorship of Poetry at Oxford became vacant at the close of Matthew Arnold's tenure, many of Mr. Reynolds' friends were anxious that he should offer himself as a candidate. The Rev. Walter Gregor, LL.D., secretary of the Scottish Text Society, a high authority on Scottish folk-lore and the author of several works, died at Bonnyrigg on the 4th ult. The Ven. George Gresley Perry, archdeacon of Stow, in the diocese of Lincoln, who has died at the age of seventy-seven, was an authority on religious history, and wrote " The History of the Church of England," and a few other books. The Rev. Francis Jacox, the Shakespearean student and commentator, who also wrote "Aspects of Authorship, or Bookmarks and Bookmakers," and other works, died at St. John's Wood on the 5th ult. in his seventy-first year. Abroad, the deaths occurred of Jacinto Gullina, the well-known Italian dramatic author; and Ernst Konrad Ziletmann (" Konrad Telmann "), the German novelist. [January 25 to February 23—181 Books.] Abbott. E. E. The Spirit on the Waters. Macmillan. Adams, G. Burton. The Growth of the French Nation, 6/- Maczuillon. Andrews. E. B. The History of the Last Quarter-Century in the United States. 1870-189"). 80 - Kegan Paul. Anonymous. The Earl and the Knight: Passages from a Ministerial Diary. 1/- King. Armstrong, A. Under the Circumstances. 6/- Smith, Elder. Atteridge, A. H. Towards Khartoum. 16/- Innes. Bain, J. A. Life of Fridtjof Nansen. 6/- Simpkin. Banks, Mrs. G. L. The Manchester Man (special edition). 15/- net. Manchester: A. Hey wood and Son. Barrett, Frank. A Missing Witness. Chatto. Beazley, 0. B. The Dawn of Modern Geography. 18/- Murray. Betts, E. St. G. Sun and Mist (Poems). 8/6 net. Unwin. Bjdmson, Bjornstjerno. Magnhild and Dust. 8/- net. Heinemann. Book-Plate Annual and Armorial Year Book 1897. 9/6. Black. Bourinot. J. G. Canada (Story of the Nations). 6/- Unwln. Brewer, J. F. The Speculators. 6/- Methuen. Brouardel, P. Death and Sudden Death (tr. by F. L. Benham). 10,6. Brown, A. Mercy Warren [Biography]. 6/- Murray. Buckland, A. W. Margaret Moore, Spinster. 6/- Ward and Downey. Buck-master, J. C, editor. A Village Politician [John Buckley], 6/- Unwin. Burroughs, J. Whitman: A Study. 6 - net. Constable, Burrow, C. K. The Way of the Wind. 8 6. Kegan Paul. Canning, Hon. A. S. G. History in Fact and Fiction, 6/- Sniith. Elder. Carnarvon, (4th) Earl of. The Defence of the Empire (ed. by Sir G. S. Clarke). 6/- Murray. Causton, J. F. A Modern Judas. 6/- Digby. Cave, H. W. The Bulned Cities of Ceylon. Sampson Low. Chambers, G. F. The Story of the Weather Simply Told. 1/- Newnes. Chaney, H. J. Our Weights and Measures. 7/6. Eyre and Spottis- woode. Christiansen, 0. Elements of Theoretical Physics (tr. W. F. Magie). 12/6 net Macmillan. Church, the late Dean. Occasional Papers. 10 - Macmillan. Clarke. A. A Monograph on the Cathedral Church of Wells. 1/6 net. Smith. Clarke, Sir G. S. and Thursfield, J. B. The Navy and the Nation. 14/- Murray. Cleeve. Lucaa. The Water-Finder. 3/6. Hutchinson. Cliffe, F. H. A Daughter's Grief. 3 0 net, Bellairs. Cornish, V. Short Studies in Physical Science, Mineralogy, Chemistry, and Physics. 5/- Sampson Low. Costelloe, B. F. C. and Muirhead, J. H. Aristotle and the Earlier Peripatetics (tr. from Zeller). 24/- Longmans. Cowley, A. E. and Nenbauer, A. (editors). The Original Hebrew of a Portion of EccleslasticuB(xxxix. 15 to xlix. 11). 10/6 net. Frowde Crane. Stephen. The Little Regiment. 2.6 net. Heinemann. Craufurd, A. H. Christian Instinct and Modern Doubt. 6/- Clarke Doudet, Alphonse. Jock (tr. by L. Ensor). 5,- net. Dent. Dawe, W. C. Kakemonos: Tales of the Far East. 3 6 net. Lane. Dewe, J. A. New Thoughts on Current Subjects. Stock. Dawson, A. J. Mere Sentiment. 3. 6 net. Lane. Duff, Sir M. E. Grant. Notes from a Diary. 1851-72. 18/- Murray. DuncanB. How Money Makes Money. Wilson. Eastlake, F. W., and Yozki-Aki. Yamoda. Heroic Japan. 18,- Sampson Low. Ebert, H. Magnetic Fields of Force (tr. from German by C Burton). Part I. 10/6 net. LongmanB. Eeles, F. 0. Church and other Bells of Kincardineshire. 5/- net. Stock. Encyclopaedia of the Laws of England. By eminent legal authorities. VoL I. Abandonment to Bankruptcy. 20/- net Sweet and Maxwell Everard, H. S. 0. Golf In Theory and Practice. 8/6. Bell. Farningham^M. In Evening Lights. 2/6. Clarke Farrar, F. W., and otherB. Prophets of the Christan Faith. 15 - Clarke. Fendall, P., and Russell, F. Out of the Darkness. 6 - Smith, Elder. Fitzgerald, Rear Admiral, C. 0. P. Life of Vice-Admlral Sir Georgn Tryon, KC.B. 21/- Blackwood. Fitzgerald, P. F. The Rational, or Scientific, Ideal of Morality. 7/6 Sonnenschein. Fleming, Mrs. (A. M. Kipling). A Pinchbeck Goddess. 8 6. Heinemann. Fletcher, W. Y. Foreign Bookbindings in the British Museum. 63,'- Eegan Paul. Fothergill, C. A Matter of Temperament 6/- Black. Frazer. R. W. British India (Story of the Nations aeries). 5 - Unwlr. ## p. 272 (#324) ############################################ 272 THE AUTHOR. "G. G." Great Scott. The Chaser, Ac. 3 6 net. Bellairs. Gallon, Tom, Tatterley. ft - Hutchinson. Gardiner. L. The Sound of a Voice. 6 - Hurat and Blackett. Garrett, E., and Edwards, E. J. The Story of an African <>isis. 3 6. Constable. Gill. W. A. Edward Cracroft Lefroy. 5'- net. Lane. Glynn, AnnaL. A Pearl of the Realm 6,- Hutchinson. Gordon, JameB. The Village and the Doctor 6 - Methuen. Gordon, Samuel. A Handful of Exotics 8 6. Methuen. Gower, Lord E. Selections from the Letters of De Brosaea. 10 6. Regan Paul. Graham. D. Is Natural Selection the Creator of Species. 6'- Digbv. GrenfelL B. P., and Hunt, A S. (editors). Greek Papyri., eerie* II. 12 fi net. Froude. Hall. R. N. Gilbert Vance, Curate. 6/- Western Mall. Harris J. R. and H. B. Letters from the Scenes of the Recent Massacres in Armenia 6 - Nisbet. Herrord, C. H. The Age or Wordsworth (H indbook Eng. Lit.) 3 «. Bell. Hill, J, and Bacon. G. F. Dinah Fleet. 6/- Downey. Bills. A. E Elflnn's Luck and Other Poems. 4 0 net. Innes. Hindo S. L The Fall of the Congo Arabs. 12 6. Methuen. Hohenlohe-Ingelflnge. Kraft Prinz zu. Conversations on Cavalry (tr by Lieut. C Beiehmann) 7 6 Eeliher. Hooley, E. T. Tarragal, or Bush Lifein Aust alia 3 6. (Jay and Bird. Hope. Anthony. Phroso, a Romance 6/- Methuen. Houghton. A. E. Gilbert Murray, a Novel, fi - Smith. Elder. Howard. J. J. and Crisp, F. A- Visitation of Ireland—Vol. I Sub- scription price 21/- Private Press of F. A. Crisp. Howard, W. The Evolution of the Universe. 12 6 net. Nisbet. Humphry, Mrs. Manners for Men. 1/- Bowden. JameB. Henry. The Spoils of Poynton. 6/- Heiuemann. Johnson. J. Musa Medic a. 2/6. Savoy PreBS. JohiiBton-Smiih. F. J. The Captain of the Dolphin and Other Poems of the Sea. 3 6 net Digby. Johnstone, T. B. The Land o' Cakes and Brither Scots. Gardner. Jokai, Maurus. The Green Book, or Freedom under the Snow. 6'- Jiirrold. Keith, G. S. Plea for a Simpler Faith Kegan Paul. Knight. E. F. Letters from the Soudan, s i; net. Maemillan. Knott, C. G. Physics. An Elementary Text-Book. Chambers. Lander. H. Weighed in the Balance 4 fi net. Lane. Lear. Mrs. H L.Sidney. 'Joy." a Fragment. 2/6. Longmans. Leask W. K. James Boswell (FanioiiB Scots). 1/6. Ollphant. Le Gallienne, B. The Quest of the Golden Girl. 5 - net. Lane. Le Gallienne, R.. editor. Walton and Cotton's "The Compleat Angler." 1ft - net. Lane. Lep lletler, E. Madame Sins-Gone (tr. J. A. J de Vllliers) 3 6. Chatto. Leys. J K. The Lawyer's Secret. 3,6. Warne. Liu. J. J. The Nieene Creed. 6/- Sonnenschein. Litcrfiry Yeor-Book, 1897. 8/6. G. Allen. Locke. Clinton. The Age of the Great Western Schism [Eras of the Christian Church]. 6/- Clark Luckock, H. M. Footprints of the Apostles. 12/- Longmans. Ludlow, J. M. The Age of the Crusaders [Eras of the Christian Church]. 6/- rlark. Macdonaltl. J. C. Chronologies and Calendais. 7 6. Andrews. Madden, J. The Wilderness and Its TenantB. 42,- Simpkin. Maitland, F. W. Domesday Book and Beyond 15/- Clay. Markby. Sir Wm The Indian Evidence Act. 3 6 net. Frowde, Marlowe, C (Harriet Jay). The Strange Adventures of Miss Brown. Buchanan. Maude, Captain F. N. Voluntaiy versus Compulsory Service. .*> - Stanford. Maude, W. C. Property Law for General Readers. Wilson. Mason. C. M. Parents and Children, fi/- Kegan Paul. Me Lin lock, R. Goethe's ■' Faust." 1st part. 10 - net. Nutt. Me1v>l]),J. Crystal Gazing and the Wondeis of Clairvoyance. - Nichols. Mllman. C. Through London Spectacles. 3/6. Smith. Elder. Molloy, J. F. A Juatitifd Sinner. 6/- Downey. Moore, H. S. The New Rules of the Road at Sea. 3/- Potter Moult on. L. C. In Childfood's Country. Bowden. Mtiller. F. Max Contributions to the Science of Mythology. 32 - Longmans. Mailer, Mrs. Max. Letters from Constantinople. 6 - Longmans. Nansen, Fridtjof. Farthest North. 42/ net. Napier, A. D. Leitb. The Menopause and its Neuman. B P. The Supplanter. NeviuB J. L. Demoo Possession and Allied Newton. A. V. Patent Law and Practice. Nisbet. Hume. The Swampers. Norris. W. E. Clarissa Furiosa. 6 - Ommanney, G. D. W. A Critical Dissertation Creed. 16/- * 'unstable. Disorders. 7 6 net. Scientific Press. Methuen. Thrmes. 7/6 net Redway. Cox. White. Methuen. on the Athanasfan. Frowde. Paget, C. E. Wasted Records of Disease. 2 6. Arnold. Palmer. C. F Inebriety (Source, Prevention. Cure). 8/6. OUphtnt. Pearmain, T. H., and Moor, C. U. Aids to the Study of Bacteriology. 3,6 Balliere. PearBe, Major (editor). The Crimean Diary and Letters of Lieut-Gen. Sir Charles Ash Wyndham, K C B. 7 0. Kegan Paul Pemberton Max. Christine of the Hills 6/- Innes. Perkins. T Handbook to Gothic Architecture. 3/6. Hazel!. Petherick, E. A. Tho Australian Colonies in 1896. 1'- Wilson. Pocock, R. The Blackguard. 2 - Beeman. Proctor, Mrs. J. An Oak of Chivalry. 6'- Digby. Pugh, Edwin. The Man of Straw. 6.'- Heinemann. Read, Opie. The Jucklins, a novel. 3 6. Black. Rhoscomyl, Owen. For the White Rose of Amo. 6 - Longmans. Ross, F. W. Forbes. Septic Conditions of the Infantile Alimentary Canal. 7 6. Rebman. Russell, R. H. The Edge of the Orient. 8/6. Kegan Paul. Salmon, G. Some Thoughts on the Textual Criticism of the New Testament. 3 6. Murray Savage R. H. LoBt Countess Falka. Routledge. Schooling, W. Life Assurance Explained. 1/- Cassell. Schreiner, O. Trooper Peter Halketof Mashonaland. 6 - Unwin. Schweitzer, H. F. The Love Philtre, and Other Poems. 6/- Macqueen. Seth. M J. History of tho Armenians in India. 7/6. Luzac, Sims, E. C. Our Travels Round the World. 2 - Alexander and Shepheard. Smeaton, O. Tobbias Smolleit (Famous Scots). 1/6. Oliphant. Smith, F. K. Parsons and Weavers. Skeffington. Smith. Goldwin. GuesseB at the Riddle of Existence, and Other Essays on Kindred Subjects. 6/- Maemillan. Smith, II. A Plea for the Unborn. 2/6 Watts. *■ Snaffle." In the Land of the Bora. 15/- Kegan Paul. Speight, Harr*\ Romantic Rirhmondshire. Stock. Stadling. J. and Reason. W. In the Land of Tolstoi. 7 6. Clarke. Statham, F. R. South Africa as It Is. 10 6. Unwin. Steevens, G. W. The Land of the Dollar. 6/- Blackwood. Stillman. W. J. Venus and Apollo in Paintingand Sculpture. Bliss. Strickland, P. English Statute Law Revised. 2/6. Clowes. Stuart. Ejme\ Arrested. White. Surteos. Major C. Campaign in Italy 3 - net. Stanford. Sweet. H. The Student's Dictionary of Anglo-Saxon. 8 6 net. Frowde. Tebbutt. C. G., A. Read, and A. Tebbutt. Skating 1 - Routledge. Thorpe, W. G. The Hidden Lives of Shakespeare and Ba^on. and Their Business Connection. Chlswick Press. Tipper. H. England's Attainment of Commercial Supremacy. Stock. Transactions of the British Association of Waterworks Engineers. Vol. I. Biggs. Trehern. G. The Old Ecstasies. 3 6 net. Bellairs. Vane, Derek. The Three Daughters of Night. 3.0. Hutchinson. Victoria Regina Atlas. Political, Physical, Astronomical. Johnston. Vincent, M. R. The Age of HLldebrand (Eras of the Christian Church). 6,- Clark. Waller, S. E. Sebastiani s Secret. 6 - Chatto. Wallis-Tayler, A. J. Modern Cycles. Crosby, Lockwood. Warden-, Florence. The Mystery of Dudley Home. White. Warden, Gertrude. The Wooing of a Fairy, fi - Hurst and Blackett. Wenley B M. Contemporary TVology and Theism. 4 6. Clark. Whelen. F.. editor Politics in 1896. 3 - net Richards. Whitlock. F. W. The Migration of Birds. 3 « net. Porter. Wilkin, A. On the Nile with a Camera. 21/- Unwin. Williamson, G. C. Richard Cosway, R A., and his Wife and Pupils. 25 - net. Belt Wo'ff H. W. Employers' Liability, What Ought It to Be? 2 G. King. Wright. H. C. S. Soudan, '96. 1 - Cox. Yorke, C. A Flirtation with Truth. 6- Macqueen. ## p. 272 (#325) ############################################ AD VER TISEMENTS. THE LITERARY YEAR-BOOK 1897 EBITED BY FREDERICK G. AFLALO, F.R.G.S., &c. An Exhaustive Book of Reference for all Writers and Readers of Books. AMONG THE CHIEF FEATURES ARE :- A Critical resume of the past year's Literature, by Ernest Rhys. Portraits and Biographical Sketches of a number of Distinguished Authors. The Year's Obituary, with Portraits. A New and Complete Calendar for Literature. Some Account of the Chief Literary and Scientific Clubs, and Learned Societies and Institutions in the Kingdom, with their Addresses. Directories of Authors, Publishers, and Booksellers. A Directory of the chief Free, Public, and Subscription Libraries in Great Britain and Ireland. Practical Information in connection with the Reading Rooms of the British Museum Bibliotheque Nationale (Paris), and Konigliche Bibliothek (Berlin). Articles on various Literary matters. Information concerning the Production of Books and the Processes in Illustration. &c, &c, &c. About 300 pages, crown 8vo., cloth, 3s. 6dm It is hoped that tbis volume, which deals with every matter of practical interest to the Literary World, will supply a long-felt want. LONDON: GEORGE ALLEN, RUSKIN HOUSE, 156, CHARING CROS'S ROAD, AND OF ALL BOOKSELLERS. ## p. 272 (#326) ############################################ AD VER TISEMENTS. LOWEST PRICES IN LONDON. Authors' JYLSS. correctly and neatly oopietl Carbon Duplicates LKGAIi AND GENERAL COPYING We have a skilled and veil educated staff of operators. at lOd. per lOOO words. at 2d. ,, ,, at Id. per folio. Give us a trial, and compare our work and prices with those of other offices. LARGE ORDERS ESTIMATED FOR. 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THE AUTHOR'S HAIRLESS PAPER-PAD 50, xjtiauHUii»ii oircoij > * j i i. Contains hairless paper, over which the slips with perfect freedom. Sixpence each: $&. per dozeny ruled or plain. MESDAMES BRETT & BOWSER, TYPISTS, SELBORNE CHAMBERS, BELL YARD, TEMPLE BAR. Authors' MSS. carefully and expeditiously copied, from is. per iooo words. Extra carbon copies half price. Refer- ences kindly permitted to Augrustine Bin-ell, Esq., M.P., and "Anthony Hope." rpHE KNIGHTS and KINGS of CHESS. By the Rev. -L G. A. MACDONNELL, B A. With Portrait and 17 Illustra- tions. Crown 8vo., cloth hoards, price 2s. fid. net. London: Horace Cox, Windsor House. Bream's-buildings, E C. (The Leadenhall Press Ltd.), Leaden hall Street, London, E.C. pen Printed and Published by Horace Cox, Windsor House, Bream's-buildings, London, E.C. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Author, Vol. 07 Issue 10 (March 1897) Subject The topic of the resource The Author, Vol. 07 Issue 10 (March 1897) Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015049239455" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015049239455</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Publication Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 1897-03-01-The-Author-7-10 publications The Author https://historysoa.com/files/original/5/299/1897-02-01-The-Author-7-9.pdf a24ad1b8be095c33513559172b0f998e 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 The Author Description An account of the resource A digitised run of the Society of Authors' monthly periodical, The Author, 1890–1914, made available together for the first time. Currently users can browse issues and <a href="https://historysoa.com/items/browse?search=&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bjoiner%5D=and&advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=51&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Index&collection=&type=&tags=&exhibit=&date_search_term=&submit_search=Search+For+Items&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) 1897-02-01 Volume 7 Issue 9 Pages Page range in volume 209–236 Ngram Date Version of the date in YYYYMMDD format for use by the Ngram plugin 18970201 Ngram Text Version of the text with no HTML formatting for use by the Ngram plugin Uhc Hutbor. (The Organ of the Incorporated Society of Authors. Monthly.) CONDUCTED BY WALTER BESANT. Vol. VII.—No. 9.] FEBRUARY 1, 1897. [Price Sixpence. CONTENTS. PACE PAO« Notices, &c 209 Is there an American Literature? 226 Literary Properly— Book Talk 217 I. Editor and Author 211 Correspondence.—1. The I.S A. as Publishers. 2. Educational 2. Cost of Production 212 Criticism. 3. A Want. 4. The County Contributor. 5. A 3. Notes on Agreements 213 Voice from Chili. 6. Facetious Reviewing. 7. The Fiction ot 4. Publishing on Commission 214 the Future. 8. Thirteen Copies as Twelve. 9. Presentation 5. Publications of the International Bureau 214 Copies. 10. Reviewing. 11. Reviewing or Puffing? 221) The Battle of Books in the Eariy Fifties 215 1 Mr. Herbert Spencer's Portrait 288 New York Letter. By Norman Hapgood 220 'Literature in the Periodicals Obitusry 284 NoteB and News. By the Editor 222 234 The Byron Papers 225 1 The Books of the Month 23C PUBLICATIONS OF THE SOCIETY. 1. The Annual Eeport. That for January 1896 can be had on application to the Secretary. 2. The Author. A Monthly Journal devoted especially to the protection and maintenance of Literary Property. Issued to all Members, 6*. 6d. per annum. Back numbers are offered at the following prices: Vol. I., io«. 6d. (Bound); Vols. II., HI., and IV., 8s. 6cl. each (Bound); Vol. V., 6s. 6d. (Unbound). 3. Literature and the Pension List. By W. Morris Colles, Barrister-at-Law. (Henry Glaisher, 95, Strand, W.C.) 3*. 4. The History of the Societe des Gens de Lettres. By S. Squire Sprigoe, late Secretary to the Society, i*. 5. The Cost Of Production. In this -work specimens are given of the most important forms of type, size of page, &c, with estimates showing what it costs to produce the more common kinds of books. Henry Glaisher, 95, Strand, W.C. 2s. 6d. 6. The Various Methods of Publication. By S. Squire Sprigge. In this work, compiled from the papers in the Society's offices, the various forms of agreements proposed by Publishers to Authors are examined, and their meaning carefully explained, with an account of the various kinds of fraud which have been made possible by the different clauses in their agreemoats. Henry Glaisher, 95, Strand, W.C. 3*. 7. Copyright Law Reform. An Exposition of Lord Monkswell's Copyright Bill now before Parlia- ment. With Extracts from the Report of the Commission of 1878, and an Appendix containing the Berne Convention and the American Copyright Bill. By J. M. Lely. Eyre and Spottiswoode. is. 6d. 8. The Society of Authors. A Record of its Action from its Foundation. By Walter Besant (Chairman of Committee, 188§ jg 2j I4.. 3. The Contract of Publication ia „ „ Aust™ Hungary, and Switzerland. By Ernst Lunge, J.U.D. is. 6d. WmS&J* A"slna> a 5 ## p. 208 (#256) ############################################ 11 AD VER TISEMENTS. ^i)e goctefg of Jluf^ors (§ncotporafe5). Sib Edwin Arnold, K.C.I.E., C.S.I. Alfred Austin. J. M. Barrik A. W. a Beckett. F. E. Beddard, F.R S. Robert Batekan. Sib Henbt Bergne, K.C.M.G. Sir Walter Besant. augustine blrrell, m.p. Rev. Prof. Bonnet, F.B.S. Eight Hon. James Bryce, M.P. Right Hon. Lord Burghclere, P.C. Hall Cains. Egerton Castle, F.S.A. P. W. Clatden. Edward Clodd. W. Morris Colles. Hon. John Collier. Sir W. Martin Conwat. F. Marion Crawford. PRESIDENT. GEOBGE MEEEDITH COUNCIL. The Earl of Desart. Austin Dobson. a. conan dotle, m.d A. W. Dubourg. Pbof. Michael Foster, F.B.S. Richard Garnett, C.B., LL.D. Edmund Gosse. H. Rider Haggard. Thomas Hardy. Anthony Hope Hawkins. Jerome K. Jerome. Rudyard Kipling. Prof. E. Ray Lankesteb, F.R.S. W. E. H. Lecky. J. M. Lely. Mrs. E. Lynn Linton. Rev. W. J. Loftie, F.S.A. Sir A. C. Mackenzie, Mus.D. Prof. J. M. D. Meiklejohn. Herman C. Merivale. Rev. C. H. Middleton-Wake. Sir Lewis Morris. Henry Norman. Miss E. A. Ormerod. J. C. Parkinson. Right Hon. Lord Pirbright. Sir Frederick Pollock, Bart., LL.D. Walter Hebries Pollock. W. Baptists Scoones. Miss Flora L. Shaw. G. R. Sims. S. Squire Sprioge. J. J. Stevenson. Prof. Jab. Sully. William Moy Thomas. H. D. Traill, D.C.L. Mrs. Humphry Ward. Miss Charlotte M. Yonge. A.. W. X Beckett. Sib Walter Besant Egerton Castle. W. Morrib Colles. Hon. Counsel — E. M. Underdown, Q.C COMMITTEE OF MANAGEMENT. Chairman—H. Rider Haggard. Sir A. C. Mackenzie, Mus.D. Henry Norman. S. Squire Sprigge. Hon. John Collier. Sir W. Martin Conway. Anthony Hope Hawkins. J. M. Lely. -j . ., ( Messrs. Field, Roscoe, and Co., Lincoln's Inn Fields. i G. Herbert Thring, B.A., 4, Portngal-street, W.C. Secretary—G. Herbert Thrino, B.A. OFFICES: 4, Portugal Street, Lincoln's Inn Fields, W.C. -A.. IP. WATT &c sonsr, LITERARY AGENTS,. Formerly of 2, PATERNOSTER SQUARE, Have now removed to HASTINGS HOUSE, NORFOLK STREET, STRAND, LONDON, W.C. WINDSOR HOUSE PRINTING WORKS, BREAM'S BTTILZDIILSra-S, E.G. Offices of "The Field," "The Queen," "The Law Times," &e. Mr. HORACE COX, Printer to the Authors' Society, takes the opportunity of informing Authors that, having a very large Office, and an extensive Plant of Type of every description, he is in a position to EXECUTE any PRINTING they may entrust to his care. ESTIMATES FORWARDED, AND REASONABLE CHARGES WILL BE FOUND. ## p. 209 (#257) ############################################ XL he Hutbor* (The Organ of the Incorporated Society of Authors. Monthly.) CONDUCTED BY WALTER BESANT. Vol. VII.—No. 9.] FEBRUARY i, 1897. [Peice Sixpence. For the Opinions expressed in papers that are signed or initialled the Authors alone are responsible. None of the papers or para- graphs must be taken as expressing the collective opinions of the committee unless they are officially signed by G. Herbert Thring, Sec. THE Secretary of the Society begs to give notice that all remittances are acknowledged by return of post, and requests that all members not receiving an answer to important communications within two days will write to him without delay. All remittances should be crossed Union Bank of London, Chancery-lane, or be Bent by registered letter only. ^ Communications and letters are invited by the Editor on all subjects connected with literature, but on no other sub- jects whatever. Articles which cannot be accepted are returned if Btamps for the purpose accompany the MSS. GENERAL MEMORANDA. IT^OK some years it has been the praotice to insert, in J every number of The Author, certain " General Con- siderations," Warnings, Notices, &c., for the guidance of the reader. It has been objected as regards these warnings that the tricks or frauds against which they are directed cannot all be guarded against, for obviouB reasons. It is, however, well that they should be borne in mind, and if any publisher refuses a clause of precaution he simply reveals his true character, and should be left to carry on his business in his own way. Let us, however, draw up a few of the rules to be observed in an agreement. There are three methods of dealing with literary property:— I. That of selling it outright. This is in some respects the most satisfactory, if a proper price can be obtained. But the transaction should be managed by a competent agent. II. A profit-sharing agreement. In this case the following rules should be attended t (1.) Not to sign any agreement in which thn , » ' « duction forms a part. 0 Cost of pro- (2.) Not to give the publisher the power r.» profitu into his own pocket by charging for 'pitting ^e VOL. VII.' in his own organs: or by charging exchange advertise- ments. (3.) Not to allow a special charge for " office expenses," unless the same allowance is made to the author. (4.) Not to give up American, Colonial, or Continental rights. (5.) Not to give np 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 solioitor or doctor! (7.) To stamp the agreement. III. The royalty system. In this system, which has opened the door to a most amazing amount of overreaching and trading on the author's ignorance, it is above all things necessary to know what the proposed royalty means to both sides. It is now possible for an author to ascertain approximately and very nearly the truth. From time to time the very important figures connected with royalties are published in the Author. Readers can also work out the figures themselves from the "Cost of Production." Let no one, not even the youngeBt writer, sign a royalty agreement without finding out what it gives the publisher as well as himself. It has been objected that these precautions presuppose a great success for the book, and that very few books indeed attain to this great suooess. That is quite true: but there is always this uncertainty of literary property that, although the works of a great many authors carry with them no risk at all, and although of a great many it is known within a few copies what will be their minimum circulation, it is not known what will be their maximum. Therefore every author, for every book, should arrange on the chance of a success which will not, probably, come at all; but which may oome. The four points which the Society has always demanded from the outset are:— (t.) That both sides shall know what an agreement means. (2.) The inspection of those account books which belong to the author. We are advised that this is a right, in the nature of a common law right, which cannot be denied or withheld. (3.) That there shall be no secret profits. (4.) That nothing shall be charged which has not been actually paid—for instance, that there shall be no charge fo advertisements in the publisher's own organs and none tor exchanged advertisements; and that all discount*! sha be duly entered. If these points are carefully looked after, the author may rest Dretty we^ assured that he is in right hands. At the *.;mn he will do well to send his agreement to the secretary before he s.gnsxt. ## p. 210 (#258) ############################################ 2io THE AUTHOR. HOW TO USE THE SOCIETY. I. "T7WERY member has a right to ask for and to receive JQj advice upon his agreements, his choice of a pub- lisher, or any dispute arising in the oondnct of hie bnsinesB or the administration of his property. If the advice sought is such as can be given best by a solicitor, the member has a right to an opinion from the Society's solicitors. If the case is such that Counsel's opinion is desirable, the Com- mittee will obtain for him Counsel's opinion. All this without any cost to the member. 2. Bemember that questions connected with copyright and publisher's agreements do not generally fall within the experience of ordinary solicitors. Therefore, do not scruple to use the Society first—our solicitors are continually engaged upon suoh questions for us. 3. Send to the office copies of past agreements and past accounts with the loan of the books represented. This is in order to ascertain what has been the nature of yonr agree- ments, and the resnlts to author and publisher respectively so far. The Secretary will always be glad to have any agreements, new or old, for inspection and note. The infor- mation thus obtained may prove invaluable. 4. If the examination of your previous business trans- actions by the Secretary proves unfavourable, you should take advice as to a change of publishers. 5. Before signing any agreement whatever, send the pro- posed docnment to tho Society for examination. 6. The Society is acquainted with the methods, and—in the case of fraudulent nouses—the tricks of every publish- ing firm in the country. 7. Bemember 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 yon are advancing the best interests of literature in promoting the indepen- dence of the writer. 8. Send to the Editor of The Author notes of everything important to literature that you may hear or meet with. 9. The committee have now arranged for the reception of members' agreements and their preservation in a fireproof safe. The agreements will, of course, be regarded as con- fidential documents to be read only by the Secretary, who will keep the key of the safe. The Society now offers:—(1) To read and advise upon agreements and publishers. (2) To stamp agreements in readiness for a possible action upon them. (3) To keep agreements. (4) To enforce payments due according to agreements. THE AUTHORS' SYNDICATE. MEMBERS are informed: 1. That tho Authors' Syndicate takes charge of the bnsiness of members of the Society. That it gnbmits MSS. to publishers and editors, concludes agree- ments, examines, passes, and collects accounts, and, gene- rally, relieves members of the trouble of managing business details. 2. That the terms upon which its services can be socured will be forwarded upon detailed application. 3. That the Authors' Syndicate works only for those members of the Society whose work possesses a market value. 4. That the Syndicate can only undertake any negotiations whatever on the distinct understanding that those negotia- tions are placed exclusively in its hands, and that all communications relating thereto are referred to it. 5. That clients can only be seen by the Director by appointment, and that, when possible, at least two days' notice should be given. 6. That overy attempt is made to deal with all communi- cations promptly. That stamps should, in all oases, be sent to defray postage. 7. That the Authors' Syndicate does not invite MSS. without previous correspondence; does not hold itself responsible for MSS. forwarded without notice; and that in all cases MSS. must be accompanied by stamps to defray postage. 8. That the Syndicate undertakes arrangements for lectures by some of the leading members of the Society; that it has a "Transfer Department" for the sale and purchase of journals and periodicals: and that a " Register of Wants and Wanted" is open. Members are invited to communicate their requirements to the Manager. There is an Honorary Advisory Committee, whose services will be called upon in any cose of dispute or difficulty. 'It is perhaps necessary to state that the members of the Advisory Committee have no pecuniary interest whatever in the Syndicate. NOTICES. THE Editor of The Author begs to remind members of the Society that, although the paper is sent to them free of charge, the cost of producing it would be a very heavy charge on the resources of the Society if a great many members did not forward to the Secretary the modest 6s. 6d. subscription for the year. The Editor is always glad to receive short papers and communications on all subjects connected with literature from members and others. Nothing can do more good to the Society than to make the Author complete, attractive, and interesting. Will those who are willing to aid in this work send their names and the special subjects on which they are willing to write? Communications for the Author should reach the Editor not later than the 21 st of each month. All persons engaged in literary work of any kind, whether members of the Society or not, are invited to communicate to the Editor any points connected with their work which it would be advisable in the general interest to publish. Members and others who wish their MSS. read are requested not to send them to the Office without previously communicating with the Secretary. The utmost practicable despatch is aimed at, and MSS. are read in -the order in which they are received. It must also be distinctly under- stood that the Society does not, under any circumstances, undertake the publication of MSS. The Authors' Club is now open in its new premises, at 3, Whitehall-court, Charing Cross. Address the Secretary for information, rules of admission, &c. Will members take the trouble to ascertain whether they have paid their subscriptions for the year P If they will do this, and remit the amount, if still unpaid, or a banker's order, it will greatly assist the Secretary, and save him the trouble of sending out a reminder. Members are most earnestly entreated to attend to the following warning. It is a most foolish and may be a most disastrous thing to enter into an agreement binding for a term of years. Let them ask themselves if they would give a solicitor the collection of their rents for five years to come, whatever his conduct, whether he was honest ## p. 211 (#259) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. 2 I I or dishonest? Of course they would not. Why then hesitate for a moment when they are asked to sign them- selves into literary bondage for three or five years? Those who possess the "Cost of Production" are requested to note that the cost of binding has advanced 15 per cent. This means, for those who do not like the trouble of "doing sums," the addition of three shillings in the pound on this head. In other words, if the cost of binding is set down in our book at eight pounds, to this must now be added twenty-four shillings more, so that it now stands at J69 4«. The figures in our book are as near the exact truth as can be procured; but a printer's, or a binder's, bill is so elastic a thing that nothing more exact can be arrived at. Some remarks have been made upon the amount charged in the " Cost of Production " for advertising. Of oourse, we have not included any Bums which may be charged for inserting advertisements in the publisher's own magazines, or in other magazines by exchange. As agreements too often go, there is nothing to prevent the publisher from sweeping the whole profits of a book into his own pocket, by inserting any number of advertisements in his own magazines, and by exchanging with others. Some there are who call this a form of fraud; it is not known what those who practise this method of swelling their own profits call it. LITERARY PROPERTY. I.—Editor and Author. I^HE Committee of the Society of Authors have taken the opinion of counsel on the following point. A member of the Society sent a MS. to the editor of a magazine. The MS. was not returned, and on application to the editor by the Secretary of the Society the editor refused to hold himself in any way responsible for the return of MSS., trusting to a notice inserted amongst the advertisements in his magazine, which ran as follows: Unsolicited contributions are not returned nnder any circumstances. In case of acceptance, notification is made within a month from the receipt of the MS. The editor further objected to the intervention of ihe Secretary, who is also Solicitor for members in tluse cases, and as such intervenes as a right. The former point is naturally one of great im- portance to everybody concerned, and counsel's opinion was asked on the matter. In the case for counsel his attention was called especially to the case of magazines as differing from the daily papers. The three questions put were as follows: 1. Whether the editor is responsible when an author has not become cognizant of any notice disclaiming responsibility. If yes, to what extent responsible. 2. Whether an editor would be taken to t>e responsible with reference to + L' xj cular case, as the notice is not • ^ ■ a prominent place in the iuq,^, tinted 111 posing that the author has n^^iiie, sUP" Seen sue11 notice, and that editors under ordinary circumstances are responsible. 3. If the editor who inserts a notice is not responsible unless the notice come to the cognizance of an author, on whom does the burden of proof lie'? Below is counsel's opinion. "Editor and Author. "i.I am of opinion that if a manuscript be sent to the editor of a magazine without any previous request or agreement, the editor is not responsible for its loss while in his possession unless the loss be due to some gross negligence on his part. So long, however, as the manuscript remains in his possession the editor is bound to return it on demand, and the publication in his magazine of a notice that he will not return manuscripts does not, in my opinion, alter his liability in this respecs towards an author who was not cognizant of such notice when he sent in the manuscript. "The editor's responsibility for the manuscript while in his possession is, in my opinion, that of a gratuitous or voluntary bailee, who is answerable for loss through his gross negligence, but not for any ordinary neglect. (See 1 Smith's Leading Cases, 10th edition, pp. 189, et seq.) If the manuscript has been lost, the onus lies upon the author to shew that the loss was caused by the editor's gross negligence, for which alone the editor is answerable. (See Story on Bailments, 9th edit. s. 410, and the cases referred to in the notes there.) "If the manuscript was in the editor's possession when its return was demanded, the editor is liable, in my opinion, to an action of detenue if he refuse to return it. Evidence that the editor received the manuscript would raise a presumption that it was still in his possession when the demand was made. But the editor could rebut that p»esumption by proving that the manu- script was lost prior to the demand. The editor would not escape liability by proving that he had improperly destroyed or wrongfully parted with the manuscript (see Jones v. Dowle, 9 M. & W. 19) or had lost it through his gross negligence (see Eeeve v. Palmer, 5 C.B..N.S. 84). But it would be a good defence for the editor to show that before its return was demanded the manuscript was lost without default on his part (see 5 C.B., N.S. pp. 85-89), or in some manner which could not be ascertained. In the latter cases the editor would not be liable unless the author could adduce affirmative evidence cf gross negligence (see Powell v. Graves, 2 Times L.B. 663; Howard v. Hams, C. & E. 253). "2 I ain °^ °I^n'on *na* m the particular case referred to the author sent his manuscript to tl &toT *Q ^>coraD-ce of the existence of any ## p. 212 (#260) ############################################ 212 THE AUTHOR. such notice as that -which is in the magazine, then the editor could not successfully rely upon the notice as a defence to any action brought against him. In this case the notice would in my opinion be immaterial, but, of course, the editor might have a complete defence on other grounds, such as those I have already referred to in my answer to the first question. Ef the author saw or knew of the notice before he sent his manuscript, I think he would be held to have sent it on the terms of such notice: (see Parker v. South-Eastern Rail- way Company, 2 C. P. D. 416; Richards v. Rowntree (1894), A. C. 217). The exact part of the magazine in which the notice is inserted is im- material, except in so far as it renders it more or less likely that the author in fact saw or did not see the notice, assuming that he ever saw the magazine. I would point out that there is a reference to the notice on page 27 of the magazine. "3.I am of opinion that the burden of proving that the author was cognizant of the notice would lie upon the editor. "T. Willes Chitty." From the Committee. 6. Herbert Thring. II.—Cost or Production. We are so well accustomed to assurances that it is impossible to get work done at the cost indi- cated by the Society's book, that it is hardly worth while repeating that those figures were arrived at by estimates sent in from different printers. In any case they were only offered as approximate, because a printer's bill is a very elastic document indeed. Here, however, we submit a case which illustrates the amount of belief which is to be placed in those who, con- tinually asking and receiving estimates, declare that our figures are impossibly low. Estimates were asked from three printers of the cost of composition, printing, and binding for a certain MS. The paper was supplied separately. The book was one of 440 pages, each page con- taining twenty-eight lines, and the type was small pica. The binding was to be quite simple, but what is called "handsome." Let us take first the figures given in the "Cost of Production." Very nearly the exact size of page and the type are given on pp. 18 and 19. Our page is slightly larger. 1. Composition at £1 7*. 6d. a sheet of sixteen pages. 2. Printing 1000 copies at 10s. 6d. a sheet; or, 2000 copies (see p. 57) at 16*. a sheet. 3. Paper at 16s. a sheet. 4. Binding at 27*. per 100 volumes, or ^\d. a volume. (But for the last two years an announce- ment has been made regularly in The Author to the effect that binding has gone up 15 per cent. This brings the binding very nearly to 3frf. But this was an estimate for a three-volume novel. The volumes in this form are small. On p. 27 the binding of a single volume is put down at 4<f.) Now for the estimates. I. A town firm, one of the very best printers in London: 1. Composing per sheet of thirty-two pages at £2 lis. per sheet, i.e., £1 5s. bd. the sheet of sixteen pages. 2. Printing 1000 copies at 8.?. Sd. a sheet. 3. Binding 1000 copies, ,£16 u»., i.e., very nearly 3-j"//. a copy. 4. Printing 2000 copies at 14*. 2d. a sheet. 5. Paper at 10s. a sheet. II. —A country firm :— 1. Composing £1 js. a sheet. 2. Printing 1000 at 9s. a sheet. 3. Printing 2000 at 14s. a sheet. III. Another London firm: 1. Composing and printing 1000 copies at £2 3«. 3|</. a sheet. 2. Composing and printing 2000 copies at £2 Ss. Sd. a sheet. 3. Paper at 12*. a sheet. Compare these estimates with our own figures:— Society. 1st Printer. 2nd Pi inter. Composition per theet 1 Printing 1000 per sheet o Paper per sheet o Binding per vol o Printing 2000 copies per sheet) (" Cost of Production," p. 28) j 0 S. d. £ s. 7» 1 5 10 6 o 8 16 o o 10 04 o o 16 2 o 14 d. 6 8 o 3 1 a 2 3rd Printer. £ s. £ s. d. £ s. d. 1 70 2 3 3^ (for o 9 o composing and printing) o 12 o 0140 ( composing and print ing, I 288a sheet. ## p. 213 (#261) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. 213 The figures are actually lower than our ■own all along the line. The estimates are in Mr. Thring's hands. They can be seen by members. It cannot be denied that if instead of one book the printers were asked for an estimate of five-and-twenty books, all these figures would be greatly reduced. III.—Notes on Aoeeements. I. LITERARY. The following agreement has been handed to the secretary of the Society. It has been signed by an author, and, like all the agreements printed in The Author, can be verified by any member of the Society who cares to inquire at the office for full particulars. The outlines of this agreement have been printed in The Author two or three times previously, as the publisher issues the same printed form on nearly every occasion. On this particular occasion the figures of the agreement are perhaps rather more in favour of the publisher than usual, owing to the author's ignorance and to the fact that he obtained no advice before signing the document. It will be seen on perusal that the publisher is to publish " an edition" of a certain work, and to sell it at the published or advertised price of 10.9. 6d. per copy; this edition is to be the pro- perty of the said publisher. There is no state- ment as to how large the edition is to be, so that if the book should prove a success the publisher might, if he chose—there is nothing to pre- vent him—claim the first edition to be one of 3000 or perhaps 5000 copies. Nest, the author is to guarantee at the end of nine months the sale of 450 copies at the price of six shillings, or ,£135. This amount will almost certainly cover all the cost of production, if only a small edition is produced in the first instance, and will also put a certain sum into the publisher's pocket. Keinark, therefore, that it is not to the interest •of the publisher to push the book until the expira- tion of the nine months, because he will then demand the author's money according to the agreement, and afterwards he will put in his own pocket the proceeds of every book sold. If the book is not a success, the publisher is well paid, and the author, inasmuch as he has to purchase three or four hundred copies of his own book, has to take upon himself really the publisher's duty ■of putting these copies upon the market in order to endeavour to recoup his outlay. For writing the book therefore; for paying for the cost of production; and for undertaking to a 1 large extent the publisher's duty, the author obtains nothing whatever; and, further, has very little probability of ever obtaining anything, if, as has been pointed out, there should be practically no limit to the first edition. Memorandum of Agreement made this day of between (publisher) of the one part, and (author) of the other part. The said publisher hereby agrees to produce in tasteful form, and publish in the usual manner at his own expense, an edition of a volume written by the said author and entitled" ," the said volume to consist of 504 pages, crown octavo size, and to be published at ten shillings and sixpence per copy. The said author hereby agrees to be responsible for the Bale of 450 copies of the said volume, and undertakes, at the expiration of nine months from the date of publication, to purchase at the rate of six shillings per copy whatever number of copies, if any, be necessary to make the sales up to the said number of 450 oopios. This edition to be the property of the said publisher, and all proofs of the same to be corrected and returned promptly to the printer by the said author. It is understood that the copyright of the said volume is, and remains, the property of the author. As witness, &c. II. MUSICAL. The following agreement was handed to a composer by one of the best-known musical publishing houses. It was a printed form, and there appears to be no doubt, as one or two other copies of this agreement have been sent to the office, that it is the usual form handed by this firm to composers. It is in the form of a letter to be signed by the composer and to be handed to the publisher, and, like all musical publishers' agreements, which are at present considerably worse for the composer than the literary pub- lishers' for the author, it asks for everything that the composer possibly has to give, and offers the smallest of small royalties in return; the royalty not to increase with the sales if the piece is a success, as very often happens, and only to be paid after the sale of a certain number of copies, the price of which would be almost, if not more than, sufficient to cover the cost of production. On it being pointed out to the publisher that the composer would also like to have a signed copy, it was stated that it was not the custom of the publishing house, and the com- poser finally had to give up this point if he desired to see his music published. By this step, of course, the publisher obtains the whole copy- right, but does not bind himself in any way even to produce the work if he does not feel so inclined. The composer, therefore, has only to rely upon the good faith of the publisher. In this particular case there seems to have been no reason to doubt that good faith, but it is not the proper wav *° conduct a business transaction, and the sooner that musical publishers are brought to s tb>t it is necessary to have a formal contract ## p. 214 (#262) ############################################ 214 THE AUTHOR. between themselves and the composers on reason- able terms the better. London, To Messrs. I hereby assign to you the whole of my oopyright (includ- ing the right of pnblio performance), for Great Britain and Ireland and the Colonies, in my , entitled "in consideration of your paying me a royalty of pence per copy on all copieB sold of the «ame: thirteen copies to be considered as twelve, and the firBt 2O0 copies not to be subject to royalty. London, To Messrs. I hereby assign to you the whole of my copyright and right of performance for the United States of America, in my , entitled" "in consideration of your paying me a royalty of per cent, on the marked prico of all copies Bold of the same in the said country, or imported from the United States into Canada. The first 200 copies not to be aubject to royalty. IV.—Publishing on Commission. There has been received a circular from a firm hitherto unknown offering terms for publishing on commission. The terms are these: 1. The author to pay the estimated cost before the work goes to press. 2. The publishers allow vouchers and keep open books. 3. They advertise their books in a monthly catalogue which circulates 80,000 a year, or 6666 6 every month. (The repeating decimal is probably a special feature in the circu- lation.) 4. The publishers reserve the right of taking the " usual discount on printing, &c." 5. They acoonnt for all sales at 25 as 24, or at 13 as 12, with S percent off. 6. Copies Bent out of London must have the porterage charged to the author. 7. The publishers take a 10 per cent, commission. Now let us consider. The author pays before- hand, say, £120 to cover all expenses, including advertising. It is assumed that the publishers' statement of the estimate is honest. In fact, this examination of the circular is not an attack upon the bona Jides of the publishers at all. The book perhaps sells 750 copies. About half the number sold are taken by 12 as 12. It will be found that the publishers therefore, by putting down all at 13 as 12, put into their pockets, on a sale of 750 copies, a sum of a little over £3 to which they are not entitled. The 5 per cent, discount on the sale of 750 copies, taking an average of 3«. 6d. a volume, amounts to j£6 i is. 3d., for which no right or reason exists. The publishers need not pay their printers for six months. They have therefore the use of the author's money for that time. And if they are dishonest they may charge the full amount, con- cealing the discount. The charge of 10 per cent, on the sales means ,£13 zs. 6d. Now let us see how the author's account will stand. £ s. d. £ s. d. Payment 120 o o 10 percent commission ... 13 2 6 5 per cent discount on cost of production 3 o o 5 per cent 011 sales 6 11 3 Alleged 13 as 12 3 o o 145 13 9 By sales: 750 copies at 3s. 6d 131 5 o Loss 14 8 9 H5 13 9 The author, then, on a moderate sale of 750 copies, loses .£14 8s. yd. The publishers on the other hand have some- thing pleasant out of the transaction, viz,: £ s. d. Commission 13 2 6 Discount on printing, &c 3 o o 5 per cent on sales 6 11 3 Use of author's money for an average of 9 months at 5 per cent 4 10 o Alleged 13 as 12 3 o o <£3o 3 9 Not a great sum, but these are not great people. Besides, 30 such books in the year would make quite a pretty lit;le income. V. — Publications of the International Bureau. The Berne International Bureau for the Pro- tection of Literary and Artistic Property has re- quested us to mention that—■ The International Bureau for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Property replies to requests for information sent to it by its official organ Lc Droit d'Auteur, if the question is one of general interest; by letter, under cover, when the question is of a private nature. The following documents can be procured from the International Bureau. All questions respecting the protection of literary and artistic property are, at the present date, much more generally studied than they have been for the last ten years. Of this fact, which is well known, we have a proof in the great number of requests addressed to us for informa- tion as to where it is possible to obtain the official documents relating to the history of the founda- tion of the Literary and Artistic Union. We believe that we shall be doing a service to all that are interested in these questions, as well as to those journals whose readers are concerned ## p. 215 (#263) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. 2'5 about them, by publishing here a list of the docu- ments for sale at our Bureau. These are the following: 1. The "Actes" of the three international diplomatic Conferences held at Berne in the years 1884, 1885, and 1886, to fix the terms of the Berne Union. Three numbers, large paper, stitched, in wrapper. 1884, eighty-nine pages; 1SS5, eighty-one pages; 1886, forty-four pages. 2. Copies of the "Convention d'Union," Sept. 9, 1886; official edition in two languages, German and French. 3. Complete file of Le Droit d'Auteur, each year stitched in wrapper. 4. Conspectus of the wishes expressed by the various Congresses and Assemblies since the foun- dation of the Union, stitched in wrapper. 1896, twenty-three pages. 5. Studies on divers questions connected with the revision of the Berne Convention. Special edition of the principal articles which have appeared on this subject in Le Droit d'Auteur, 1896, seventy pages. In addition the Bureau will send gratis to any- one asking for them the following Studies, which have been separately printed:— 1. The relations existing between the Berne Convention and the Swiss law respecting literary and artistic property on the one hand, and the treaties concluded on the other hand by Switzer- land. A Conference by Professor A. d'Orelli, eight pages. 2. The codification of the laws respecting the protection of author's rights in Great Britain. Twenty-five pages. 3. The fundamental principle of the Berne Convention. Four pages. Hie official documents relative to the recent Paris Diplomatic Conference will not be placed at the disposition of the public until after the ratification of the Acts adopted at Paris, which will take place in the spring of next year. We may add that the Bureau of the Union for the Protection of Industrial Property, a bureau which is under the same management as our own, sells the Acts of the Paris Conference, 1880, 1883; Rome, 1886; and Madrid. 1890, at which the Convention of March 20. 1883 was either drawn up or revised; the file of Propriety Indns- tricllc, 1885-1896; and the first volume of the •' Reeueil " of laws and treaties respecting indus- trial property, which has just appeared. VOL. VII. THE BATTLE CF BOOKS IN THE EAELY FIFTIES. TINHERE W'IS a bookselling question fifty I years ago a good deal keener than that of to-day, yet bearing some points of resem- blance to it. An article appeared in the West- minster Review of April 1852, entitled "The Commerce of Literature." The writer, it trans- pired shortly afterwards, was Mr. John Chapman, a young and enterprising publisher and book- seller in the Strand, who was also proprietor and editor of the Westminster Review. The tax upon paper and upon advertisements; the duty on foreign books; our anomalous literary relations with America; and the conditions of book dis- tribution, were all questions which Mr. Chapman passed under lengthy and minute review. Mischievous Profits to Booksellers. The bookseller supplied his customer without commission, and depended for his profit on a discount to be obtained from the publisher. This system was the parent of innumerable con- flicts and trouble. "The nominal discount allowed to the trade," wrote Mr. Chapman, " i.e., by the publisher to the bookseller, is 25 per cent.; more- over, twenty-five copies are charged as twenty- four, and in cases of low-priced books thirteen as twelve, or seven as six and a half." The great publishers also held annual or semi-annual sales —attended by the " select booksellers of London and Westminster "—with the accompaniments of dinners and wine. Provincial booksellers were rigorously excluded; and on these occasions the remainders, or unsold copies of publications which had ceased "to sell" at their original prices, were offered on reduced terms, or sold by auction, while new works, often even before they had been issued, were offered at 10 and 15 per cent, below" the trade price, with the advantage of long credit. These enormous profits—varying from 2: to 40 per cent., besides the twenty-fifth or thirteenth book — tempted enterprising men to offer a portion of this discount to private purchasers in order to increase their connections and the amount of their returns. But to do this was to fly in the face of A Formidable Pha.la.nx op Monopolists. Indolent tradesmen, publishers who wished to add to their vocation that of retail booksellers, and, lastly, the book merchants of Paternoster- row, all had inducements to extinguish competi- tion. These last-named, whose chief source of strength lay in the fact that the partners of the greatest publishing houses in London were also extensive book merchants and retail vendors, B B ## p. 216 (#264) ############################################ 2 1 6 THE AUTHOR. supplied the literary institutions and libraries— hence the loss of this branch of trade would be more serious to them than to the small book- sellers, who di 1 not purchase on such advan- tageous terms, but whose competition might prove nevertheless injurious. At this point we must turn back to 1774, in order to get the incep- tion of the idea of cheap books and free trade in selling, and by consequence, the beginning of an opposing association to keep up prices. In that year James Lackington began business humbly, with only five pounds, but in a few years his annual sale grew to 100,000 volumes, and he was invited to attend the trade sales. "When first invited to these trade sales," he says in his "Memoirs," "I was very much sur- prised to learn that it was common for such as purchased 'remainders,' to destroy one- half or three-fourths of such books, and to charge the full publication price, or nearly that, for such as they kept on hand; and there was a kind of standing order amongst the trade, that in case anyone was known to sell articles under the publication price, such person was to be excluded from trade sales; so blind were copyright holders to their own interest." Lackington reflected that if some of the books were not worth six shillings, they were worth three or two; and he resolved not to destroy any books that were worth saving, but to sell them off at half or quarter of the publication prices. In spite of strenuous opposition in the trade, his husiness prospered enormously; and the Booksellers' Asso- ciation sprang into being in 1806 to prevent the spread of the practice he had initiated. The operations of this body of monopolists, which saw many ups and downs, had a certain rude thoroughness. About 1830, for instance, they hired spies to discover by what means booksellers on the "black list" succeeded in purchasing through indirect channels those books which were denied to them directly by the publishers. The spies followed such booksellers as pertinaciously as their own shadows. In Aug. 1831 a party of the defaulters" sallied forth, and Mr. Bounds (the secretary of the combination) and his accomplices were immediately on their track. "Cabs were taken to the river, where they embarked, the spies with them, and were carried as far as Calais, where for some days the four travellers took up their quarters at the Hotel de 1'Europe. They then adjourned to the Hotel d'Orleans at Boulogne, where they rested three days, and then took flight again for Dover. Here the booksellers separated in order to perplex their pursuers, one of whom lost his cue by intoxication, while the other on reaching Hythe gave up the chase and returned to London to report his proceedings to the committee, which, it is said, having on this occasion expended <£8o only to be defeated, reluctantly determined to discontinue the costly system." The Laws: Inconsistency and Casuistry. Nearly the whole trade, however, comprising about 2400 persons, signed an agreement to observe the arbitrary laws of the combination, and though a powerful blow was dealt it in Professor Babbage's work "On the Economy of Machinery and Manufactures," it rallied, and in 1849 a warning was issued—signed by Longman, Brown, and Co.; Simpkin, Marshall, and Co.; Whitaker and Co.; and Hamilton, Adams, and Co.—to such booksellers as bad been acting con- trary to the regulations for the guidance of the trade, agreed to at the Albion Tavern, Oct. 3, 1848. This had not much effect, however, and at a general meeting in Exeter Hall, on July 12, 1850, the following declaration was drawn up to be signed by every bookseller residing within twelve miles of the General Post Office, before he could be allowed to trade with the subscribers. It was signed by 1200 booksellers: 1 at. That we will not supply books at trade price, except to those who are in possession of a ticket. Special trades dealing occasionally in books connected with their trade, may be supplied with such books at trade price, at the discretion of each bookseller. 2nd. That, as a general rule, no greater allowance than 10 per cent, for cash be made to private customers uncon- nected with the trade or with publishing. 3rd. That, as a general rule, no greater allowance than 15 per cent, be made to book societies. 4th. That we will not advertise, or ticket, at less than the publication price copyright books, unless bond fide second- hand or unless depreciated by the publisher, or such as are notoriously unsuccessful. We mutually agree that any one systematically acting contrary to these regulations, after remonstrance, shall be no longer considered entitled to the privileges of the trade. But the law-makers failed to keep their own Jaws. The chairman himself (Mr. J. M. Richard- son at that time) admitted that he supplied books to the Society for Promoting Christian Know- ledge, and that the latter re-sold them to its members at cost price. Another prominent member supplied books to one of the colleges at 25 per cent discount. A third supplied the books to form the Bank of England library at a similar discount; and so on. Several Glasgow booksellers would on no account be guilty of selling a hook under its published price, but to be equal with their neighbours who had no such scruples, they fell upon the following expedient:—" If a person asked one of them for a book, published at 2s. 6d. for example, it was offered to him at that price, but if he objected that he could get it at 28. else- where, the vendor at once overcame the difficulty by cutting open a few leaves of the volume, or if ## p. 217 (#265) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. 217 it chanced to be cut when published, by allowing a drop of ink to deface it—the conscientious bibliopole being able to regard it in that condi- tion as 'second-hand,' and therefore holding himself entitled, according to orthodox principles, to sell it at a reduced price!" The Effect upon the Author. Mr. Chapman's contention on the ground of the public interest, was that booksellers were willing to accept less profit than was allowed by the regulations, and therefore to sell books at a cheaper rate. How vitally the author was affected by the system of distribution that pre- vailed, may be seen readily from the single case of Mr. Babbage's book, one of those upon which the writer based his article. The retail price, 68., on 3052 copies, produced =£915 121. Of this sum ,£266 os. 1 id. was paid for printing, paper, and taxes on paper and advertisements; £61 os. lod. was the publisher's commission; and the author received £283 6s. lid., thus leaving the enormous sum of .£305 3*. 4c?. to be divided among the wholesale and retail booksellers. The booksellers therefore received £21 16s. 5f/. more for distributing it than the author received for writing it! The Times on the Controversy. The facts of the dispute were placed before the readers of the Times, which immediately followed up Mr. Chapman's article. The great journal could not discover any valid reason for "this anomalous interference with the free course of competition and the natural operation of trade," and did not hesitate to call the methods of the publishers "an organised system of coercion." It had been argued in justification of the existing practice that it commanded the assent of the vast majority of the trade, but the Times dismissed this argument as invalid, because in the face of such absolute powers as the Book- sellers' Association possessed over its members it was plain that the number of those venturing to dissent would be exceedingly few. A great many letters poured into the Times within the next few weeks. Messrs. Longman, Brown, and Co. and Mr. John Murray wrote jointly, saying that the Association was not a publishers' association, and that as publishers they were no further interested in it than so far as it had been supposed to pro- mote the solvency of the trade and the prosperity of literary speculations. Mr. Richard Bentley took quite the contrary view, remarking that a glance at the list of the members of the committee of the Association would show that, with nrobably two exceptions only, it consisted of ]>ub]jshers aU<* the wholesale book merchants of Put,,* , ^ row, vol. vii. trnost«r-r "who are interested in the maintenance of monopoly." Fifteen per cent, quite Sufficient. Mr. Murray stoutly maintained that 25 per cent, was not too much to allow the book- seller. Nevertheless Messrs. Bickers and Bush, Leicester-square, one of the most constant oppo- nents of the Booksellers' Association, promptly proved that as a matter of fact they were con- ducting their business satisfactorily on 15 per cent, discount. Mr. Sydney Williams, Henrietta- street, was one of a number who gave similar testimony. And two months later, after the Times had in one of its articles estimated the discount at 33 per cent., "Parvus Julius," writing from Lincoln's-inn, said that even this was "con- siderably understating" it. He added: Retailers always get twenty-five copies of the larger works at the price of twenty-four copies. Of pamphlets they get thirteen to the dozen. Thns, for 100 books sold over the counter at 10*. each the retailer has only paid 96 times 7«. 6d.; his outlay is JE36, and his return .£50. A profit of ill4 on ^36 is equal exactly to 385 per cent. Energetic Steps taken by Authors. On May 4,1852, a meeting, numerously attended by authors (and a few booksellers who had smuggled themselves in as spies), was held at Mr. Chapman's, 142, Strand. Mr. Charles Dickens took the chair. Amongst the men distin- guished in literature and science who were present were Professors Owen, Newman, and Ansted, Mr. Babbage, Mr. Tom Taylor, Dr. Lankester, Dr. Arnott, and Mr. Crabbe Robinson; and letters concurring in the views of the meeting were read from Mr. Carlyle, Mr. John Stuart Mill, Mr. Gladstone, M.P., Professor de Morgan, Mr. James Wilson, M.P., Mr. Cobdeu, M.P., and others. From this meeting there arose the definite steps taken which ended in abolition of the trade restrictions. Five resolutions were adopted, declaring that free trade ought to be applied to books as to all other articles of com- merce; that the principles of the Booksellers' Association were not only opposed to Free Trade, but were tyrannical and vexatious in their opera- tions, and had the effect of keeping the prices of books much higher than they would otherwise be; and that the retailer, not the publisher, should determine the retail prices. Mr. Gladstone on the Trade. Mr. Gladstone had already denounced the Booksellers' Association as unjust in principle and injurious in practice, and he wrote Mr. Bentley that only feelings of personal regard had restrained him from taking more public steps in the matter. He furnished a practical eomni'Mvt on his own words by supplying certain mn-c m- 11 h i ## p. 218 (#266) ############################################ 2l8 THE AUTHOR. firming booksellers with his pamphlets on Italy, which his publisher—being a member of the combination—could not sell to those persons. But at length Mr. Gladstone took "more public steps." In his speech in the House of Commons on May 12, 1S52, during the debate on the Paper Duty, he said he did not believe there was any article for which the public were called on to pay a price so high, in comparison with the actual cost of production, as books. The system of the bookselling trade was a disgrace to their state of civilisation. With the exception of the works of certain distinguished authors—with the excep- tion of such cases as Macaulay's "History of England"—new publications in an enormous majority of cases scarcely ever passed the sale of 500 copies. An immense proportion of those that were published did not pay their expenses at all; and he believed the number that passed the sale of 500 copies was certainly not more than some- thing like 5 per cent., or, at any rate, not more than from one-twentieth to one-tenth of the whole number produced. The Government could do a great deal for the removal of the evils; not so individuals. "If a particular person who has a work to publish says, 'I will fix the price of this work at one-half the ordinary charge,' he merely makes a victim of himself without in the slightest degree affecting the state of the market, or without acting sensibly on the demand fur his own book. The book societies and circulating libraries are not sensibly affected by the price of the book being more or less; and consequently the natural healthy play which ought to regulate the price which the books ought to fetch and the price of books in general— the operation of those principles is totally inter- cepted by this system, which has been so long in action." A Symposium of Authors. A circular inviting the opinion of authors was issued on April 30, 1852, by Messrs. John W. Parker and Son, and about a hundred replies, embracing the views of every branch of intellec- tual production, were received and afterwards published. This was the question that was put to them: If a retail bookseller, of ascertained credit and respect- ability, applies to your publisher for copies of any book in which yon are directly or indirectly interested, which he is ready to purchase on the terms at whioh the publisher has offered them to the trade at large, but with the avowed intention of retailing his purchases at a smaller profit than that provided for between the wholesale rate and the retail price fixed for single copies, do you consider the intention to sell at a low rate of profit a good and sufficient reason why the publisher should refuse to supply him with books which he is ready to purchase and to keep in stock at his own risk r The authors almost unanimously replied, " No."" There were only three exceptions, and these were not very pronounced in any direction. The following are a selection of replies: J. S. Mill.—I think that there is no case in which a combination to keep up prices is more injurious than in the sale of books; and I wish success to the [" rebel "] booksellers in their resist- ance to the trade regulations which restrict their liberty of selling books at a low price. Alfred Tennyson.—I am for free-trade in the bookselling question, as in other things. Charles Dickens.—No; most certainly not. Thomas Carlyle.—My answer to this "ques- tion," for my own interests, and for those of the world, so far as I can see them, is decidedly " No,, it is not a sufficient reason "; and, indeed, I can see no issue, of any permanency, to this contro- versy that has now arisen, but absolute free-trade in all branches of book-selling and book-pub- lishing. Goldwin Smith.—The intention to sell at a low- rate of profit does not appear to me a good and sufficient reason why a publisher should refuse to sell a book to a respectable retail dealer. Herbert Spencer (after answering "No," added) :—On the contrary, believing, as he does, that every reduction in the cost of distributing books must inevitably extend their sale, and by so doing increase authors' profits, Mr. Spencer is of opinion that a publisher will best serve authors by giving the underselling retailer every facility. Charles Darwin.—As an author of some scientific works, I beg to express strongly my opinion thai, both for the advantage of authors and the public, booksellers, like other dealers, ought to settle, each for himself, the retail price. Charles Kingsley (having answered " No," added).—The gain deducted from the profits of booksellers by the cheap plan will go—First, to the consumer: and I suppose there can be no doubt that if a book be good and right it is good and right that it be sold as cheap as possible. Next, to the producers—under which term I include, not only authors, but publishers. Professor Newman.—It appears to me trans- parently equitable that a publisher who at all sells books to a second party should allow that party to be the sole judge at what prices the books shall be again sold; and that every attempt to control one another's sales is inconsistent with the nature of property, confounds men's notions of right and wiong, and can lead to nothing but waste of valuable goods, capital, and time, of so serious a nature that evasions and duplicity will be widely used as a partial remedy for so great an evil. ## p. 219 (#267) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. Dr. Lindley.— I am of opinio;! that, the retailers of books should bo free to fix for them- selves the profit they require, and that it is unwise and unjust that publishers should inter- fere in the matter. I believe that it is impossible to name any considerable branch of trade, except bookselling, in which that interferenci is even attempted. Professor Craik.—In so far as the point involved in your "question" rests upon purely economical or commercial grounds, it plainly will not bear arguing. The only thing that a person interested in the sale of any kind of production or commodity can desire or care for, with a view to its pecuniary returns, is that the sale, at a given price, should be as extensive as possible. So long, therefore, as the retail dealer giv ;s me or my publisher our own price for the books which he purchases, we have nothing more to ask. His rate of profit, let it be as low, or, if you will, as inadequate as it may, does not affect ours. Professor Ansted, F.R.S.—I say most dis- tinctly and emphatically No. I cannot distin- guish any difference between the tradi in books and other articles; nor do I see what possible advantage can be gained to authors or the public, nor inde :d to the bookselling trade itself in any branch, by putting restrictions on the mode which any retailer may think the best of dealing with purchases he may have made in the fair way of business. Charles Babbage, F.R.S.—I consider the purchaser of any of my works is fully entitled to sell them at any price he may find most con- venient. The Dean of Hereford (Very Rev. Richard Dawes).—I think every retail bookseller ought to be allowed to sell at any rate of profit he may think proper. Lieut.-Gen. Sir Charles Napier, G.C.B.— No! Dr. L. Schmitz.—No, I do not; I believe that such a retail dealer will increase the sale of the work, and thereby benefit both author and publisher. Dr. Forbes Winslow.—I think the attempt to make the retail bookseller sell at a price previously agreed upon by the large trader is an unjust and tyrannical proceeding, and must, if acted upon, very materially limit the circulation of books, and consequently injure a'l classes of the community. G. Cornewall Lewis, M.P.—It appears to me not desirable that the publishing booksellers should attempt to enforce upon retailers the exaction from their customers of f]j) £UH retail price originally appointed by tbeij^ C! e8f if the retailers ai-e willing- t) sell to the public at a less price. Leigh Hunt (after apologising for delay).— But I was anxious to make myself better acquainted than I was with the details of the "Question," in order that I might add the remarks desired of me, and so give all the strength I could to my approval of that spirit of free trade and cheapness in literature, in which I hid already expressed my hearty concurrence to Mr. Chapman. Archdeacon Hone. — I think that the removal of thi restriction imposed on the book trade by a combination of publishers and retailers would issue in the increased sale of books. The Commission of Inquiry. The resolutions adopted by the afore-mentioned meeting of authors, as well as the re [dies to Messrs. Parkers' question, were placed before a Commission of three gentlemen, to which at length the publishers agreed to submit the issue. This consisted of Lord Campbell, the Dean of St. Paul's (Dr. Miliuau), and Mr. George Grote. Both sides were to state their cases, but a hitch occurred to the original meeting, as only the representatives of the Association appeared. The " undersellers " wrote that they had not had sufficient notice. On May 17, however, both parties came before the Commission at Stratheden House. The following geutlemen were present: "Uxdei!sellers." — Messrs. Bush, Bickers, W. Teg?, and Jjhn Chapman, of London; Mr. Perrin, of the firm of Horge and Perrin, of Manchester; and Mr. Griflin, of Glasgow. Booksellers' Association.—Mr. W. Longman (the Chairman), Mr. Murray, Mr. J. H. Parker (.Ox'ord), Mr. Pickering, Mr. Beilby (Birmingham). Mr. Douglas (Edin- burgh), Mr. Taylor (of Mr. Hatehard's), Mr. R. B. Seeley, Mr. J. J. Miles, Mr. Rivington, Mr. Bohn, and Mr. S. Low (Secretary to the London Association). Mr. Longman, in his speech defending the Association, said its object was to destroy com- petition in the retailing of books, and insinuated its disinterestedness by remarking that those who would most benefit by competition would be the aforesaid "book-merchants," who had big capital and every facility for doing business on a large scale. He was convinced that Lackington's system of underselling was totally different from that of the present day; it was extensively prac- tised in Lackington's time, and met with the approbation of the publishers. Mr. Lackington bought " remainders,"—the copies of unsuccessful books which remained on the publishers' hands— and sold them at a reduced pricii If the Book- sellers' Association ceased to exist, Mr. Longman feared thit not a little confusion and ruin would ensue; but he l.elieved it would be u:ces?ary for ## p. 220 (#268) ############################################ 220 THE AUTHOR. a time to let events take their natural course. The retail booksellers, unless they speculated, only received 25 per cent. A reduction of the allowance had been recommended, and that appeared to him the best suggestion that had teen made, but it would be attended with very technical difficulties. The Association Condemned. The result of the inquiry was a complete victory for the " free traders." The Commission decided that the regulations were unreasonable and inex- pedient, and contrary to the freedom which ought to prevail in commercial transactions. The consideration that weighed most with the Commission was the peculiar mode in which in the book trade the wares to be disposed of were distributed. They recognised that there was a great advantage to literature in having respectable booksellers' shops in London, Edin- burgh, and Dublin, and all work was thereby made known more efficiently than by advertising. "But," continued the report, " the existence of a larger number of retail establishments than is necessary to supply the commodity to the public has an evident tendency to raise the price to the consumer; and, according to all experience, the demand will increase as the price is diminished (though not perhaps to the extent contemplated by some of the more ardent opponents of the 'regulations')." In accordance with this decision, the Book- sellers' Association was dissolved—for this was the understanding with which its representatives approached the Commission (although the" under- sellers," on the other hand, had distinctly refused to alter their system of business even should the decision of the Commission go against them, while the authors also had taken up the position . that a compromise was impossible). The dissolu- tion took place after a stormy debate on May 28, 1852. On June 19, the Scottish Booksellers' Protective Association followed suit—surlily. Clearing the Air. Immediately afterwards there appeared in Frasers Magazine a remarkably able review of the whole dispute, under the title "The Makers, Sellers, and Buyers of Books." This writer also demonstrated, by facts and figures, that the Association's system was for the benefit not of the retail bookseller, but of the wholesale purchaser. He agreed, too, with Lord Campbell that "the bookselling trade will have the best chance of flourishing without any special regula- tions of any sort." Only after the decision of Lord Campbell and his colleagues did the Athenmim give its opinion, which had been kept in type, but of which it had withheld publication on hearing that the question was to be considered by a conference arranged by the parties themselves. The Athenwum came to the same conclusion as the Commission. Merely to reduce the dis- count, it wrote, would be a waiver of the whole question. "The sole, simple, and safe principle seems to be, in this as in all other cases, leave the buyer and the seller to arrange terms between themselves." Ou June nth the Times repeated the old arguments in favour of free trade, because it assumed from evidences before it that the pub- lishers were extremely ill-satisfied, and more desirous of reviving their system under another name than of acquiescing in the deliberate opinion of their own selected arbitrator. The Tilarm on this score on the part of the Times was, however, unnecessary, for seeing this article, Mr. Bevis E. Green, who had been chairman of a meeting of the principal publishers held on the previous Saturday, at once communicated to the Times the following resolutions proposed at that meeting by Mr. Thomas Longman, and unani- mously passed: 1. That the meeting declare that they have no intention of taking any steps to oontrol the dealings of the retail booksellers with the public. 2. That this meeting consider it probable that it may be expedient before long to rednce the retail prices and trade allowances on some books already published. 3. This meeting are not prepared at present to recom- mend and pat in foroe the second resolution. "I unwillingly intrude myself on the public," Mr. Green added, " and trust that, as the question now appears to be at rest, we may receive that valuable support from the public Press which is so important to all concerned in the publication of books." NEW YORK LETTER. New York, Jan. 15. THE increase in the number, scope, and excellence of the critical journals is one of the most noticeable signs in the literary field just now. A new monthly has just been born, the Month, published by the editors of the Critic, and made up of matter which appears in that weekly. It is reported that the admitted object of the new periodical is to compete directly with the Bookman, which has had great influence in starting up other periodicals since the American edition sprang into being some two years ago. Nothing is said in the Month about the Critic, probably from a realisation of the danger to the circulation of the weekly made by the fact that a reader can now get most of the contents of four numbers of the weekly for ## p. 221 (#269) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. 22 1 10 cents. To-day's mail brings the first number of the new Chap-Booh, in which it enters the field of the critical journals, while keeping its own features. It is no longer noticeable for its smallness, being in its new form about the size of the Saturday Review. Magazine editors in New York treat this little Chicago venture with more consideration than would be expected for a periodical not free from callowness, and the reason they do so is that they realise that it has in it something vital and sincere, although as yet crude. It occupies its new fie'.d alone, and has every promise of success. With these two signs of increased interest in literary criticism should be put the Book Buyer, which has been a mere advertising pamphlet for Charles Scribners' Sons until the last two numbers, have brought it decidedly into the field of the magazines. It adheres more strictly to book subjects than the Boohman, but it has variety, and intends to have more, containing not only criticisms of current works but general literary essays. The last two numbers have had signed reviews by the most prominent literary critics of America. Taking the birth of these periodicals, all of which are practically new, with the increase in the output of literary essays by the publishing houses, one is justified in concluding that the taste for criticism in America is rapidly growing. The literary daily which sprang up here a few weeks ago, called the Daily Tattler, died in a fort- night, partly because it was too flippant, the danger to which many of our newest publications are falling in the desire to escape dryness. The newspapers also show the tendency to give more and more attention to comment on literature. The New York Times, which has had several disastrous years, is, under new management, gaining thousands of subscribers a week, and improving rapidly in all departments. It pub- lishes now a special supplement on Saturday, which is really a separate paper containing book reviews, literary gossip and editorials on purely literary matters ; and the Sunday edition contains an illustrated article on some book. The other papers give more and more space to reviewing, and one of the editors of the most sensational dailies in town said the other day to me that he believed the Times showed a clear foresight of the coming popular demand in its emphasis of literature and art. Opposed to this increase in papers which aim at the interest of culture, however elementary, must be put the ever-growing number of flashy monthlies. Some new; some made °ver out °^ magazines which found respectabi^ and twenty- five cents a failure, and decided ' frV ror ten cents and a larger if lower a ~ce. The inventor of the ten cent system, and the man who carried it out with remarkable ability, Frank A. Munsey, who has kept his magazine in the biggest circulation of any monthly in the country, has just started a new venture somewhat in the field of the Ladies' Home Journal. His success with the public has been so great that his ideas may be worth quoting. In the advertisements of his new venture he asseits very frankly the principles on which he appeals to the reading public. "This house is somewhat noted for doing things quickly. An idea, and, presto, the thing itself! A few days ago the Puritan was a conception ; to-day it is a fact. This is the way we do things. It is dramatic. There is a hum about it that is an inspiration. Hurried work does not show the effect of the polishing stone; but to be alive—a tangible fact—with imperfec- tions, is better than to be a polished idea that has no life, no place. The Puritan is here—this is the concrete fact." "We like to read from pictures—to get the story from pictures. It is quick, easy, dramatic. The salient points are seen instantly; the mind, in a flash, fills in the detail, and the reader has the story—all he desires of it, in these rapid transit days. Picture-reading to the reader is what shorthand is to the stenographer. A note in the December number of The Author about the duties of majazine editors calls to mind the fact that Mr. Alden, the editor of Harjiers Magazine, follows a course directly contrary to that of most of our editors. The others read only those contributions which have passed under the eyes of their assistants. Mr. Alden, in order to keep up more thoroughly with what the people are writing about, and also to form his own judgment on any new note sounded in the work of some unknown writer, has only the purely illiterate contributions sorted out for him, and then glances at all the others, after which he hands the ones which are neither certainly good nor certainly bad to an as>istant to sort out, leaving the final decision for himself on a second reading. In the correspondence which has been pub- lished for some weeks in the Dial of Chicago on the subject of American Literature, there has been a general agreement that when the great American novel appears, the novel which is to have at once general importance and distinct local characteristics, politics will be one of its main themes; a description of that part of American history which consists in the formation of a new political life to harmonise with new social and physical conditions. It is also said by most of the writers on this subject that the novel will be democratic, and ethically representative of ## p. 222 (#270) ############################################ 222 the a union. a civilisation based upon Puritanism. All the suggestions are of necessity vague, but they all reflect an opinion, widespread among our serious thinkers, that if this country ever has a national literature it will be made out of an original treatment of our .special social and political conditions. Some New York importers fear that the free importation of books devoted to scientific research is in danger at this time of proposed tariff revi- sion, as the lahour unions, not appreciating how small is the sale of these books, the importance of which is mainly to the student, seem to be stirring themselves for an attack on this section of the present law. The following circular was sent out on Nov. 27: "To Collectors and other Officers of the Customs: "The attention of (Xficeiu of the Customs is invited to paragraph 410 of the Act of August 28, 1894, which is as follows: Books, engravings, photographs, bound or unbound, etchings, music, maps, and charts, which thall have been printed more than twenty years at the date of importation, and all bydrographic charts and scientific books and periodicals devoted to original scientific research, and publi- cations issued for their subscribers by scientific and literary associations or academies, or publications of individuals for gratuitous private circulation, and public documents issued by foreign governments. "It has been represented that books aud periodicals not strictly 'devoted to original scientific research' have been admitted to free entry, under too broad a construction of para- graph 4io; the Department accordingly notifies Officers of Customs that the terms of the law must he carefully observed. "The Solicitor of the Treasury advises the Department that, in his opinion, the words 'scientific books and periodicals devoted to original scientific research' relate to new dis- coveries in the field of science, and do not include text-books, compilat ous and discussions of scientific subjects already understood. "This construction of the law is concurred in by this Department. "Charles S. Hamlin, "Assistant Secretary. "1896. Department Circular No. 158. Division of Customs." This circular is generally believed to have been caused by the influence of the typographical unions, and although in itself it is of compara- tively little importance, it shows the activity of an influence which will undoubtedly do all it can during the reconstruction of the tariff to increase the duties on books. Norman Hatgood. NOTES AND NEWS. ri^HE opinion of Mr. Chitty, Q.C., will he read B with considerable interest by editors of magazines and journals. According to this opinion an editor does not protect himself by the usual announcement that lie will not be responsible for the safety or the return of MSS. sent to him. It is, of course, quite clear that some way must be found out of this impasse. My own sympathies are entirely with the editors, l>ecause I know something of the mass of "stuff" that is poured in upon them from all quarters. In the case of journals which have a limited circulation, the return postage of MSS. and the extra clerical expense in sending them back, are a serious con- sideration. The difficulty is this: An editor generally depends to a certain extent on contribu- tions uninvited; out of a hundred things sent in, he finds one that he is aide to accept: the other ninety-nine he has to reject. Shall he throw them into the waste-paper basket, or shall he send them back to the contributor? Generally he does tli3 latter, but demands very proper] v stamps for return postage. Sometimes he announces that he does not ask for outside contributions, and that he will not send them back. And now this opinion informs him that he has no right to take up this position. Fortunately, The Author is a paper whose aims and ruison d'etre are so limited that the editor is not overwhelmed with MSS. We are bound by our Articles of Association to protect and define literary property in every way, and to throw light upon every dark place dis- coverable—these aims do not much encourage the casual outsider. However, as I said above, my own sympathies in this matter of MSS. rejected are entirely witli editors, and I hope that they may find a way out. What right has publisher or editor to alter, add to, or omit any part of an author's manu- script? In my own view, none, if the work is signed. It seems impossible to believe that any Court of Law would hold that he has the right of making changes except in work that is unsigned. If a writer offers an article to a news- paper or journal which is accepted by the editor us an anonymous contribution, or if he writes an anonymous article, say, as a member of the staff, he has no reputation to make or to lose by this piece of work. Moreover, the editor assumes the whole responsibility for the article. The contributor, to put the thing plainly, sends in a piece of work which may be altered or finished, or changed in any way that the respon- sible editor pleases. But when a paper or a book is signed, everything is different. The reputation ## p. 223 (#271) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. 223 of the author is concerned in it; he presents hi-; work as his, all his, and no other's. He sells, or gives, the right of publishing this MS. as his; he does not invite, nor would he accept, the degradation of having his work corrected. This position has been repeatedly taken up in these columns. It is, however, greatly to be desired that the question should be heard in a Court of Law. Meantime, here is a case which happened recently. The author, a well-known novelist, arranged for the serial right of a story in a certain periodical. The story was to appear in the magazine first, anonymou-ly; but in volume form afterwards. The editor had to deal, therefore, with an anony- mous work which might seem to give him the right of alteration. But, as the work was to appear afterwards with the author's name, it was only anonymous for so many months. Therefore the author would have had to explain that the differences between the volume form aud the serial, if any, were due to the editor and not made with her consent; and that she had not invited the editor's corrections, and did not admit his literary superiority or his power of improving her style. Now when the proofs came in, she found that, certain alterations had been made. She refused absolutely to accept them. She said that she had sent in a MS. to be used for a certain purpose, exactly as it left her hands, and that she neither invited, nor would she accept, any "improve- ment " offen d by the editor. She therefore for- bade the publication of the story in its amended form, and took away the MS. to another publisher, who brought it out in his magazine. She might perhaps have insisted on the publication of the story as agreed upon: in that case the matter would have been taken, very usefully, into the Courts. Meantime, novelists are warned against such alterations. The name of the magazine is with Mr. Thring. The following is from the Literary World of Jauuaiy 15:— May I be allowed to put on record, through the columns of your paper, my indignant protest against the alteration by publishers of the text of an author's book without his knowledge or consent 1 There are five editions, dated 1895, of a book which I wrote thirty-two years ago now offered for sale by a certain firm of publishers, in which four outrageous alterations have been made in the text for tho purpose of suiting certain en- gravings introduced into the more expensive editions. On page 207 ten lines are inserted giving Robin the character of a mean and contemptible rascal which is ■entirely at variance with the spirit of my story. Page 334 has had three lines taken out and three inset.j j which confuse the narrative in a ridiculous q,. ' On page 41S an incident has been wholly revereej1 0 ^ what I wrote; while upon page 479 eleven lines have been cut out t> introduce a pi'ture which has nothing what- ever to do with the text. The story H thus twisted altogether from the purpose which I originally designed. The question, never yet decided, is whether a publisher who has bought the copyright of a book has bought the right to publish any part or parts of it, to omit portions, to insert portions— in a word, to alter as he desires. Suppose, for instance, a publisher in possession of the copyright of Shakespeare's sonnets. Would he be allowed to alter the lines; to take out phrases which he disapproved; to add lines which chinged the sonnet into .something non- descript? Suppose a publisher owning the copyright of Tennyson. Would he lie justified in publishing a Tennyson "improved" by a scribe in his own office? The thing is absurd. Why, then, is it less absurd when a lesser than Tennyson is concerned? The principle is the same, whether the author is at the top or the bottom of the ladder. But the question has never been decided in a court of law. Surely it is time to get it decided. Meanwhile, the tempo- rary remedy is for the author to insert a clause in the agreement that the right of publishing means publishing as a whole and without altera- tion or omission of any kind. The reading of tho L?eds people is shown jby the returns of the Free Libraries, Fiction, of course, heads the list. The most popular authors are Marie Corelli, Dora Russell, " Rita," and Mrs. Hungerford, among th 3 factory girls and the middle class of pe q>!e. Coming to the men, who seem numerically of less importance than the women in Leeds, "Trilby," of which twenty copies are on the shelves, is never left on the shelf for ten minutes; Stanley W. ymau and Conan Doyle are the next favourites. Annie S. Swan is a good second to Marie Corelli. Leeds people do not read poetry at all. Crockett and Maclaren and Barrie seem to be under a cloud. It will be only temporary. Hardy's earlier books are in great request. "Ouida" is forgotten. But—to repeat—Marie Corelli leads the .way. "More books of Marie Gondii's a e being lead at this moment than of any oLher novelist, living or dead." -■- It is the part of the complete critic to explain, and to account for. the popularity of a writer. Now the most popular writer of the day, who changes from year to year, is one X. Why? What qualities are those which create such a popularity? Weakness? No. Silliness? No. ## p. 224 (#272) ############################################ 224 THE AUTHOR. Vulgarity? No. A w.'ak, or silly, or vulgar writer never becomes, therefore, popular. Why, then, is this X. popular \ No critic so far has ever considered the question. It is no answer to fay that people like skimble-skamble stuff; because they do not. They will not have it. Tennyson, Scott, Longfellow, Marryatt, Dickens, have always had an immense hold upon the people. Their work is not skimble-skamble stuff. The critics, when a writer becomes popular, have got to explain why. Then let them tell us what qualities has this X. in common with these writers? I put aside altogether the theory that what the people desire is vulgarity and clap- trap. If that is what they want, why, I repeat, are the authors above-named in such request and popularity? The case lately brought before the courts, which was concluded by Mr. Stead's offer to submit extracts to the publishers, is a really remarkable example of the prevalent belief, not only that literary property does actually belong to the publisher, but that it must belong to him. Now, if he buys it, of course, it belongs to him: but if he administers it on terms agreed upon it ought not, and need not, belong to him. Arbitrarily to assume that property belongs necessarily to a steward or agent—to argue on the assumption that it must belong to him—would be remark- able if it were so treated by a newspaper; it becomes more remarkable still when it is so treated by a judge, by counsel, and by every- body concerned. Besides, apart from the pecu- niary part of the question, has the author nothing to say as to reprinting portions of his own work? Surely the author is the person most concerned. His reputation depends upon the faithful presentation of his work. Yet no one in this case suggested that the author had any- thing whatever to do with the business. One would like to ask the counsel concerned if they think that the publisher really ought to have and to hold, and is entitled to have and to hold, literary property created and originally belonging to the author. The secondhand booksellers not only under- stand their trade, but have also of late introduced a few allurements or temptations for the collector. A favourite dodge is to advertise "first editions." Now one who really collects has no notion of col- lecting for a fall, but for a rise. How many first editions of the present current literature will have the slightest value in twenty years' time 'i One says this without in the least wishing to under- rate the writers of the present day. They now command the ear of the reading world. Do they expect to command the ear of the reading world in twenty years to come? Anthony Trollope was no mean writer in the sixties; he commanded the ear of an enormous circle of readers. Who would care to purchase at a fancy price, as believing that it will run up in value, the original edition of any one of his novels? There are many other names whom it would be cruel to mention, in their day greatly popular, but now subject to that law of selection which takes one or two of our author's works and consigns the rest to oblivion. Nay, these gentlemen still set down in their cata- logues at a hi«hprice first editions of books ten or twenty years old, and now as completely forgotten as if they had never been written. But I sup- pose your genuine collector passes them by. We have on several occasions spoken in these columns on the folly of paying for publication. A correspondent (in the January number of The Author) touches the true reason when he points out the overwhelming desire of a man, who has made a book, to present it to the public. He wants to be heard. He thinks that if he gets a chance, he too will run over the- face of the habitable globe like Du Maurier with "Trilby." It is no use trying to keep him back: he must publish : he will pay. Therefore he pays; but does he publish? Let us consider. A con- sideration of the facts may lead him to understand that he pays: but he certainly does not publish. To publish means not only printing and bindin,g but also offering to the world. How is a book offered to the world? By the booksellers, by the libraries, by the advertisements. There is no other way. If a book is not so- offered it is not published. Now, what happens? A MS. is submitted to publishers to whom as a. class we have always accorded the natural desire- to acquire the right of publishing good work. Three readers, one after the other, decline this- MS. That ought to be enough. Unfortunately it is quite true that readers have been known to- make terrible mistakes; it is understood that they do not at all times understand what people want; perhaps a nvstake has been made over this MS.. Therefore the author listens while a proposal is made to him. He accepts; he pays beforehand, and he pays through a feature not intended for- the process; his book is ready. Then? Then— nothing. The booksellers will not take it; the libraries will not take it; in most cases it is not seriously offered to booksellers; it is not adver- tised: in a word, it is not published. We come to another question; if it is not published, if it is not produced, if it is not offered, if it is not distributed, if it is not circulated; what is. done- ## p. 225 (#273) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. 225 . to it? It is shelved until the pretended publisher writes a curt letter explaining that he cannot have it taking up costly room upon his shelves. Then it is sold as remainder stock at nothing a volume: and thus the end of a dream. But it is no use telling the aspirant these things. He wants a chance; he pays a hundred pounds; and he gets no chance; not the faintest chance. Now I will tell this dreamer how he can get his chance. He must find a printer who will undertake his work at reasonable terms; he must undertake to pay for printing and binding on easv terms — say with six months' credit; he will bind, however, only a few copies to begin with; he must then print a circular describing the work, designed for booksellers; he must offer copies on sale or return on liberal terms; where a country bookseller takes copies the author must advertise ; he must advertise a little, feeling his way as the book goes; he must issue it to the trade from his own house unless he can arrange with his binder; he must send it for review to a chosen list of London and country papers, remembering that the dailies are by far the best friends of literature as regards advertising; and, after a year or so of this amusement, if he is still out of pocket, he will certainly find that he has done a great deal better with his book than if he had paid his hundred pounds down to the man who made him so "favourable" an offer. The note from the Daily Chronicle on the Byron letters serves as a reminder that letters belong to the person who writes them, and not to the person to whom they are written. The latter, of course, may say that the paper is his, and the ink: he may put them away and lock them up: in this way he may prevent their publication. He cannot, however, publish them himself without the consent of the heirs and executors of the writer, nor can he forbid their publication. Let us have patience; in another generation or two there will be less sensitiveness as to private details. Would Shakespeare's great- great-great grandson care very much about that alleged drinking bout which hastened the end of the Stratford Bard? I think not. '• Mr. X." proposes (see the January number) that the leading men and women in letters shall agree to boycott all editors vrh0 do not pay on accepting an article, aurj veep tne author waiting for months or ^ * The first difficulty is that even if ill the > a men and women of letters did agree to such an act of association it would not make the least difference in the world to the editors of magazines, because they can get on pretty well without the leading men and women of letters. Not these—not the historians, poets, novelists, dramatists, who stand in the front rank—keep the magazines supplied, but quite another folk. In fact, these celebrated people are not generally wanted at all. The writers to whom the editor very naturally looks are the experts in the subjects—scientific, political, economical—which are at the moment before the world. Next he looks for travellers who can discourse on the countries at the time most before the world. The things of the day arranged, he has the choice of an immense number of articles offered to him by people who desire, above all, to appear before the world. A great many can write cleverly and attractively within their range. One of our greatest historians, Sir John Robert Seeley, who died a year or two ago, hardly ever wrote in any magazine. One could mention other great names whose record is unconnected with any magazine, or only occasionally connected with one. When these great writers send an article to a magazine it is generally by invitation. They do so in entire ignorance of the character of the editor, who, on the levels on which these scholars write, is not likely to be one of the kind objected to. Boycotting, in fact, is impossible and impracticable, even if it were desirable. My correspondent laments that he is not independent. Then, to speak plainly, he must put up with the consequences of dependence, which involve waiting upon the will and pleasure of the editor. Here, however, is another way. How would it do to inform the editor courteously that the con- tributor is grateful at being accepted, but that 'his circumstances oblige him to offer the editor no more than three or four or five months of delay. If the editor does not see his way to accepting such a limitation of time, he will send back the contribution, with no bad feeling or angry words, or quarrel, on either side at all. If the editor really desires the paper he will accept the limitation or propose another. And this is the only solution of the grievance that seems to me feasible. Walter Besant. THE BYEON_PAPEES. INTEREST has been excited by the announce- ment which comes from the legal repre- sentatives of the Byron family. The effect of it, of course, is that they mean to "exercise their right of controlling the publication" of any new Byron letters or documents. In other words ## p. 226 (#274) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. they say " yon must not publish anything which Lord ov Lady Byron may have written unless you first have our approval." There have been signs for some time back that we are hastening towards a Byron boom, when any fresh material would be keen reading for the public. It was important to understand the full meaning of the official announcement—what was behind it—and accordingly light has been sought in a quarter likely to be well informed. What was gathered? The executors of Lord Byron were Lord Broughton and Mr. Kinnaird. After their deaths their authority descended to others. The names of the present holders of that authority one did not learn. Similarly, stewardship over any documents Lady Byron may have left is repre- sented to-day. Speaking generally, and taking both Lord Byron and Lady Byron, a variety of material his been in the possession of the family. Other material is known to be scattered about— letters written by the Poet or Lady Byron— and over these it is now proposed to exercise the right of approval so far as publication is con- cerned. That is to say, if a man writes a letter to any person, that person does not secure the least ownership in the contents. What was written remains the writer's, although the paper and the ink are nece'sarily the property of the receiver. So the law was explained; and when the writer of a letter dies his ownership in its con- tents descends to his executors. Here we havo the position in reference to Byron correspondence, and the reason why the legal representatives have made their intimation is simple enough. They wrish to protect the memory of the Byrous from any misapprehensions or misunderstandings—to obviate the publication of unauthorised or unauthenticated Byronia. Since Byron's death, for instance, two distinct sets of forgeries are said to have been palmed off upon the world as true Byron letters. Again, neither Byron nor Lady Byron would have cared, perhaps, to have some of the letters published which they did .write, One sees, therefore, the iutended effects of the announcement, and the line of law upon which it is based. As to the latter, it appears that an instance in point aro.-e only a few years ago in reference to the proposed publication of some Bulwer Lytton letters, and then the rights of the executor were duly upheld. It will be curious to see how the Byron renaissance is affected by what may. perhaps, be describe! as an ultimatum of considerable dimensions.—Daily Chronicle, Jan. 25, 1897. IS THERE AN AMERICAN LITERATURE? rTYHE Dial writer. Mr. Pattee, who pleads J for American literature as distinct from British, or, as he calls it, English litera- ture, seems to me to confuse things. No one, for instance, would claim a great poem written by an American in the United States as belonging in any sense to this country. No one has ever claimed Lowell, Longfellow, Holmes, Emerson, Washington Irving, Edgar Allan Poe, or any other great American writer, as belonging to the literary history of this countrv. On the con- trary, we are ready to acknowledge all that Mi-. Pattee claims for them—that they are distinc- tively American; their atmosphere, their con- ditions are American j no Englishman would have written quite in their way: their speech betrayeth them. But what is the language in which they write? It is English, the language that grew up in this island, in the southern part of this island, which is called after the name of that southern part; the language which is spoken by five great Republics and one Kingdom : or, if you please, the language spoken by two great and powerful Confederations. Unless, therefore, one of these Confederations changes its language, its literature will continue to be, first and above all things, that of its language. Cannot American literature be content uot to be tied by apron strings, as Mr. Pattee puts it, to its mother, but to be an independent branch; perhaps destined to be the greater of two branches, perhaps destined to be one of five or six branches of the noble literature which we call English 'i There are no more illustrious ancestors that the American poet can desire than those which he possesses. They do not make him dependent on the place where they flourished: they are his possession, while Byron, Tennyson, Browning,are in no sense his possession, any more than Lowell and Longfellow are the possessions of Swinburne and Austin Dobson. Did not Professor Brander Matthews put the matter plainly and sufficiently when he claimed that English literature covers all that is written in the English language, while that by no means gives English literature to England, whose modern literature is British? There is, in a word, the local and current literature, most of which is ephemeral and fleeting : there are many thousands of books p\iblished every year in this country which never get beyond the narrow seas, and are, indeed, not much wanted within those limits. Good or bad, they make up modern British literature: a very few, which are demanded all over the world by those who speak the common langu<ge, form English literature. R. L. ## p. 227 (#275) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. 2 2 J EOOK TALK. MR. W. D. HOWELLS says that " there is no American poet who has done so much as James Whitcomb Riley to define the familiar America of most Americans, or to reveal the heart of our common life in terms of such universal import and appeal." Mr. Whitcomb Riley is a poet belonging to the same school as the late Eugene Field, of Chicago, the author of the lovely lyric "Little Boy Blue." Auer his bibliography of Robert Browning's works, which has been appearing in the Atkenieum, Mr. Thomas J. Wise is about to compile those of Lord Tennyson and Robert Louis Stevenson. He make.* an appeal for the loan of material, parti- cularly lists of magazine and newspaper articles by Stevenson. Mr. Wise's address is 15, St. George's-road, Abbey-road, St. John's Wood, Loudon. Mr. Herbert Flowenlew will very shortly pro- duce a satire under the title of " The Tenth Muse" (Fisher Unwin). Later on in the spring lie will bring out a novel, the name of which is not yet advertised, through Mr. John Lane. "The Dreams of Dania," a tale of Irish life, by the Rev. Frederick Langbridge, will be published shortly by Mr. James Bowden. It run last year in the Leisure J/our as a six months' serial. "The Three Daughters of Night" is the title of a new novel by Derek Vane, just published by Messrs. Hutchinson. This is the author's most important work since " The Sin and the Woman," a story that excited a good deal of interest and some controversy on its appearance two or three years ago. A volume of the letters and speeches of the late Farl of Carnarvon is being prepared by Sir George Svdenham Clarke for publication under the title, '•The Defence of the Empire." Miss Marie Corelli's new novel, "Ziska," will appear from Mr. Arrowsmith's on the 15th inst. Mr. Crockett's new novel, "Lad's Love," will In? published a fortnight hence by Messrs. Bliss, Sands, and Co. It has appeared serially in a condensed form, and is spoken of as not having much " dialect," although it is a Galloway story. Mr. A. Hilliard Atteridge, who acted for a London paper as special correspondent with the British forces in the recent Soudan campaign, is about to publish, through Messrs. Innes a book 011 the subject, entitled "Towards IfJ^j-tourn." Maps, portraits, and illustrations f 0rji the author's photographs will be given. 1 There is to be a new volume of detective stories by "Dick Donovan" very soon, entitled "The Chronicles of Michael Danevitch" (who is supposed to belong to the Russian secret police). Messrs. Chatto and Windus are the publishers. The firm of C. Arthur Pearson, Limited, announce that they will greatly extend their book- publishing trade, and among their enterprises will be a series of volumes at 2s., by leading English authors, which will include travels, autobio- graphies, &c, as well as fiction. Mr. G. B. Burgin is to take charge of this development of Messrs. Pearson's business. Mr. Gladstone's complaint of the quality and the cost of modern uookbiuding has been followed up by enquiries made on behalf of the Stationer, Printer, and Fancy Trades Register, which publishes the opinions of Mr. R. Birdsall, North- ampton, Messrs. Kelly and Sons, London, and Mr. J. Rosenbluth, Edinburgh. Mr. Birdsall lays the blame on bad paper rather than bad glue. It would be interesting to know, he says, what proportion, if any, of linen fibre is now to be found in, say, fifty samples of modern printing papers. The only difficulty in so binding a book that it will lie open is the quality and thickness of the paper, some paper being so stiff and thick that no treatment will make the books lie flat. As to the cost, says Mr. Rosenbluth, "if you would ascertain what publishers pay for binding it would no doubt surprise you to know that books can open at all." Messrs. Kelly say that if material is less reliable to-day than it was fifty years ago, the workmanship is better. This trade organ, by the way, in speaking of Smith, Elder, and Co. v. Stead, remarks that reviews may serve three purposes: (1) first, though not foremost, to warn readers from bad books; (2) to excite interest in books, and lead readers of the review to read the book itself; (3) to act as a substitute for the volume under notice. Our contemporary, of course, thinks that the sooner the last course is stopped the better. It expresses, too, the idea which a correspondent originated in The Author some months ago, namely, that "perhaps it would be the best course for the review editor to consult the book publisher or copyright holder before he makes any questionable extracts." A novelette by Richard Wagner, entitled " A Pilgrimage to Beethoven," is being published by the Open Court Publishing Company. Few persons are aware, says the announcement, that Wagner devoted himself to belles let ties. This little volume, selected as a type of his literary productions, is a rare story, and gives, under the ## p. 228 (#276) ############################################ 22S THE AUTHOR. #uise of a mythical conversation with Beethoven, Wagner's own views of musical art. Dr. Nansen's book is to be called "Farthest North." Captain Sverdrup, who had charge of the Fram after Nansen left her, will supply an appendix to the book. Mr. Louis Becke will is <ue another volume of South Sea stories during the spring. Mr. Brayley Hodgetts has placed with Mr. Macqueen a story entitled "A Russian Wild- flower,'' which will appear soon. Mr. Clark Russell's new story, "The Last Entry," will be published by Messrs. Chatto and Windus. Mr. Russell has been remarking, in connection with the correction of his proofs, that printers can never be trusted with the lan- guage of the sea. Among other announcements of Messrs. Chatto and Windus are " Three Partners," by Mr. Bret Harte, and "A Missing Witness," by Mr. Frank Barrett. Mr. Leonard Merrick's story, entitled "Oue Man's View," will be published by Mr. Grant Richards, a new publisher. Miss Jessie Middleton, a journalist, has in preparation for early publication an edition of the poetical works of James Clarence Mangan, the Irish poet. From the new volume of Mr. J. H. Slater's "Book-Prices Current," we learn that from December, 1895, to November, i8q6, 47,268 lots of books were disposed of, and the amount realised was £80,111. This shows an average of £1 13*. lod. per lot, as compared with £1 11s. 4<Z. in 1895, ,£ 1 8s. 5<7. in 1894, and £1 6s. "jd. per lot in 1893. The reason of the increase, says Mr. Slater, is not that prices were in the aggre- gate much higher, but that a few very extra- ordinary aud extremely valuable books contributed so lavishly to the grand total that it was raised to the extent of several thousand pounds above its proportionate, and therefore normal, level. Amongst these were one imperfect copy of the first edition of Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales," printed by Caxton about the year 1478, sold for £1020, and another for £1880, which raised the average on the whole year's sales by as much as i*. 2d. Still, Mr. Slater thinks that books of a certain kind are selling rather better than they have done for some time past, and this change is due to the improvement in the state of trade. He points out this year again that among the classes of books which have fallen on evil days are the manufactured "limited editions" of contemporary authors, usually poets and essayists; they have absolutely vanished. Mr. B. Fletcher Robinson, who wrote the volume on " Rugby Football " for Messrs. Innes's Isthmian Library, has undertaken the general editorship of this series of books on sport, resigned, owing to the pressure of other work, by Mr. Max Pemberton. The fund for the Huxley memorial is now about £2900, which has come from all parts of the world. The full-sized model for the statue, on which Mr. Onslow Ford, R.A., is engaged, is well advanced; and the t rustees of the British Museum of Natural History at South Kensington have accepted the offer of the statue itself, which will be in marble. The nature of any additional memorial must largely depend upon the amount still to be subscribed. Professor G. B. Howes, Royal College of Science, South Kensington, S.W. is the hon. secretary. To his numerous contributions to the study of Early and Middle English, Dr. Sweet is adding a " Student's Dictionary of Anglo-Saxon." The head words are given in plain modern English, and brevity and conciseness have been aimed at throughout. The Clarendon Press will publish the work. Two important books about Africa are announced by Messrs. Methuen, namely, by Sir H. H. Johnston on " British Central Africa," and by Captain Sidney Hinde on " The Fall of the Congo Arabs." The latter is au account of the Belgian expedition to the Upper Congo. At a general meeting of the London Library the committee received authority to borrow £25,000 to cover the expenses of reconstructing the library. The number of members has increased in eight years from 1600 to 2380. The death took place recently of Mr. Robert Harrison, who was formerly secretary and libra- rian to the London Library, and in that capacity assisted a great many famous writers—Thackeray, Carlyle, Charles Reade, Kingsley, George Eliot, Lord Lytton. When writing " The Virginians," Thackeray came for a Life of General Wolfe. "I don't want," he said, "an historical account of his career, Lord Mahon's book gives me that, but I want something that will tell me the colour of his breeches." The most conspicuously original man among them was Carlyle, Mr. Harrison told the Librarians'Conference in 1891: He often visited tbe library. His conversation was most amusing, fall of extravagant and exaggerated statements, and always ending with a loud langh, apparently at himself. He need the library books extensively for his later works, and was guilty of the reprehensible praotice of writing on the margins of their books. HW remarks were never meaningless, bnt chiefly consisted of corrections of dates or errors in the text. ## p. 229 (#277) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. 229 COBRESPONDENCE. I.—The I. S. A. as Publishers. IS not the idea contained in the concluding remarks of Julie Sutter's letter feasible and worth close consideration? It seems almost a ■duty for this Society to show the world of letters how a book should be turned out on true business lines, with every detail square and above board, no false parade at the start, no mystifying accounts at the finish. Such a departure could not fail to furnish a most excellent model. And why should not the venture prove lucrative as well? That the opportunity would be welcomed by members, I imagine there can be no manner of doubt. This old bird's eyes are growing a bit filmy. He hopes they may yet be gladdened with a sight of the inscription, I. S. A., upon many a title-page. According to Julie Sutter there are certain valuable hints in respect of literature " made in Germany" which are by no means to be despised. Let us hasten to consider them for our mutual advantage. Old Bird. Authors' Club, S.W., Jan. 9th, 1897. II.—Educational Criticism. As a University graduate, taking almost as great an interest in the cause of education as if I were personally engaged in that profession, I was very glad to read some recent letters in your journal on the subject of educational criticism; for it is difficult to form any idea of the amount of injustice perpetrated in this branch of litera- ture. Some time ago, the Spectator had some sensible letters commenting on the absence of rancour in the English political world; it were much to be desired that we could likewise speak of the absence of rancour in the educational world, but, unfortunately, such is not the case. Just as there is no branch of literature in which so much log-rolling is going on, so there is none in which so much relentless hostility is prevalent. It is true that, as your correspondent, "Fair Play," has pointed out, intelligent people will systematically disbelieve any virulent educational criticism; but, unfortunately, there are still some innocent readers who implicitly believe them, and others who are always inclined to accept the bad rather than the good. But the worst feature of the evil is that the whole department of educational criticism is brought into discredit by the ubiqui- tous educational log-roller, although there are still some honest and impartial educational critics. It is hard to see how the evil is to be eradicated, but the only practical remedy lies in the hands of editors, to whom your first corresjoadent on the subject, signing himself an "Education^ ^uthor," has addressed a sensible warning. If they made a practice of rejecting all acrimonious and person- ally insulting criticism on educational works, they might succeed in putting down an abuse which causes so much mischief, and inflicts so much pain. _^^o__ B.A. (Oxon.) III.—A Want. A correspondent writes :—" S. G." asks in the last number, " Is it not time that we had a good German-English Dictionary?" There is a great probability that the want will be supplied. I have just seen announced that the celebrated Germanist Dr. Daniel Sanders has undertaken to compile the German-English part of Professor Muret's excellent "Encyclopodisches WSrterbuch der Englischen Sprache" (published by Langen- scheidt at Berlin), and that the first Lieferung will be issued by the beginning of this month. Professor Sanders combines profound scholar- ship with the knack of producing thoroughly practical books, and so it may be confidently expected that his German-English dictionary will supply the desideratum. IV.—The Country Contributor. May I call your attention to a want that is greatly felt among contributors to magazines who live in the country and abroad. Supposing we have from fifteen to twenty articles out at a time, we are obliged to buy from fifteen to twenty magazines weekly or monthly, as the case may be, till we see our work in print. Sometimes we are obliged to look out for more than a year before we are rewarded, so you may imagine how little profit remains. Are there none among your readers who for a small fee would undertake to make a weekly visit to a reading-room in town and look up our articles for us? We should be grateful. A Well-wisher. V.—A Voice from Chili. I am too far away, and generally too much in "the wilds," to keep in touch with the Society, but it may interest my fellow members to learn that in this little Republic they have a good precedent for claiming more liberal terms in regard to postage of printed matter. For the encouragement of literature all news- papers, magazines, and pamphlets are posted free in Chili; so that in the most out-of-the-way parts the press of Valparaiso or Santiago can be obtained by arrangement at face value. Letters may equally be re-addressed again and again without extra charge. In the cities letters are posted for 2 centivos, while from one ## p. 230 (#278) ############################################ THE A UTIIOR. end of Chili to tli<* other they only cost 5 centivos, or little over Jr/. When it is con- sidered that the length of Chili is about 2400 miles, the advantages to the people of the country can be better appreciated. It is true that the working of the system is not equal to the intention. But England can say nothing as to this so long as the penny postage principle has been persistently ignored in practice, and in place of the rich and populous centres paying for the less populous extremities, no facilities— postal or telegraphic—are extended without local guarantees. We may hate given the world the lead, but it has passed us hopelessly in liberal treatment of Press and people. This will remain so long as the country is robbed, by a monopoly, of thrte millions sterling anuually, which belongs to the people for increased facilities. W. Anderson Sjhth. .Coronel de Chili, Dec. 16, 1896. VI.—Facetious Eeviewino. Has not the individual who uses a responsible calling as a vehicle for the advancement of his own facetiousness been somewhat lightly treated by those who have of late propounded their views upon the duties of critics? No one who takes the trouble to follow the methods of latter-day bouk- dissection can be blind to the existence of a school worked upon these offensive lines at the expense of the unfortunate writer. Most of us appreciate genuine humour. When, however, we supply the opportunities for the misplaced efforts of other.-, the relish for it is distinctly bitter. Few, perhaps, will dispute the fact that such notices are, in themselves, clever and amusing. But are they criticisms at all in the accepted sense? To employ the literary scalpel for the selfish purpose of slashing and wounding seems to me an altogether mischievous abuse of power. Yet such is surely only too often the practice of many reviewers of the class I venture to condemn. One experts advice rather than ridicule from the conscientious examiner. When he sacrifices his talents upon the altar of smartness the result is undignified. It is not a pleasant reflection that the stories we are weaving in serious inood may prove mere pegs for the facetious critic's sallies. Authors' Club, S.W. Cecil Clarke. Jan. 19th, 1897. VII.—The Fiction of the Future. As the editor shows himself so ready to throw open the columns of The Author to correspon- dence, I should like to elicit the ideas and opinions of those of our members and others competent to form an opinion on a question which has frequently occurred to me of late, and which seems to me of importance, namely, What is the present position of the English novel and the immediate future of English fiction? That we are in a state of transition and that the end of the nineteenth century brings with it the end of an era in fiction, that we are moving towards something different, appears to me to be the case. But whither are we tending? The long-laboured :md long-winded efforts- in fiction of some of our still most highly respec ed forefathers and foremothers, running into two or three hundred thousand words, and culmi- nating in or gravitating into the old yellow-back which was to be seen in every other reading young lady's hand, as characteristic of the mid- Victorian epoch of fictional literature, has become a thing of the past, and possibly the ancient yellow-back relegated to the retirement of the museums as examples to the young of what their grandfathers and grandmothers once read. The "three-decker," which has had a highly cieditable innings and done good service in its day, is now condemned, and will very soon no more meet modern requirements than Nelson's gallant old ship the Victory, now lying in Portsmouth harbour, will stand by the side of modern fast cruisers and ironclads. I can tell what won't be. I can tell that these forms of fictional literature will be things of the past. But what will take their place? Fiction, in some shape or form, the reading world will hunger for, and will pay for, and will have. The detective story has had its run. The noble red man enthralled the imagination of our schoolboy days, the untrodden wilds of Africa have been tapped of wonderous romance, our own social life has been depicted in all its forms. But what must be the next craze? What form will it take? is what I ask, and what I don't know, unless, if I may hazard a suggestion, we follow on American lines—short, crisp, original, thrilling, tragic, like everything else in the United States. But this would open a wider question than I can hope for a moment to be allowed space to discuss. One thing: it seems to me that the greater and increasing speed at which we live will render impracticable and intolerable to the patience of readers any but shorter or more exciting books, and these, of course, only of one-volume length. That serial publications will continue to absorb vast quantities of fiction there can be no doubt. But what besides? T. W. D. L. VIII.—Thirteen Copies as Twelve. In the January issue of The Author my old friend Mr. Tuer, who writes on this subject, ## p. 231 (#279) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. 231 appeal's to have misunderstood my letter which was published in your December number. My complaint was that the majority of publishers in rendering an author his royalty accounts pay him no royalty on every thirteenth copy, on the grounds that when a bookseller orders a dozen copies they have to give him a copy in. It is no doubt a fact that while many book- sellers are unable to order a dozun copies of any particular book, they, to put it in bookseller's language, secure the odd copy by sorting up various books; that is, they take a mixed dozen and are given a thirteenth volume of some kind in. At the same time publishers, particularly the smaller firms, undoubtedly sell a certain number of copies in ones, twos, and threes, in which < ase there is no thirteenth copy given away. The author is thus, one might almost say, defrauded of his royalty on a certain number of copies, and there also comes in the very important question whether the publisher is entitled to refuse to pay- royalty in those cases where he "gives away," as he terms it, a thirteenth copy to any person ordering a dozen copies of one book, or of various books. I hope Mr. Tuer, and othars who may have read the letter, will understand that J was not running a tilt against the system of (to use Mr. Tuer's word) "bribing" the bookseller to take a dozen copies by giving hiin an extra one in; and in defending that system he has, if he will forgive me saying it, entirely missed my point. To include a few extra articles in the price (or to sell at a lower price, which is the same thing) when a large quantity is taken, is a common practice in most trades, and there is nothing un- reasonable in it. In the publishing trade the custom of handing to a bookseller thirteen volumes when he pays for twelve, seems to me unobjectionable, except so far as it gives the publisher an opportunity of declining to pay the author one-thirteenth of the royalties to which he is entitled. The arrangement seems to me not only primitive but unbusinesslike. In almost any other trade—that of the baker perhaps excepted— the thirteenth copy would be done away with in favour of increased discount on large orders. The bookseller is not really given a copy; he is sold the books at a lower price in considera- tion of his taking a certain number. I trust I have made it quite clear that both my letter and Mr. Hutchinson's remark referred not to transactions between publisher and bookseller, but between publisher and author, and that I was justified in applauding Messrs. Hutchinson's system of, when rendering royalty accounts, ignoring the fact that they give thirteen copies as twelve to the bookseller, on the grounds that the thirteenth copy is a matter of business between the publisher and bookseller, and does not concern the author. I am glad to know that in this opinion they do not stand alone. The whole subject, I would venture to sug- gest, might with advantage be discussed and settled by the new Association of Publishers and our Society. John Bickerdyke. IX.—Presentation Copies. The following correspondence should be of interest to readers of The Author. Blankton is really one of the wealthier quarters of London. Mr. " X. Y. Z." is strongly of an opinion that to comply with such a request would be not only weak-minded but wrong—his reason appears in his letter: From the Blankton Free Public Library (supported by J'oluntary Contributions) to X. V. Z., Esq. Dear Sib,—I am writing in the name of the committee of the above Institution to ask if you will kindly help us with some of your books, as a free gift. Finding they are asked for, but unfortunately owing to over small subscrip- tion list, being a voluntary library, the funds will not permit ns to purchase. All previous efforts to obtain assistance from the rates have proved unsuccessful. We have over 600 free readers, and could increase our number considerably if we bad more books. As many noted authors like yourself have most generously helped us, I trust that we may not appeal to you in vain to aid us to distribute good literature among the people, who cannot afford to buy books for themselves.—I am, dear Sir, The Librarian. Reply of X. Y. Z., Esq. Dear Sir,—1 have carefully considered your request for books. It seems to me that Blankton people should have the rudimentary public spirit necessary to support a free library adequately. I fail to see why I should atone for the meanness of the local ratepayer. I entirely respect your motivea, but I believe your methods are unsound. The more successful your library the less need (parsimony will say) for assistance from the public funds.—Yours faithfully, ^ X. Y. Z. X.—Reviewing. Unquestionably "Annabel Gray" is right to a certain extent. I know that in certain cases the editor in giving out a book to the reviewer reminds him that the author is a friend, and this ev' 11 when the policy of the paper is a perfectly honest one in matters of notice. There are probably few journals so completely organised that there is entire independence in the respect of reviewing. A journal for which I used at one time to do some reviews, the Nation, of New York, had a rule which was observed as rigidly as possible, never to give a book for review to a member of the staff who was either a friend or an en- my of the author, but it was impossible ## p. 232 (#280) ############################################ 232 THE AUTHOR. to refuse to raview a book by a friend of the editor, and difficult to prevent this fact from influencing the mind of the reviewer. But if thi friendship involved also the giving of the advertisement to the paper it would be still more difficult to stop the quid pro quo, viz., a shade in the review. The translation of personal friend- ship into interested relation is so easy ihat it is difficult to draw any line of demarcation. The direct praise of a book because of the advertise- ment is, I should think, very rare with any journal of sufficient character to exercise any influence on the public, but there is a fonn of log-rolling in reviewing which is equally dishonest, and which, to my personal knowledge, has been in one eminent case tried with preat success. Several friends of the author, in more or less intimati relations with several hading journals, secured the reviewing of the book, and were provided with early proof-sheets of if, so that th«y had leisure to prepare elaborate reviews before the general public or the Press at large had a sight of it. Their reviews were all printed at the earliest moment possible after the issuing of the book, and before any unfriendly critic had a chance to say a word to stem the torrent of laudation which was set in motion by the clique. The consequence was, naturally, the impression on the public of an unanimity of approval which was far from being the fact. W. XI.—Reviewing ok Puffing? Most persons who care anything about literary criticism, and who reflect upon its condition in England to-day, will agree with your correspondent, Cecil Clarke, that "signed criticism" is desirable if any improvement is to be hoped for. But—and I have some know- ledge of the facts—I believe this change to bi imperative, not because unsigned criticism gives an opportunity for personal spite and malignity on the part of the reviewer, but because the present system of "puffs," by dishonest, incom petent "critics,'" is infinitely more injurious to anything that can be called literature, than the wholesale slashing and slaughter of the critics of yesterday. The argument that signed criticism by Jones or Smith would have no weight, may be disposed of in an instant. At the present moment with whom does the greater mass of reviews have any weight? Not certainly with any person of scholarship, taste, and acquaint- anceship with letters in England, France, Germany, and Italy. This body of readers attaches no more weight to the " notices" of one paper than another, and knows that on an average they are pretty much on the same level. When, as occasionally happens, the name of Professor Dowden, or Professor Hutchinson, or Mr. Hale White is appended to a review, no matter where it appears, the attentive considera- tion of those persons whom the French called lettres, is immediately secured, and the same process takes place when reviews appear unsigned by men of critical judgment and scholarship. This, however, only affects a small section of the reading public; whereas the puffing system carried on by most papers affects the mass of readers, and is no doubt responsible for the national taste in fiction at this moment. Books are puffed, either because the publishers are good advertising customers, or because the authoress meets the editor in society, or because she (or he, as the case may be) is a friend of the critic; or because the eminent Mr. So-and-so (also a friend) has described a volume of mediocre painstaking essays in extravagant language, and the "critic" is too ignorant or too timid to express an honest contrary opinion. For example, a few weeks ago a journal-—I will not say at what period in the day it appears —exhausted language to puff a second-rate cleverish novel. It was a lone: review, nearly a page long. Yet the glaring untruth to life—and what is more important to all artistic propriety?— which is to be found in the figure of a country servant who talks "epigrams" precisely of the same quality and order as the authoress's own, were never even hinted at. Now this review is not taken, as it ought to be, as the expression of opinion on the part of a young gentleman who verv likely had the privilege of talking to the brilliant and possibly handsome authoress the night before at dinner, but as the deliberate record of a paper with some literary reputation and tradition, and, per se, carrying authority and weight. Had the review been signed, it would be easy in future for persons of discernment to know what value to attach to the literary opinions of the critic responsible for it; and to discriminate between the reviews of this individual and those of better-informed and more impersonal members of the staff—a great gain all round. Here is another instance. There has appeared this season an edition of some of Hans Auderseu's stories which, though containing the actual incidents of the original, are, owing to the version in which they are given, nothing but a travesty of the exquisite art of this poet. Now I have taken the trouble to collect the "reviews" that have appeared; and I find amongst some twenty not a single comment upon the production of this version, so remote from the beauty of the real Andersen, but, instead, interjections about its being a "charming gift book " and the like. It ## p. 233 (#281) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. 233 is perfectly clear not only that these critics, attached to highly respectable papers with literary reputations, have never read the German version of the stories, but that they are furthermore unacquainted with the perfect rendering of them by Dr. Dulcken. Now why should persons wholly unacquainted with the elementary knowledge of their crafts- manship be entrusted with the functions of criticising? We cannot all be classical scholars, but surely, at least, the man or woman who gets up to criticise even the most trumpery modern novel should have some standard to which to refer; and how can he (or she) do this without a prolonged and persistent study of the best that has been written, at any rate in English, French, German, and Italian, and with some acquaintanceship, if only gained by translation, of the spirit of classical literature? Why should there not be an examination for the critic upon the book he is going to review with some such questions as these ?— What is bis age? What are his favourite authors? What are his chief studies? Does he ever read any literature prior to the birth of Tolstoi and Ibsen p Does he dine ont with authors and authoresses: and is he on terms of friendship with the fashionable ones? Is he usually honest in the expression of his opinion? F. H. L. MR. HERBERT SPENCER'S PORTRAIT. ALETTER from Mr. F. Howard Collins appeared in the Times on Jan. 6, com- municating the address of congratulation which had been forwarded to Mr. Herbert Spencer, and the reply of the latter to the same. Mr. Collins added: "I am happy to be able to state that Mr. Hubert Herkonier, R.A., has expressed his gratification at being asked by the committee, and has consented to undertake the painting of the portrait. An account, entitled 'The Herbert Spencer Portrait Fund,' has been opened at the western branch of the Bank of England, Burling- ton-gardens, W., to which donations may be sent." The following is the address •.— The Camp, Sunningdale, Dec. 16, 1896. Dear Sib,—We, the undersigned, offer you our cordial congratulations upon the completion of your "System of Synthetic Philosophy." Not all of us agreeing in equal measure with its conclu- sions, we are all at one in our estimate of the great intellectual powers it exhibits, and of the immense effect it has produced in the history of thonght; nor are we less impressed by the high moral qualities which have enabled you to concentrate those powers for so many years upon a purpose worthy of them, and, in spite of all obstacles, to carry out eo vast a design. To the many who, like us, have learned to honour the man while profiting by his writings, it would be a satisfaction to possess an authentic personal likeness of the author. It has therefore occurred to us that the occasion might be appropriately marked by requesting you to permit us to employ some eminent artist to take your portrait with a view to its being deposited in one of our national collections for the benefit of ourselves and of those who come after us. We hope that your health may be benefited by the leisure which you have earned so well, and that you may long continue to enjoy the consciousness of having com- pleted your work. The above address was signed by eighty-two of the leading men and women in the sciences and literature in the Kingdom. Mr. Herbert Spencer replied as follows :— "2, Lewes-crescent, Brighton, Dec. 19, 1896. "My dear Hooker,—If, as may fitly be said, the value of congratulations increases in a geome- trical progression with the eminence of those offering them, I may, indeed, be extremely gratified by the accumulation coming from men standing so high in various spheres. And an accompanying pleasure necessarily results from the good wishes expressed for my health and happiness during my remaining days. "The further honour offered has caused in me some mental conflict. Eight years ago, to the inquiry whether I would sit for a subscription portrait to be painted by Millais, I replied nega- tively, assigning the reasons that the raising of funds to pay the costs of conferring marks of approbation had grown into an abuse; that the moral coercion under which contributions were in many cases obtained was repugnant to me; and that I objected to have my known and unkuown friends asked to tax themselves to the required extent. These reasons survived, and, swayed by them, I recently sent a copy of the letter in which they had been stated to the gentleman with whom the proposal now made originated, thinking thereby to prevent further trouble. I was unaware to how large an extent the proposal had been adopted, and how dis- tinguished were the numerous gentlemen who had given it their support. I now find myself obliged either inconsistently to waive my objec- tion or else rudely to slight the cordially-expressed feelings and wishes of so manv whose positions and achievements command my great respect. Between the alternatives there seems to be practi- cally no choice. I am compelled to yield to the request made in so sympathetic a manner by signatories so eminent, and at the same time must express to them through you my full sense of the honour done me. "I am, my dear Hooker, sincerely yours, "Herbert Spencer." ## p. 234 (#282) ############################################ 234 THE AUTHOR. OBITUARY. SIR TRAVERS TWISS, Q.C., D.C.L., the eminent jurist, died on Jan. 14, in his eighty-eighth year. His works included "A View of the Progress of Political Economy in Europe since the 16th Century," "The Law of Nations in Time of Peace," "The Law of Nations in Time of War," and " The Black Book of the Admiralty." Mrs. Hungerford died at Bandon, Ireland, on the 24th ult. She was the author of over forty novels, besides numerous short stories and maga- zine articles. Her literary career began when, as a young wife of eighteen years of age, she wrote "Phillis," which Messrs. Smith and Elder pub- lished on the strong recommendation of Mr. James Payn, their reader. "Molly Bawn," the novelist's second venture, had a great success, and all through the subsequent years Mrs. Hungerford had a constant public for her books. Among others, these included " The Duchess," very popu- lar in America, "Portia," " Airy Fairy Lilian," "Rossmoyne," "A Life's Remorse," "Under- currents,'" "A Born Coquette," "Lady Patty," "Nor Wife, nor Maid." Only three weeks ago Mrs. Hungerfcrd's last published book, a col- lection of (ales entitled "An Anxious Moment, &c." appeared; but two finished stories remain which it had been arranged should appear this spring. Mrs. Hungerford, who was twice married, was the daughter of the late Canon Hamilton, rector and vicar choral of St. Fanghnan's Cathe- dral, Ross Carberry, county Cork, one of the oldest churches in Ireland. The cause of death was typhoid. Mr. Frederic John Mouat, M.D., F.R.C.S., LL.D., who died at Kensington, on Jan. I2tb, was president of the Royal Statistical Society from 1890-92, and member of the Senate of Calcutta University. He was the author of " An Atlas of Anatomy, with descriptive letterpress in English and Hindustani," "A Manual of Anatomy," and other works, and was joint author of "Hospital Construction and Management," "Prison Ethics and Prison Labour," &c. A historian of India passed away in Mr. James Talboys Wheeler, whose works included "History of India," in four volumes; "Shorter History of India and the Frontier States," and " India under British Rule." Mr. Wheeler was Assistant- Secretary in the Indian Foreign Office during the Viceroyalty of Lord Lawrence, and afterwards held the post of secretary to the Chief Commis- sioner of British Burma. Mr. Robert Harrison, the Librarian of the London Library, (76), had lived about ten years n Russia in early life, and was well-informed upon Russian literature. He wrote a small book entitled "Nine Years in Russia"; and, in con- junction with the late Mr. Gostwick, " The Out- lines of German Literature." He also edited. Mackenzie's " Universal Dictionary of Biography." Sir Isaac Pitman, the inventor of phonography, died at Bath on the 22nd, aged 84. The Rev. Thomas Arnold, Northampton, (8o), was the author of "Education of Deaf Mutes: A Manual for Teachers." Miss Isabella Blackwood (85) was the eldest daughter of the founder and editor of Maga, and recollected Sir Walter Scott dining at her father's house at Newington. The venerable French geographer, M. Vivien de St. Martin, has died at the age of 94. LITERATURE IN THE PERIODICALS. Twenty Years of Reviewing. Professor George Saintsbury. Blackwood's Magazine for January. The Question of Reviewing. Opinions of authors in the Westminster Gazette for Jan. 7, 12, 15, 18, 19, and 22; The National Observer for Jan. 19. Non-Literary People. The Spectator for Jan. 16. Victorian Literature. Andrew Lang. Good Words for February. Literary Recollections. Professor F. Max MiiUer. Cormopolis for January. William Morris: The Man and His Work. William Sharp. Atlantic Monthly for Deoember. Thackeray's Haunts and Homes. Eyre Crowe, A.R.A. Scribner's Magazine for January. A Brilliant Irish Novelist (William Carleton). G. Barnett Smith. Fortnightly Review for January. Novels of Irish Life. Macmillan's Magazine for January. Mr. Charles Lamb of the India House. Macmillan's Magazine for January. Hk.n 11 ik Ibsen. R. H. Shcrard. Humanitarian for January. The New Realism. H. D. Traill. Fortnightly Review for January. Coventry Patmore. Arthur Symons. The New Review for January. Professor Saintsbury delivers himself as the Old Reviewing Hand. Except that he once refused a book in Syriac, because he does not know the language, and that he has always declined books on the currency, he has written reviews of all kinds of work. He has had twenty years' experience, but he says that it is only at the end of the journey that a man becomes a really qualified reviewer. It is very fascinating work, and he is as sure that there is an Art of Criticism as he is that there is no Science in it. Specialist knowledge is not, as a rule, necessary or even desirable in the critic. There is at the present moment a little too much reviewing. The individual review, and even the "chorus of ## p. 235 (#283) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. 235 reviewers," indolent or otherwise, has lost some of its old authority. "Reviews come out so thick and so fast that any mark made by a single one on that elastic target the public apprehension is quickly effaced by others." Here is what Professor Saintsbury thinks is demanded at the present day: Fewer reviews; greater concentration of power and authority in those that are given; something like despotism, provided it be vigilant, intelligent, and benevolent on the part of the editor; better training in the history and methods of criticism in general literature and knowledge. The critic's business is in the main that of judging, not the man or the merits of the man so much as the work and the nature, rather than the merits or demerits, of the work. The blame and the praise will occur, but they are rather accidents than essentials of the critic's function. For the rest, Professor Saintsbury regards the mere "account rendered " as the worst review of all; though it is rivalled by the kind which simply makes the book a peg on which to hang the reviewer's own reflections, grave or gay. In all the varieties, however, ignorance, as usual, is more to blame than malice, and not ignorance of fact so much as what may be called ignorance of art. Some rather despairing views of the criticism in vogue have been elicited by the Westminster Gazette. Mr. David Christie Murray, for instance, has come to the conclusion that in the lump the criticism of fiction is hopelessly incom- petent or incurably dishonest. Perhaps a score of journals, he says, offer a real aid to judgment. Hundreds more are quite outside the sphere of sordid influences, but are manned by people who follow the lead of the critical smasher, whose business it is to make false coin pass for U'ue. "Edna Lyall" wishes that the rompte-rendu form of review were abolished, and helpful criticism take its place. Mrs. Sarah Grand has been astonished by the bias, the absence of anything like dispassionate consideration, and the utter want of discrimination shown by most of her critics; and she is sorry to say that she has also been horrified by their want of honesty. On the other hand, Mr. Crockett, Mr. Hall' Caine, and Mr. Blackmore express themselves generally satisfied, the last declaring, however, that the reviewer's first duty is to the public. Mr. Le Gallienne regards log-rolling. <r la Leigh Hunt, as desirable; but he differentiates between this and dishonest reviewing. Mr. Ian Mac- Laren thinks reviewers should be a distinct order in the- profession of letters, and that their reviews should be signed just as a report by a scientific expert is signed. Mr: Lends Hind, Mr. Henry Norman, and Mr. Clement Shorter, as literary editors, pronounce upon the cire which is taken to secure fair reviews and to detect merit. Log-rolling, says Mr. Norman, simply wouldn't pay; editors don't go to sleep in these matters, and if a reviewer of a reputable paper puffs a bad book, he is likely to hear of it very soon from his editor. Mr. Hind, the editor of the Academy, in the same way, is almost inclined to deny the existence of log-rolling altogether. Mr. Shorter, however, says the force of circum- stances is all too strong for us to get quite rid of it. Among ready suggestions of defect which crop up in all these letters, the most notable is that which comes at the same moment from Mr George Gissing and Mrs. Sarah Grand—namely, the reviewer's habit of quoting sentences uttered by a character in a novel as though they came from the author himself. "In one little story of mine," says Mrs. Grand, "a very pompous character talks of a sound having 'penetrated to the inner- most recesses of audition.' One reviewer tore this passage from the text and quoted it as an example of my own execrable style, with a com- ment on the prica which he stated I received for such stuff." Mr. William Archer, unlike most of the other authorities, thinks the practice of pluralism is to be viewed with a certain suspicion; for, as we all have likes and dislikes, it is extremely unfair that the reviewer who has in one paper c.illed a book bad should take advan- tage of his influence to do the like in five or six other papers. Mr. Oswald Crawfurd suggests that reviews should be written from a less superior standpoint—authors being human beings, and reviewers not absolute gods. Mr. George Manville Fenn wishes, for one thing, that the reviewer could grasp the fact that a novel is often written to suit the needs and clientele of some particular magazine, and to appear in serial form. Mr. Max Pember- ton t'e:irs that there is a good deal of dishonest work done in the shadow of anonymity, and suggests that where a review is very bitter it should bear the signature of its author. "A Literary Editor" explains the difficulties of his office. He says that the residue of books—the crowd of novels and poems by altogether un- known people which remain after the others have been divided into their classes of history, science, novels by well-known writers, and so on—are generally dealt with by a more or less haphazard selection being made, the preference being given to the books of well-known publishers or to those which have been well advertised by the puff preliminary. And it. does not pay a reviewer to carry out the ideal of reading a large number of books for no purpose beyond the purely negative ## p. 236 (#284) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. one of ascertaining that they are not worth reviewing. A writer in the National Observer, finally, upholds the class of reviewers for per- forming well a thankless task, and says they will assure you that they have to read 'so much trash that when a well-written and able book comes their way they are almost reduced to tears of thankfulness. THE BOOKS OF THE MONTH. UNDER this heading it is proposed to give a monthly return of all the books worthy of being called books published during the month, excluding the little story books, &c., which swell up the enormous total of books returned in the annual list. [December 24 to January 23—135 Books.] Allen, G. Historical Guide to Florence. 3 6 net. Richards. ., Historical Guide to Paris. 3/6 net. Anonymous. Watch-Song of Heabane the WitneBS. 10 fi. Murray. Austin, A. The Conversion of Winckelmann, Ac. 6 - Macmillan. Bax, P. B. J. The Cathedral Church of St. Asaph, ft - net. Stock. Beardslev. Aubrey. A Book of Fifty Drawings. 10 6 net. Smitbers. Benson, E. F. The Babe, B.A. 6 - Putnam. Bewes, W. A. Church Briefs. 18 - net. Black. Bickerstaff, J. B. Philomath Triumphant, 4c. 1 - net. Andrews. Blackmore, E. The British Mercantile Marine. 3 6. Griffin Blaikie,W.G. Thomas Chalmers (Famous Scots Series). 16. Oliphant. Bolt, Ben. Anthony Jasper. 2 - Unwin. Bo wen, H. W. International Law. (/- Putnam. Braddon. Mrs. London Pride. Simpkin. Marshall. Breton, F. The Black Mass. f. - Hutchinson. Burroughs, J. (Selections). A Year In the Fields, t - Smith. Elder. Cartwright, Mrs. E. A Slight Indiscretion. 1- Unwin. Cberbullez.V. With Fortune Made (tr. M. E. Simkins). fi - Hutchinson Colls, W. L. Pictorial Photographs (18 Plates). 21- Kegan Paul. Conder, C. B. Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem. 10H9-1291. 71\. Palestine Exploration Fund. Crane. S. The Black Riders, and other Lines. Heinemann. Crawford, J. H. Summer Days for Winter Evenings. Macc(ueen. Croker, B. M. Beyond the Pale. Chatto. Crump. A. Wide Asunder as the Poles. 6 - Longmans. Clodd, E. Pioneers of Evolution. 6 -net. Richards. Collectanea, Third SerieB (Professor Burrows, editor). 21, - Frowde. Craggs, J. U. Heavy Trial Balances Made Easy.'.' 6. Scientific Press. Dawkins. G. H. Present-Day Sires and the Figure System. H. Cox. Diet, of National Biography—xlix. Robinson—Russell. Smith, Elder. Duggan, J. The Life of Christ. 6/- Kegan Paul. Duryea, A. S. P. Sir Knight of the Golden Pathway. 5 - Putnam Dutton. Thos. Obesity. Its Cause and Treatment. It! net. Kimpton. Eales.S.J. Msbillon'B "St. Bernard "—iii..iv. 12- net each. Hodgej. Emerson. P. H. Ca.ibs. the Guerilla Chief. 6 - Nutt. Evans, E. E. Ferdinand Lassalle and Heleue von Donnizes. 1 - Sonnenachein. Eyre-Todd, G.. editor. Scottish Poetry of the 18th Century—v. - Glasgow: Hodge. Fletcher, J. S. God's Failures. S <> net. Lane. Fyne (N'eal). Tbe Land of the Living Dead. 3 6. Drane. Gardner, E. A. Handbook of Greek Sculpture—ii. 5 - Macmilltn. ciibbon. Edward. Autobiographies and Letters. 316. Murray. „ J. C. The Ambassador of Christ. Washbourne. Gissing, A. Tbe 8cholar of Bygate. HutchinBon. Gregor. N. T. History of Armenia. 3/- J. Heywood. Harland, M., and Herrlck, C. T. National Cook Book. 7 fi. Unwin. Harper, A. P. Pioneer Work in Alps of New Zealand. 21 - net. Harria, J.C. Sister Jane. 6,'- Constable. Haycraft, T. W. Executive Powers in Relation to Crime, fi - Bulterworth. Hazlitt, W. C. Four Generations of a Literary Family (The Hazlitts). 31 fi. Redway. Henty, G. A. The Queen's Cup. 15-net. Chatto. Howetson, G. H. The Strike, and Other Poems. 5- Putnam. Higgs, H. The Physiocrats. 3 fi. Macniillan. Hoffman, Professor, editor. Every Boy's Book of Sport. Routledge. Holm, A. History of Greece (from Gorman)—iii. 'I - net. MacTifllan. Hungcrford, Mrs. An AnxiouB Moment, &c. 8(6. Chatto. Hunter. Sir W. W. The Thackerays in India. 2 6 net Frowde. Hutcbeson, J. 0. Young Tom Bowling. 5/- Warne. Ibsen, H. John Gabriel Borkman (tr. W. Archer). Heinemann. James, C. The Finger and the Ring, fi,- Ward and Downey. Johnson, J. C. F. Getting Gold; a Practical Treatise. 8 6. Griffin. Keashey, L. M. The Nicaragua Canal and the Monroe Doctrine. 18.- Putnam, Keightley, S. B. The Last Recruit of Clare's. 6 - Hutchinson. Kingidev. Mary H. Travels in West Africa. 21 - net. Macmillan. Kirby, W. F. A Handbook to Order Lepldoptera—iii. 6/- W.H.Allen. Lang. A. Pickle, the Spy. 18;- Longmans. Langdon, W. E. Application of Electricity to Rail. Workings. Spon. Larchey, L. Narrative of Capt. Colgnet (tr. Mrs. Carey). 3/6. Chatto. Leach, A. F. English Schools at Reformation. 12 - net. Constable, ^eakc, F. Historic Bubbles. Suckling and Galloway, Xentzner, K. Short Hist, of Danish Language. The editor, at Oxford. Lepsius, L. Armenia and Europe (ed. J. R. Harris). fi,- Hodder and Stougbton. Lindsay, J. Recent Advances in Theistlc Philosophy of Religion. 12 6 net. Blackwood. Lorimer. G. C. (ed.). People's Bible History. 20 - Christ. Com. Co. Lowe, C.E. Cyclopaedia of Musicians and Musical Events. 2 - Weekes. Lydekker, R. (editor). The Royal Natural History. Warne. Macalister. R. A. S. Ecclesiastical Vestments. Stock. MacDonagh, M. Bishop Doyle, J.K.L 2 - Unwin. Marmery, J. V. Wit, WiBdom, and Folly. Digby, Long. Martin, Mrs. H. Gentleman George. Hurst and Blacken, Maurier, George du. English Society (Sketches). 12 6. Osgood. Miller, Esther. The Sport of the Gods. 6 - Innes. Morgan, Sir G. O. Eclogues of Virgil in English Hexameter Verse. 4 C net. Frowde. Morrison, W. D. Juvenile Offenders. I',- Unwin. Newton, A. A Dictionary of Birds—Part iv. 7 6 nM. Black. Ogle. W. Tr. of Aristotle on Youth and Old Age, Ac. 7 fi. Longmans. Paullan (L.). The Beggars of Paris (tr. Lady Herschell). Arnold. Peek. H. (editor). The Poetry of Sport. Longmans. Peel. Sir R. A Bit of a Fool. 6 - Downey. Phillpotts, E. Lying Prophets. 6 - Innes. Phillpson, J. The Art and Craft of Coachbuilding. Bell, i'hilpot, Mrs. J. H. The Sacred Tree. 8 6 net. Macmillan. Post, M. D. Strange Scheme* of Randolph Mason. 8 fi. Putnam. Powell, Q. H. Animal Episodes and Studies in Sensation. 3 6 net. Redway. Putnam, G. H. Books and their Makers during the Middle Ages—li. Putnam. Renton. A. W. Law of and Work in Lunacy. Stevens and Haynes. Revnolds, Sir J. Essays and AddiesseB. 12/- net Macmillan. Rideal, S. Water and its Purification. Crosby, Lockwood. Risley, J. S. The Law of War. 12/- Innes. R. V. The Sentimental Vikings. 2 6 net Lone. Roberts, Lord. Forty-t >ne Years in India. 86/- Bentley. Roliettson, J. M. The Saxon and the Celt (Sociology). Univ. Press. Robinson, Percy. Relics of Old Leeds. Batsford. Romanes, G. J. Essays (edited by C. L. Morgan). 6 - Longmans. Rushington. W. L. Shakespeare an Archer. Liverpool. Lee. Sabbab, J. M. Fanti Customary Laws. 21 -net. Clowes. Salkeld-Cooke, H. Reprobatus, or the Journey of Death a - Church Printing Co. Sanders, N. A Comedy of Three. 1, - I'nwin. Sargant, A. Brownie (with music and illustrations). Dtnt. Scholey, H. Electric Tramways and Railways. 2 - Paasmore. SchwartzkopfT, P. Prophecies of Jesus Christ (tr. N". Buchanan*. •> - Edinburgh : Clark. Sen, Sun Yat. Kidnapped in London. 1 - Bristol: Arrowsmith. Sergeant. A. The Idol-Maker. 6/- Hutchinson. Sharp. Win. Madge o' the Pool, and other Tales. 2 6. Constab'e. Shuckburgh, E. S. History of Helvetian War. 1, 6. Clsy. Soldene. E- My Theatrical and Musical Recollections. 10 fi. Downey. Street, G. S. The Wise and the Wayward. 4 6 net. Lane. Stuart-Glennie, J.S., editor. Greek Folk Poesy—ii. IOC. Nutt. Tarliell, F. B. History of Greek Art 6 - Macmillan. Taylor, H. O. Ancient Ideals. W - Putnam. Thompson, N. (}.. and Cannan, F. L. Figure Skating. Longmans. Tirard, N. Diphtheria and Antitoxin. 7 6. Trobridge, O. By a Way They Knew Not. Spiers. Tubeuf, K. Diseases of Plants induced by Cryptogramic Parasites (tr. W. G. Smith). IS - net. Longmans. Tweedale. V. "And They Two ." 3(1 Redway. Tytler. Sarah. Lady Jean's Son. 6/- Jarrold. Underhlll, F. T. Driving for Pleasure. 28/- net. Heinemann. Warriner, John. National Portrait Gallery of British Musicians. 14 - net. Simpson Low. Watson, R. S. Hist, of Lit. and Philos. Soc. of Newcastle. 21 - Scott. Watson. William. The Yoar of Shame. 2.6 net Lane. Watt, W. A. Theory of Contract in its Social Light. 3- Edin : Clark. Wenall. W. With the E-d Eagle. 6/- Chatto. White, u.,.v Strange, E. F. (editors). Canterbury Cathedral. 1 6. Bell. .. Salisbury Cathedral. 1 S. Bell. Wflemann. J. P. Brazilisn Exchange. Wilson. Willis, J. C. Manual and Dictionary of the Flowering Plants and Ferns. Clay. Wundt, W. Outlines Psychologv (tr. C. H. Judd). Williams & Norgato. ## p. 236 (#285) ############################################ AD VER TISEMENTS. iii IR/IE^IDir ABOUT MARCH. THE LITERARY YEAR-ROOK 1897 EDITED BY FREDERICK G. AFLALO, F.R.G.S., &c. An Exhaustive Book of Reference for all Writers and Readers of Books. AMONG THE CHIEF FEATURES ARE :- A Critical resumi of the past year's Literature, by Krnest Rhys. Portraits and Biographical Sketches of a number of Distinguished Authors. The Year's Obituary, with Portraits. A New and Complete Calendar for Literature. Some Account of the Chief Literary and Scientific Clubs, and Learned Societies and Institutions in the Kingdom, with their Addresses. Directories of Authors, Publishers, and Booksellers. A Directory of the chief Free, Public, and Subscription Libraries in Great Britain and Ireland. Pz-actical Information in connection with the Reading Rooms of the British Museum, Bibliothkque Nationale (Paris), and Knnigliche Bibliothek (Berlin). Articles on various Literary matters. Information concerning the Production of Books and the Processes in Illustration. &c, &c, &c. About 300 pages, crown 8vo., cloth, 3s. 6dm It is hoped that this volume, which deals with every matter of practical interest to the Literary World, will supply a long-felt want. LONDON: GEORGE ALLEN, RUSKIN HOUSE, 156, CHARING CROSS ROAD, AND OF ALL BOOKSELLERS. ## p. 236 (#286) ############################################ AD VER TISEMENTS. ♦ ♦ * ♦ LOWEST PRICES IN LONDON. ♦ -A-vrthora* >1SS. correctly and neatly copied ♦ Carbon ^Duplicates G-ENKHAI. COPYING- at lOd. at Id. per iolio per lOOO words. ♦ LEGAL AND ♦ fVe have a skilled and tccll educated staff of operators. Give us a trial, and compare our tcork and prices with those of other ojices. J Note our address- LARGE ORDERS ESTIMATED FOR. : THE ECLIPSE TYPEWRITING AND SHORTHAND OFFICES, | : 28, FENCHURCH STREET. LONDON, E.C. I ♦ It THE TEMPLE YPE WRITING EXCEPTIONALLY TYPEWRITING OFFICE. ACCURATE. Moderate prices. Duplicates of Circulars by the latest \ process. OPINIONS Ot CLIENTS—Distinguished Author:—"The most beiutiful typing I have erer ircn." Lady of TiTLEr—"TheJ work was very well and clearly done." PROVINCIAL Editor:—" Many thanks for the spotless neatneBs and beautiful accuracy." MISS G-KNTRY, ELDON CHAMBKR9, 30, FI;KET STREET, K.C. |1 To Attti TYPEWRITING AND DUPLICATING OFFICE. ESTABLISHED 1892. USUAL TERMS. REFERENCES kindly permitted to the Right Hon. O. J. GOSCHEN, M.P., and others. ANDREW LA SO, Jim/, says: "In my experience your work i* itne<juallcd." MISS THOMAS. 5. CAUTLEY AVENUE, CLAPHAM COMMON, TTI'BW Kllliitt UY CLERGYMAN H DAUGHTER. MISS E. lVI. SIKES, The West Kensington Typewriting Agency, 13, Wolverton Gardens, Hammersmith, W. Authors' MSS. carefully and promptly copied, Is. per 1000 words; duplicate copy half price. Legal and General Copying, l£d. per folio; duplicates Id. per folio. Typewritten Circulars, Notices, Ac, hy copying process. Terms on application. References kindly permitted to authors. Established HUH. TYPEWRITING ACCURATELY AND PROMPTLY EXECUTED. P08TAGE PAID. PLEASE GIVE TRIAL. MISS SAINE3. 11, FALCONER CHAMBERS, SCARBOROUGH. ntcxaa pattest, TYPIST. 44, Oakley Street Flats, Chelsea, S.W. Authors' MSS. carefully transcribed. References kindly PERMITTED TO MANY WELL-KNOWN AUTHORS. Fire - Proof Safe for AISS. Particulars on application. Telegraphic addrcaa: "Patzes. LONDON." 6" & 1/- PASTE STICKS TYPE-WBITINO OFFICE, 35, LUDGATE HILL, E.C. (ESTABLISHED 1883.) Authors' MSS. carefully copied from Is. per 1000 words. Duplicate copies third price. Skilled typL-ts sent out hy hour, day. or week. French MSS. accurately copied, or typewritten English translations supplied. References kindly permitted to Sir Walter Besant: also to MoRBrs. A. P. Watt and Son, Literary Agents, Hastings House, Norfolk-street. Strand. W.C. THE AUTHOR'S HAIRLESS PAPER-PAD. (The Leadenhai.l Press Ltd.), Leailenhall Si roet, London, K.C. Contains hairless paper, slips with perfect freedom. over which the pen Sixpence each: $e. per dozen, rrded or plain. MESDAMES BRETT & BOWSER, TYPISTS, SELBORNE CHAMBERS, BELL YARD, TEMPLE BAR. Authors' MSS. carefully and expeditiously copied, from t*. per iooo words. Extra carbon copies half price. Refer- ences kindly permitted to Augustine Birrell, Esq., M.P., and "Anthony Hope." THK KNIGHTS and KINGS of CM!ESS. Uy the K„v. X O. A. MACDONNELL, B A. With Portrait and 17 Illustra- tions. Crown 8vo., cloth hoards, price 2s. <J<1. net. London: HORACK Cox, Windsor House. P. ream's-build in gB, E.C. Printed and Published by Horace Cox, Windsor House, Bream's-buildings, London, E.C. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Author, Vol. 07 Issue 09 (February 1897) Subject The topic of the resource The Author, Vol. 07 Issue 09 (February 1897) Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015049239455" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015049239455</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Publication Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 1897-02-01-The-Author-7-9 publications The Author https://historysoa.com/files/original/5/298/1897-01-01-The-Author-7-8.pdf 48d693d7bb6b0a33e1ce2dc5724cb3bd 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 The Author Description An account of the resource A digitised run of the Society of Authors' monthly periodical, The Author, 1890–1914, made available together for the first time. Currently users can browse issues and <a href="https://historysoa.com/items/browse?search=&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bjoiner%5D=and&advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=51&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Index&collection=&type=&tags=&exhibit=&date_search_term=&submit_search=Search+For+Items&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) 1897-01-01 Volume 7 Issue 8 Pages Page range in volume 177–208 Ngram Date Version of the date in YYYYMMDD format for use by the Ngram plugin 18970101 Ngram Text Version of the text with no HTML formatting for use by the Ngram plugin XL he H u t b o t\ {The Organ of the Incorporated Society of Authors. Monthly.) CONDUCTED BY WALTER BESANT. Vol. VII.—No. 8.] JANUARY i, 1897. [Price Sixpence. CONTENTS. Notieea, «fec Literary Propel ly— 1. Contract of Publication 2. Notes on an Agrtement ». Pitts r. Gforge I. Savage r. Noely 5. Exaggeration of Authors" Rights 6_ Dramatic Representation in Italy Xoteai from Abroad. By R. H. Sherard New Toik Letter. By Norman Hapgood Notes and News. By the Editor The Booksellers' Grievances. By Julie Sutter ... 179 ... 182 ... 183 ... 181 ... 185 ... 187 ... 188 ... 189 ... 191 ... 105 The Guild of Literature and Art ... Is there an American Literature'; Cheap Fiction in Germany Book Talk Literature in the Periodicals Correspondence.—1.'-Hons." 2. Stamps with MSS. 3. 1'AOK 197 1!)7 199 -.03 203 ■ Thirteen as Twelve." 4. Reviews and Advertisements. r>, ''To J. G." 8. Still Looser English. 7. "A Want." 8. The Ethics of ths Review Copy. '.». Monsters in Fiction. 10. The First Bojk. 11. "Wanted, a Strike." 12. Touting Publishers 20t Obituary 2PS PUBLICATIONS OF THE SOCIETY. 1. The Annual Report. That for January 1S96 can be had on application to the Secretary. 2. The Author. A Monthly Journal devoted especially to the protection and maintenance of Literary Property. Issued to all Members. Back numbers are offered at the following prices: Vol. I.,'io«. 6d. (Bound); Vols. II., III., and IV., 8s. 6d. each (Bound); Vol. V, 6s. 6J. (Unbound). 3. Literature and the Pension List. By W. Morris Colles, Barrister-at-Law. (Henry Glaisher, 95, Strand, W.C.) 3*. 4. The History of the Socie'te des Gens de Lettres. By S. Squire Sprigge, late Secretary to the Society, is. 5. The Cost Of Production. In this work specimens are given of the most important forms of type, size of page, &c, with estimates showing what it costs to produce the more common kinds of books. Henry Glaisher, 95, Strand, "W.C. 2*. 6d. 6. The Various Methods Of Publication. By S. Squire Sprigge. In this work, compiled from the papers in the Society's offices, the various forms of agreements proposed by Publishers to Authors are examined, and their meaning carefully explained, with an account of the various kinds of fraud which have been made possible by the different clauses in their agreements. Henry Glaisher, 93, Strand, W.C. 3.S. 7. Copyright Law Reform. An Exposition of Lord Moukswell's Copyright Bill now before Parlia- ment. With Extracts from the Report of the Commission of 187S, and an Appendix containing the Beme Convention and the American Copyright Bill. By J. M. Lely. Eyre and Spottiswoode. is. 6d. 8. The Society of Authors. A Record 0f its Action from its Foundation. By Walter Besant (Chairman of Committee, 1SSS—-j 892) »*• 9. The Contract of Publication in QQt, Austria, Hungary, and Switzerland. By Erxst Lunge, J.U.D. 2s. 6d. *<H<ffl7' *^ ## p. 176 (#220) ############################################ 11 AD VER TISEMENTS. ^t)e g>ociefp of Jlufljors (gncotporateb). Sir Edwin Arnold, K.C.I.E., C.S.I Alfred Austin. J. M. Barrie A. W. X Beckett. F. E. Beddard, F.R.S. BOBERT BaTEMAN. Sir Henry Bergne, K.C.M.G. Sir Walter Besant. Augustine Birrell, M.P. Eev. Prof. Bonnet, F.R.S. Eight Hon. James Brtce, M.P. Bight Hon. Lord Burghclere Hall Caine. Egerton Castle, F.S.A. P. W. Clatden. Edward Clodd. W. Morris Colles. Hon. John Collier. Sir W. Martin Conwat. F. Marion Crawford. PRESIDENT. GEOEGE MEREDITH. COUNCIL. The Earl of Desart. Austin Dobson. A. Conan Doyle, M.D A. W. Dubourg. Prof. Michael Foster, F.E.S. Eichard Garnett, C.B., LL.D. Edmund Gosse. H. Eider Haggard. Thomas Hardy. Anthony Hope Hawkins. Jerome K. Jerome. Eudyard Kipling. Prof. E. Bay Lankester, F.B.S. W. E. H. Lecky. J. M. Lely. Mrs. E. Lynn Linton. Eev. W. J. Loftie, F.S.A. Sir A. C. Mackenzie, Mus.D. Prof. J. M. D. Meiklejohn. P.C. Herman C. Merivale. Eev. C. H. Middleton-Wake. Sir Lewis Morris. Henry Norman. Miss E. A. Ormerod. J. C. Parkinson. Eight Hon. Lord Pirbright. Sir Frederick Pollock, Bart., LL.D. Walter Herries Pollock. W. Baptiste Scoones. Miss Flora L. Shaw. G. E. Sims. S. Squire Sprigoe. J. J. Stevenson. Prof. Jas. Sully. William Moy Thomas. H. D. Traill, D.C.L. Mrs. Humphry Ward. Miss Charlotte M. Yonge. Hon. Counsel — E. M. Underdown, Q.C. A. W. X Beckett. Sir Walter Besant. Egerton Castle. W. Morris Colles. COMMITTEE OF MANAGEMENT Chairman—H. Eider Haggard. Hon. John Collier. Sir W. Martin Conway. Anthony Hope Hawkins. J. M. Lely. Solicitors— ( Messrs. Field, Eoscoe, and Co., Lincoln's Inn Fields. [ G. Herbert Thring, B.A., 4, Portngal-street, W.C. Sir A. C. Mackenzie, Mus.D. Henry Norman. S. Squire Sprigge. Secretary—G. Herbert Thring, B.A. OFFICES: 4, Portugal Street, Lincoln's Inn Fields, W.C. _A_. IE3. "WJ^TT &c SO 1ST, LITERARY AGENTS, Formerly of 2, PATERNOSTER SQUARE, Have now removed to HASTINGS HOUSE, NORFOLK STREET, STRAND, LONDON, W.C. WINDSOR HOUSE PRINTING WORKS, BZR/ZE^IVFS ZBTTILIDIItTa-S, ZE.C. Offices of "The Field," "The Queen," "The Law Times," &e. Mr. HORACE COX, Printer to the Authors' Society, takes the opportunity of informing Authors that, having' a very iarge Office, and an extensive Plant of Type of every description, he is in a position to EXECUTE any PRINTING they may entrust to his care. ESTIMATES FORWARDED, AND REASONABLE CHARGES WILL BE FOUND. ## p. 177 (#221) ############################################ XT be Hutbor* (The Organ of the Incorporated Society of Authors. Monthly.) CONDUCTED BY WALTER BESANT. Vol. VII.—No. 8.] JANUARY i, 1897. [Price Sixpence. For the Opinions expressed in papers that are signed or initialled the Authors alone are responsible. None of the papers or para- graphs must be taken as expressing the collective opinions of the committee unless they are officially signed by G. Herbert Thring, Sec. THE Secretary of the Society begs to give notice that all remittances are acknowledged by return of post, and requests that all members not receiving an answer to important communications within two days will write to him without delay. All remittances should be crossed Union Bank of London, Chancery-lane, or be sent by registered letter only. i Communications and letters are invited by the Editor on all subjects connected with literature, but on no other sub- jects whatever. Articles which cannot be accepted are returned if stamps for the purpose accompany the MSS. GENERAL MEMORANDA. FOE some years it has been the practice to insert, in every number of Tlie Author, certain " General Con- siderations," Warnings, Notices, &c, for the guidance of tho reader. It has been objected as regards these warnings that the tricks or frauds against which they are directed cannot all be guarded against, for obvious reasons. It is, however, well that they should be borne in mind, and if any publisher refuses a clanso of precaution he simply reveals his true character, and should be left to carry on his business in his own way. Let us, however, draw up a few of the rules to be observed in an agreement. There are three methods of dealing with literary property :— I. That of selling it outright. This is in some respects the most satisfactory, if a proper price can be obtained. But the transaction should be managed by a competent agent. II. A profit-sharing agreement. In this case the following rules should be attev, j 1 j. (1.) Not to sign any agreement in which the duction forms a part. °0st of Pr0' (2.) Not to give the publisher the power profits into his own pocket by charging for _,* >,„jf,'n(? the VOL. VII. in his own organs: or by charging exchange advertise- ments. (3.) Not to allow a special charge for " office expenses," unless the same allowance is made to the author. (4.) Not to give up American, Colonial, or Continental rights. (5.) Not to give up serial or translation rights. (6.) Not to bind yourself for future work to any publisher. As well bind yourself for tho future to any one solicitor or doctor! (7.) To stamp the agreement. III. The royalty system. In this system, which has opened the door to a most amazing amount of overreaching and trading on the author's ignorance, it is above all things necessary to know what the proposed royalty means to both sides. It is now possible for an author to ascertain approximately and very nearly the truth. From time to time the very important figures connected with royalties are published in the Author. Readers can also work out the figures themselves from the "Cost of Production." Let no one, not even the youngest writer, sign a royalty agreement without finding out what it gives the publisher as well as himself. It has been objected that these precautions presuppose a great success for the book, and that very few books indeed attain to this great success. That is quite true : but there is always this uncertainty of literary property that, although the works of a great many authors carry with them no risk at all, and although of a great many it is known within a few copies what will be their minimum circulation, it is not known what will be their maximum. Therefore every author, for every book, should arrange on the chance of a success which will not, probably, come at all; but which may come. The four 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 arc advised that this is a right, in the nature of a common law right, which cannot bo denied or withheld. (3.) That there shall be no secret profits. (4.) That nothing shall be charged which has not been actually paid—for instance, that there shall be no charge for advertisements in the publisher's own organs and none for exchanged advertisements; and that all discounts =sha be duly entered. If these points are carefully looked after, the author may rest pretty well assured that he is in right hands. At tho - time he will do well to send his agreement to tho 8 atftry before he signs it. 1 X 2 ## p. 178 (#222) ############################################ 178 THE AUTHOR. HOW TO USE THE SOCIETY. I. "Tjl VERY member has a right to ask for and to receive JQj advice upon his agreements, his choice of a pub- lisher, or any dispute arising in the conduct of his business or the administration of his property. If the advice sought is such as can be given best by a solicitor, the member has a right to an opinion from the Society's solicitors. If the case is such that Counsel's opinion is desirable, the Com- mittee will obtain for him Counsel's opinion. All this w ithout any cost to the member. 2. Remember that questions connected with copyright and publisher's agreements do not generally fall within the experience of ordinary solicitors. Therefore, do not scruple to use the Society first—our solicitors are continually engaged upon such questions for us. 3. Send to the office copies of past agreements and past accounts with the loan of the books represented. This is in order to ascertain what has been the nature of your agree- ments, and the results to author and publisher respectively so far. The Secretary will always be glad to have any agreements, new or old, for inspection and note. The infor- mation thus obtained may prove invaluable. 4. If the examination of your previous business trans- actions by the Secretary proves unfavourable, you should take advice as to a change of publishers. 5. Before signing any agreement whatever, send the pro- posed document to the Society for examination. 6. The Society is acquainted with the methods, and—in the case of fraudulent houses—the tricks of every publish- ing firm in the country. 7. Remember always that in belonging to the Society you are fighting the battles of other writers, even if you are reaping no benefit to yourself, and that you are advancing the best interests of literature in promoting the indepen- dence of the writer. 8. Send to the Editor of The Author notes of everything important to literature that you may hear or meet with. 9. The committee have now arranged for the reception of members' agreements and their preservation in a fireproof safe. The agreements will, of course, be regarded as con- fidential documents to be read only by the Secretary, who will keep the key of the safe. The Society now offers :—(1) To read and advise upon agreements and publishers. (2) To stamp agreements in readiness for a possible action upon them. (3) To keep agreements. (4) To enforce payments due according to agreements. ->.«<. THE AUTHOES' SYNDICATE. MEMBERS are informed: 1. That the Authors' Syndicate takes charge of the business of members of tho Society. That it submits MSS. to publishers and editors, concludes agree- ments, examines, passes, and collects accounts, and, gene- rally, relieves members of the trouble of managing business details. 2. That the terms upon which its services can be secured will be forwarded upon detailed application. 3. That the Authors' Syndicate works only for those members of the Society whose work possesses a market value. 4. That tho Syndicate can only undertake any negotiations whatever on the distinct understanding that those negotia- tions are placed exclusively in its hands, and that nit communications relating thereto are referred to it. 5. That clients can only be seen by the Director by appointment, and that, when possible, at least two days' notice shonld be given. 6. That every attempt is made to deal with all communi- cations promptly. That stamps should, in all cases, be sent to defray postage. 7. That the Authors' Syndicate does not invite MSS. without previous correspondence: does not hold itself responsible for MSS. forwarded without notice; and that in all cases MSS. must be accompanied by stamps to defray postage. 8. That the Syndicate undertakes arrangements for leoturcs by some of the leading members of the Society; that it has a "Transfer Department" for the sole and purchase of journals and periodicals; and that a " Register of Wants and Wanted" is open. Members are invited to communicate their requirements to tho Manager. There is an Honorary Advisory Committee, whose services will be called npon in any case of dispute or difficulty. It is perhaps necessary to state that the members of the Advisory Committee have no pecuniary interest whatever in the Syndicate. NOTICES. THE Editor of The Author begs to remind members of the Society that, although the papor is sent to them free of charge, the cost of producing it would be a very heavy charge on the resources of the Society if a great many members did not forward to the Secretary the modest 6s. 6d. subscription for the year. The Editor is always glad to receive short papers and communications on all subjects connected with literature from members and others. Nothing can do more good to the Society than to make the Author complete, attractive, and interesting. Will those who are willing to aid in this work send their names and the special subjects on which they aro willing to write? Communications for the Author should reach the Editor not later than the 21 st of each month. All persons engaged in literary work of any kind, whether members of the Society or not, are invited to communicate to the Editor any points oonnected with their work which it would be advisable in tho general interest to publish. Members and others who wish their MSS. read are requested not to sond them to the Office without previously communicating with the Secretary. The utmost practicable despatch is aimod at, and MSS. aro read in the order in which they aro received. It must also bo distinctly under- stood that tho Society docs not, under any circumstances, undertake the publication of MSS. The Authors' Club is now open in its new promises, at 3, Whitehall-court, Charing Cross. Address tho Secretary for information, rules of admission, &c. Will members take tho trouble to ascertain whether they have paid their subscriptions for the year? If they will do this, and remit the amount, if still unpaid, or a banker's order, it will greatly assist the Secretary, and save him tho trouble of sending ont a reminder. Members are most earnestly entreated to attend to the following warning. It is a most foolish and may bo a most disastrous thing to enter into an agreement binding for a term of years. Let them ask themselves if they would givo a solicitor the collection of their rents for five years to come, whatever his conduct, whether he was honest ## p. 179 (#223) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. i79 or dishonest? Of course they would not. Why then hesitate for a moment when they are asked to sign them- selves into literary bondage for three or five years? Those who possess the "Cost of Production" are requested to note that the cost of binding has advanced 15 per cent. This means, for those who do not like the trouble of "doing sums," the addition of three shillings in the pound on this head. In other words, if the cost of binding is set down in our book at eight pounds, to this must now be added twenty-four shillings more, so that it now stands at £9 48. The figures in our book are as near the exact truth as can be procured; but a printer's, or a binder's, bill is so elastic a thing that nothing more exact can be arrived at. Some remarks have been made upon the amount charged in the " Cost of Production" for advertising. Of course, we have not included any sums which may be charged for inserting advertisements in the publisher's own magazines, or in other magazines by exchange. As agreements too often go, there is nothing to prevent the publisher from sweeping the whole profits of a book into his own pooket, by inserting any number of advertisements in his own magazines, and by exchanging with others. Some there are who call this a form of fraud; it is not known what those who practise this method of swelling their own profits call it. LITERARY PROPERTY. I. — The Contract op Publication in Germany, Austria. Hungary, and Switzer- land. [By Ernest Lunob, J.U.D. Published for the Society of Authors.] THE contracts made between author and pub- lisher do not come within the provisions of the German Code of Commerce, apparently because German legislators did not frame their definitions of "commercial" contracts in such a way as to include them, although why they did not is not very clear. To have done so would undoubtedly have placed the business arrange- ments of a publisher with a poet on the same level as his arrangements with a printer, but the poet would hardly object to such an association in the eye of the law, if, as a compensation, the law, in a condensed, codified, and comprehensive form, extended to him its protection. In the absence of such protection, in Germany and in the countries that have either adopted or followed its commer- cial code, the author is at the mercy of such prin- ciples and enactments as may exist outside of the code, coupled with such special laws as may have been framed from time to time to suit his special circumstances. In this country we have not found jt neces- sary to institute a commercial code, bm had we done so, we should hardly have ac^ \ j 0ne ■which provided for the interpretation c ment of such contracts as the ^0. enf<>rc~" embraces, and at the same time (J1(j M^aB c° arrangements so nearly akin to them as those which a writer makes with the person who is to perform the more or less mechanical and com- mercial task of distributing his books. In con- sequence of the exclusion referred to, Herr Lunge has had to content himself with the citation and discussion of extracts from the special enactments alluded to, where they exist, and from text-books dealing with the subject in hand. Of such text- books we Deed hardly say that they are the works of writers whose authority is recognised and respected, but is not in any way binding upon those who preside in courts of law. He has compiled an interesting little work, technical, of course, but instructive to those who are acquainted with the position of English authors, and who wish to compare it with the conditions existing in other countries. As a preliminary to such a study we find a dissertation on the condition of book-publishing from the earliest days of literature to the time when printing from movable types was invented, and also during and immediately after that momentous period of its history. In this the author has had the advantage of studying the works of German writers who have brought their usual care and acumen to bear upon the subject, while they have had, in the case of Roman literature at least, some foundation upon which to build their theories. But it is a far cry from the day when Tryphou published for Martial to the days when printing was first invented, and even then, Herr Lunge points out, questions of authors' rights did not arise at once in the books produced under the new circumstances of production. The early printers turned their attention to the printing of the great classical works, and the labours of contemporary scholars were only rewarded by them when they had engaged them to revise and emend the texts of bygone genera- tions. Thus, however, the direct connection between writers and printers was established, though it was only a hiring of work by the latter (such, at least, is Herr Lunge's view), aud it was followed by the employment of printers by the authors of the day to produce their works, while the authors themselves undertook the burden of publishing them. The dealings of Martin Luther with the pro- ducers of his works are cited as types at this ])oint, and among the conclusions arrived at it is said that "to these types of contract we may trace the origin of a modern rule, according to which the authors may control the production and claim proof sheets, but must bear the cost e ^reasonably numerous alterations." With _ajd to this last instance, one is inclined to ## p. 180 (#224) ############################################ i8o THE AUTHOR. suggest that were printing and book-writing alike the inventions of yesterday, and a firm of pub- lishers discovered to-day, side by side with the house of an author, we should find the author to-morrow correcting his own proofs, and the publisher insisting on his paying if he made too many "author's corrections." Each is too natural and obvious a result of their mutual relations to require media>val ancestry to account for it. Publishing arrangements without a law of copy- right, and without a sufficient demand for literature or a sufficient prospect of profit from its production, must necessarily have been primitive; and, to show how slowly modern methods were developed even after copyright was recognised, Herr Lunge quotes Goethe, writing in 1824, to the effect that" Fifty years ago a contract for the future was unimaginable," and he goes on to point out that in the Prussian Code of 1794 there is no actual provision for the primary obligation of publishing—namely, that the pub- lisher should actually produce the work—although from some passages in the code it seems to have been taken for granted. Much of this code is still in force, we are told, while statutes dealing with publishing have, since been passed in Austria (1811), in the Canton of Zurich (1853-56), in Saxony (1865), in Hungary (1875), and Switzerland (1883); and the relations of author and publisher have from time to time been affected by passages in acts dealing primarily with copyright. As has been suggested, in considering the "Contract of Publication/' as Heir Lunge calls it, it is difficult to get over a feeling that it ought not to be in any essential point different from every, or any, other kind of contract. It appears to be the German view that the court has to discover what the parties intended when they came together, and an English lawyer would hardly dissent from this, although he might look askance at the 27.8th article of the German Code of Commerce, which enjoins upon the court the study of the contracting parties' meaning or wishes, rather than the exact criticism and interpretation of what they may have expressed in writing. That, at least, is how we read the article in quest ion; but, after all, a contract is a contract all over the civilised world, and where the parties have clearly expressed themselves no difficulty need arise. Where they have not so expressed them- selves, some people think that special legislation is needed to assist them; others do not. As Sir Page Wood aptly said in Reade v. Bent ley, "agreements between authors and publishers assume a variety of forms. Some are so clear and explicit that no doubt can arise upon them," while in other cases " it is much to be regretted that contracts should be framed with such uncertainty, when it would have been so easy to make them certain." Presumably, therefore, the statutes cited by Herr Lunge, and his quotations from standard writers, are intended to show the manner in which German tribunals will fill in the blanks left in publishers' agreements; blanks which are usually supplemented in our country by evideuce of custom, where admissible, while sometimes implied covenants are sought to be inferred from the nature of the case, either with or without evidence of custom to support them. For example, an English judge might be reasonably expected to infer that a publisher was bound to use diligence in procuring the sale of a work that he had contracted to bring out, while he might expect evidence of custom before he imported into an agreement silent on that point an obliga- tion to distribute copies for review, and to issue public advertisements of the work; or else he would require evidence that reviews and advertise- ments must necessarily be obtained before the publisher would be said to have done his best in the matter. In Germany and the other countries we are dealing with, it seems that such matters are provided for by statute, as Herr Lunge at pp. 50-51 refers to sections of statutes of Saxony, Hungary, and Switzerland, besides citing the views of Bluntschli, a writer to whom he makes frequent reference. It is while upon this branch of his subject that he tells us, that in case of litigation, the court will appoint experts to examine whether the publisher made due efforts to sell the work. On this point he gives as his authority two German writers, Dernburg and Stobbe, but possibly owing to the limited space at his command, does not inform us whether this power of the court is often made use of, whether it is of practical utility to the author, or what machinery is at the command of the court for enforcing its behests upon the " experts" and for remunerating them for their trouble. With us, we need hardly say, the calling of such evidence would rest with the litigants. At the commencement of his treatise upon the existing law, Herr Lunge gives some definitions which seem to curtail the dimensions of the subject he treats of almost unnecessarily. At page 1 y he limits the " contract of publication" to "the agreement whereby a person acquires from an author, or his legal successors, an ex- clusive right to copy a Work of literature or art, iind engages to procure and publish the copies at /lis own e.rjjcnsc and risk." Passing over the rest of this definition, and bearing in mind the last words of it, we come lower down on the page to the "essentials of the contract," the third of ## p. 181 (#225) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. 181 which is "publication at the publisher's own expense and risk " ; while below this we find three conditions that are described as "not essential," and one of these is " that the publication should take place at the expense and risk of the publisher alone." What this means we do not clearly see from the definitions only, but turning to a passage on the next page we conclude that the publisher must l)ear some part, possibly infinitesimal (as there is no definition of how much), of the cost of production; and it is there definitely stated that where a publisher contracts to bring out a book at the author's risk and expense the contract is not a "contract of publication." This would exclude such a contract from all provisions of the law that follow, such as, for instance, the pro- tection given by the power of the court, already mentioned, to examine into the amount of diligence used by the publisher in distributing the work. In these circumstances one would have expected Herr Lunge to state under what heading, whether of commercial contracts or otherwise, publication at the author's risk falls in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Hungary, even if he did not consider them to be properly called "contracts of publication." After considering the " essentials" of a " con- tract of publication," Herr Lunge proceeds to discuss its other conditions in the countries of which he writes. Under the heading " Nature of the Right of Publication " we are able to gather that an express assignment is necessary before the publisher can be held to have acquired the copyright in the work, and complete control over it, or the right of translation, or (in dramatic works) of public performance. His next headings, "Work Planned by Another," "Classification of the Contract of Publication," "Form, Validity, Construction," "Chief Restrictions," " Exclusive- ness of the Right of Publication," serve to emphasise the conclusion that codification and special legislation do not necessarily, to any great extent, simplify or make easy the position of those sought to be benefited. There are few matters touched on in these pages which are not in England matters of contract, either expressed or implied, and in Germany, &c, they appear, though in many cases their position as such is specially defined by law, to be as a rule matters of contract still. When we come to the next heading," Extent of the Publisher's Rights," the first few lines show that we are on less familiar ground. "The number of editions that the publisher is authorised to produce is usually fixed by the contract. But this point is frequently overlooked in settling the terms of the agreement. L4 ^js case the right transferred is presumed to one edition only, and the author's permission is requisite for every new edition"; while further on we find that this is not the case in Austria, where, unless an author has disposed of his work with a reservation, the publisher has a right to publish all editions. These and other pas- sages point to a practice of authors changing publishers, not on producing a new book, but during the run of a single work. One can recall such a thing happening in England, but pre- sumably it was in such a case a matter of special arrangement, and a publisher with us who had accepted and printed a book, even under one of the loose agreements unfortunately so often made, would be a little surprised to hear that he had not the option of continuing to do so, or that, unless he had conspicuously failed in his obli- gation, the same book could be passed on to another. Of "editions " and their limits a good deal is said at this point, and we notice that in Saxony an edition is "limited" to 1000 copies, which presumably does not mean that it may not consist of a lesser number. Both in this con- nection and elsewhere we find that German publishers are apparently, from a legal point of view, more under control than are their English brethren; whether they are so in prac- tice, or whether the inherent strength of their position enables them to contract out of their liabilities, we are naturally not told in a book that is merely an exposition of the law. A pub- lisher, for instance, may not "stereotype the work nor have the type standing without the author's permission or control," which looks as if the integrity of publishers was not regarded as capable of resisting the temptation to add sur- reptitiously to editions lawfully placed on the market. It is also laid down that the publisher "may issue no new edition or reprint without first offering the author an opportunity of making the necessary improvements," limitations being imposed to restrict unreasonable demands on either side. Besides the points already referred to, we find, under the heading "Performance by the Pub- lisher," various questions touched on regarding the printing, get-up, and general details of the carrying out of the publishing contract, from which, again, it seems that the publisher is by no means his own master where the contract is silent. They are details which with us would be included in a "reasonable" performance of the contract, and would be decided in accordance with expert evidence called by the parties. One is inclined, by the way, to wonder whether an obli- gation " to put the whole manuscript in print and suppress no part of it," to quote Herr Lunge's words at page 48, implies that a German pub- ## p. 182 (#226) ############################################ l82 THE AUTHOR. lisher may not elide matter which he is advised, after the work is accepted, may be r.sented by somebody as a libel. Recourse may aga;n be had to expert evidence, we find, where a doubt has arisen as to the proper amount to be paid by author to publisher, owing to none having been fixed beforehand, but the payment of the author is not necessarily to be interred merely from the contract of publication having been entered into. That a fee was intended to be paid may, however, be shown from the circumstances in which the parties contracted, from their previous dealings, from the nature of the work, or from the fact that the writer is known to work habitually for money. The questions affecting the assignment of the contract are all fully discussed, and may be studied with interest. Suffice to say, the contract seems to be regarded in Germany, as in England, as a personal one, and that in Germany, as in England, it is highly desirable to provide, in a written agreement, in the clearest possible way for any contingencies, such as the death or bankruptcy of one of the parties. Of bankruptcy Hcrr Lunge Fays, and we can echo his sentiment: "This chapter of our subject has neither in theory nor by casuistry attained a satisfactory development." A fuller appreciation of the contents of his little hand-book of the law of our neighbours can be attained to by those who like to read the book itself. II.—Notes on an Agreement. An agreement issued by a firm of publishers in printed form has within the last few months been placed before the secretary of the Society of Authors more than once for his opinion. It is an excellent agreement as far as the publishers' point of view is concerned; but, in case it should be presented to any other author, it will bo well to make some few remarks in order to show that it is not so advantageous to the author. The financial scale of the agreement is not touched upon in this article. It is an agreement which appears to be drawn up especially for the authors of technical and scientific works. Clause II. runs as follows:— The copyright in this work and translation b thereof, including all copyright, foreign and other rights under existing or future treaties or conventions with America, or other foreign countries, and under the Canadian Copyright Act, 1875, and any other present or future Indian or foreign or Colonial Act, and all rights of translation and reproduc- tion, and all other Imperial, Colonial, or Foreign rights which now or during the continuance of the legal term of copyright shall be or become appurtenant to the proprietor of the copyright of the work, shall be the property of the said publishers subject to the payment to the said author of a royalty of ... in the shilling on the retail price of all copies of the English edition sold beyond the first . . . copies, and one-half of any profits that may be realised from the rights of traLslation and reproduction, or any other Imperial. Colonial, or Foreign rights which now or during the continuance of the legal term of copyright shall be or become appurtenant to the proprietor of the copyright of the work, or from the sale of early sheets or stereotype plates of the said work to the United States or elsewhere. Provided that if it should be thought advisable to dispose of copies of the said work, or of the remainder, at a reduced price, either in England or abroad, which is left to the judgment and discretion of the said publishers, the royalty to be paid to the said author is to be calculated on the amount of such sales, instead of on the retail price of the book. It cannot be too strongly pointed out to technical writers, that is to say writers of scientific, medical, theological, educational, &c, works, that the sale of copyright to publishers maybe most disastrous. It is constantly necessary to bring works of this character up to date, as new discoveries are made and new facts come to light. For the author's reputation it is then necessary that he should be able to have the control of new editions of his book. This he cannot possibly have if the copy- right is in the hands of the publishers. It may be answered that the publishers for their own reputation would desire the book to be re-e:lited by the original author; but as the point is of so much greater importance to the author than the publisher, the control should be in the author's hands. It is possible also to conceive a case where the publisher might want to run a book from the pen of a younger and perhaps more popular author on the same subject. Possessing the copyright he could do so to the detriment of the first author and his work. In any event it should not be left in the power of the publishers to act as they like in the matter. Further, the publishers may if they choose sell the book at a reduced price (see clause), and the royalty is to be calculated on the net amount of such sales. A bond fide remainder sale is clear, but who is to determine what is a reduced price? The question is delightfully vague. With regard to this clause, then, it must be repeated that the sale of the copyright is absolutely prejudicial to the author's position. In addition he transfers all rights of translation, reproduction, and foreign rights. These rights, if they are purchased at all, are generally purchased by foreign agents by merely writing to the English publishers, and the ques- tion is rather one of agents' thau publishers' work. A great deal has been written in The Author about agency charges by publishers for this kind of work. It is merely necessary to repeat that 50 per cent, seems a very large proportion to pay for work which an agent will do for 10. In Clause III. the whole general management, production, publi- cation, and reprinting is left to the judgment of the publishers, and the author finally binds him- ## p. 183 (#227) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. self to allow the publishers to make any terms or refuse any terms with regard to translations, Ac., that they choose. As the publishers have asked for the whole copyright in Clause II., it is only natural from their point of view that they should ask for the whole management of the book in Clause III.; but even if the author has sold every right that he possesses, it would be as well if the publishers were compelled to contract so as to produce the book only in a certain form and at a certain price. It is certainly probable that the book would be produced in the best style, but these matters should not be left undetermined. There might at some future date be a transference of the copyright to another house, and it would then be impossible for the author, unless there was a clause in the agreement to that effect, to have any control over the manner of production of his book. Why, too, should the publishers be allowed to refuse terms for foreign sale, translation, Ac.? This is a natural corollary on the sale of the copyright, and only further emphasises the disas- trous effect of such sale. The copyright has been sold to the publishers. There is nothing from the author's point of view in the agreement to prevent the publishers alter- ing the book, abridging it, or otherwise dealing with it, so long as such alteration or abridgment does not constitute a libel on the author's literary reputation. Such a libel is an exceedingly difficult and variable quantity to ascertain. A clause ought to be inserted, whenever the author is rash enough to place all his copyrights in the publishers' hands, that the book should continue to be published without alteration except with the sanction of the author, and always with his name attached. It nrast be repeated that the sale of the copy- right, in the case of technical books, may prove in the long run a most ruinous step for the author to take. In a subsequent clause the author under- takes, in consideration of the royalties reserved, to edit new editions of the work and to bring the book thoroughly up to date. For this he is "•ffered no fresh remuneration, but, putting this question aside, the great objection to the clause as it stands, is that the publishers are not in any way bound to ask the author to re-edit the book, although the author binds himself to do so if asked. There is a lack of reciprocity. This point is of the utmost importance, as no author would care to have his book re-edited, when he would be able to undertake the task, bv anv gentleman whom it might suit the publishers' whim to ask. The publishers' answer to thi8 as in all these matters, is, of course, that they ^ ' 11 VOL. VII. "^u not think of doing anything contrary to the best interests of the book. This may or may not be, and the definition of "best interests " from the publishers' point of view may be, nay often is, opposed to the author's definition. Examples prove this true, but, whether true or not, such frank surrender should not be allowed in a legal document. There are some other minor difficulties in the same agreement, which are chiefly the outcome of the transference of the author's copyright. Clause IX., which is an account clause, is objec- tionable in that a book published in the month of January would have the accounts rendered at Midsummer and the royalties under the agree- ment paid in December, so that the publishers would retain the author's money and obtain substantial interest on the same in the working of their business for over nine months. In the second rendering of the accounts (they are rendered annually on the same dates, as already stated) they hold the same advantage of the author's money for nearly eighteen months. This practice of retaining the author's money for so long a period is, of course, very convenient for the business of a large house, and may represent a considerable increase in the profit. Publishers are at liberty to offer whatever agreements they think fit to an author, but what the Society maintains, and rightly, is that the author should have a full explanation of the consequences of signing such document set before him. Any member who chooses can by inquiry at the Society's Office have full particulars on this case. li_ G. H. T. III.—Pitts r. George. Considerable difficulties attend the recent judgment of the Court of Appeal in the im- portant copyright case of Pitts t». George (see The Author for December), in which Lord Justice Lindley and Lord Justice Rigby, dissentiente Lord Justice Lopes, overruled the judgment of Mr. Justice Kekewich in the Court below. Although the decision does justice between the parties, it seems very doubtful whether it is legally correct, and whether, in their desire to prevent an obvious injustice, the judges have not disregarded the plain words of a statute. The facts were very simple. The plaintiff was the assignee of the English copyright in a piece of music called "La Fileuse," by Joachim Raff, which was first printed and published in Leipzig, in November, 1870. The defendant bought, in October, 1895, at Brussels fourteen copies of this piece of music which had been printed in Leipzig, and imported them into this country for sale. An v ## p. 184 (#228) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. injunction was claimed by the plaintiff. By the ioth section of the International Copyright Act of 1844 it is in substance provided that all copies of books, wherein there is any subsisting copyright under that Act, or any Order in Council made thereunder, "printed or reprinted in any foreign country except that in which such boohs were first published" are absolutely prohibited to be impor- ted into any part of the British Dominions except with the consent of the registered proprietor of the copyright, and may be seized by the Customs officers ; and it is further provided that, in respect of the importation of such copies or of copies •unlawfully printed in any place whatsoever, an action on the case lies at the suit of the registered proprietor of copyright. It is obvious, therefore, that, if this section stood alone, the plaintiff in the case under discussion would have possessed no remedy, because the infringing copies were law- fully printed in the place where the work was originally printed and published. But the 3rd section of the Act of 1844 provides that all the enactments of the Copyright Act of 1842 are to apply to books included in the order under the International Act in the same way as if such books were first published in the United Kingdom, and the Court of Appeal has now decided that, by virtue of the 15th and 17th sections of the Act of 1842, the plaintiff was entitled to succeed in the face of the ioth section of the Act of 1844 above referred to. The effect (put very shortly) of the 15th and 17th sections of the Act of 1842 is the following: By the 15th section no person in any part of the British Dominions is to print copies of a book in which there is subsisting English copy- right, nor to import any copies so having been unlawfully printed from parts beyond the seas, the remedy being an action on the case. By the 17th section no person is to import into any part of the British Dominions, a book first composed or printed and published in any part of the United Kingdom and reprinted in any country or place whatsoever out of the British Dominions, and copies so imported may be seized by any officer of Customs or Excise. The 15th section obviously does not touch the case in hand, and if the 17th section applies, the provisions of section 10 of the Act of 1844 must be disregarded, which is the effect of the decision of the Court of Appeal. This seems open to criticism, mainly upon two grounds: (1.) If the decision is correct the ioth section of the Act of 1844 is absolutely nugatory, because every remedy thereby provided is available under the Act of 1842. (2.) The Act of 1844 is an international statute, whereas the Act of 1842 is an English statute, and it is a strange conclusion that inter- national rights are to be defined, not by the International Act itself, but by reference to an English Act. Moreover, it is quite possible to give effect to the incorporating section of the Act of 1844 without disregarding the ioth section of that Act, by holding that all provisions of the English Act other than those which deal with international rights are to apply to books included in the Inter- national Act. No doubt this will work great injustice in cases such as the present, but this is by no means an unique instance of an unjust result due to slovenly draftmanship of Copyright Acts, and it is not difficult to see how the error arose. The drafts- man of the Act of 1844 probably had before him the Act of 1842, and thought he would amalgamate sections 15 and 17, the result produced being the ioth section. It was observed, that, by the 17th section of the Act of 1842, there was no right to seize a book imported unless reprinted in some place out of the British Dominions, and hence no doubt the exception was introduced into the ioth section in favour of books lawfully printed in the place of original publication. This seems to be a simple explanation of the error, but the remedy should be found, not in applying a highly strained and (it is submitted) incorrect construction to the Act of 1844, but in remodelling the copyright statutes, which are generally admitted to be in a hopeless state of confusion. B. A. Cohen, 11, King's Bench Walk. IV.—Savage v. Neely. The fraternity of writers has found a champion in Col. Richard Henry Savage, who for the last six months has been waging war in the courts against his publisher, F. Tennyson Neely. Col. Savage first sued for an accounting under a royalty contract as to number of books printed and sold, to whom sold, and the amounts received therefor, the number of books on hand, and of damaged books returned, and the amounts of alJ charges and claims against the defendants and the nature of the same, and on an appeal to the Supreme Court, Appellate Division, obtained an order for the complete production of all papers, and also an order for the fullest personal exami- nation of the defendant before trial, all the books and vouchers being in his (Neely's) possession. On Sept. 2, 1896, Mr. Neely refused to produce the printing bills and complete set of account books as called for, claiming that the bills were mislaid or stolen; whereupon Judge Roger A. Pryor ruled him guilty of contempt of court in ## p. 185 (#229) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. not producing these necessary papers, and assigned the trial of his contempt only to Referee N. H. T. Melliss. This trial has had fifteen hearings, the defen- dant being forced by the court to pay all the expenses as a part punishment, and in early December a decision of the referee 'will determine the gravity of his adjudged contempt. Judge Pryor denied a motion to try the whole case on its merits before a referee, and the personal examination of the defendant will be resumed until everyone of the so-called missing or stolen papers has been accounted for, and every charge of the publisher's one-sided accounts verified on oath by the production of papers. The main accounts of Mr. Savage's eleven novels seem to have been kept on certain loose sheets which appear and disappear at convenient times. The main trial on the whole issue will occupy a year or more, and be heard in open court.—From the American Authors' Guild Bulletin. V.—Exaggeration or Authors' Rights. (From Das Recht der Feder, a fortnightly journal of the German " Sohriftsteller Genossenschaft." Amongst the "Observations on the Berne Congress," which we find in the supplement of the Allgemeine Zeitung, those have particu- larly interested us which describe the exten- sion of authors' rights, asserted to be demanded by the Berne Congress, as going too far, and as amounting to "exaggerations which would lead to the application to copyright of the ideas of property peculiar to Roman law; ideas which are in effect foreign to modern views of property, and have no status in Germany." We wish to reply to this, at once, and plainly, that there exists no question at all of an exagge- ration of authors' rights, but only one of an extension of time during which the author ■would receive benefit from his work ; and that this is what this remarkably officious ebullition attacks, because a compliance with the wishes of the Congress "would lead to making the profits of intellectual labour, for an exaggeratedly long period, a source of inheritance beneficial exclusively to the family which had the accidental good fortune to be directly descended from some celebrity, whilst the public were, for an equally long period, hindered from the enjoyment of his works." This allegation makes it plain that the officious writer had more especially in view the draft* of George Maillard, who recommended that the duration of copyright should be extended to eighty years after the death of the author. •See The Author, Nov. 1896, p. 140. (Translator'* . \ vol. vii. "riote.; In consequence we must conclude that this proposal does not meet with the approval of our Government, and we will ourselves admit that we are not uneasy about it, because the proposal is not one of any importance. The proposal arose merely out of a feeling that the Congress should labour for a uniformity of legal enact- ments respecting copyright. And, indeed, copy- right is a matter exceptionally adapted for inter- national codification; though a uniformity of enactments respecting it can be brought about only by means of compromise. A glance at the various enactments respecting the duration of copyright at present in force suffices to show how multiform they are. A smaller group of countries measures the duration of copyright from the date of publica- tion : Greece, fifteen years; Hawai, twenty; the United States, eighteen; allowing an extension of fourteen years; Turkey, forty; Holland and the South African Republic, fifty. Italy secures the author, besides an absolute copyright of forty years, a percentage, payable to the author or his heirs, during another forty years. The other States give the author protection for the duration of his life, and for a certain period afterwards reckoned from his death. Thus Eng- land gives seven years, with a minimum duration of copyright for forty-two years; Roumania, ten years ; Denmark, Germany, Luxemburg, Austria, Switzerland, thirty years; Belgium, France, Monaco, Tunis, Finland, Hungarv, Norway, Russia, and Sweden, fifty; Spain, eighty. Of these two systems of determining the duration of copyright, that which fully protects the author during his life, and reckons the further duration of protection from his death, seems the more practical. The reckoning is based upon universally known dates, whilst the other plan necessitates the introduction of registration. And Maillard's proposal, for this reason, adopted this system of reckoning. The countries in which it prevails, if we except England, Roumania, and Spain, fall into two groups. One of them gives protection for thirty, the other for fifty years after the author's death. Any one wTbo, like Maillard, was aiming at uniformity, must perceive that to extend the benefits conferred by legislation is easier than to diminish them. The group of countries which give fifty years protection, would hardly be dis- posed to abridge the limit. On the other hand the group of countries which give thirty years protection have already, in the example of those which give fifty, a good argument for approving of an extension of their limit; every limit of time being in itself nothing more than an arbi- trary enactment. Only two things are perfectly t2 ## p. 186 (#230) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. logical and consistent—either an absolute refusal of any protection, or a perpetual protection. In an arbitrary enactment the choice of this limit of time or that must be indifferent. It would be, therefore, a practical way of choosing to select that limit, which has the greatest prospect of being generally accepted. That is the limit of fifty years. Maillard in his draft took the longest term of protection at present existing, that of Spain. But in his study of comparative law at the Dresden Congress, he, on the contrary, proposed a uniform limit of fifty years. The proposal in his draft therefore refers simply to the position of the author's successors after his death; and we shall not regard it in any other light. But we cannot imagine what could lead any reform of the German law of copyright (unless it was to be absolutely subversive, instead of completely final) to reject the fifty years duration of protection, However, this officious writer informs us that "the family which has the accidental good fortune to be directly descended from some celebrity, would enjoy the fruits of his intellectual labour for an exaggeratedly long period, which is con- tradictory to modern legal sentiments." The social democrats and socialists will prick up their ears when they hear that. So, by-and- by, when thirty years after the death of the testator, landed proprietors are, by the national Legislature, deprived of the estates and tenures which they have inherited, and the holders of shares and stocks deprived of the property which has come to them in the same way, we authors shall have nothing to say against it, seeing that our copyrights are treated in this same manner. But so long as material wealth can be bequeathed exempt from all molestation, so long as the idea of property held by the Roman Law is tolerated by "the modern legal sentiment," in the case of every other sort of possession, so long we shall be unable to perceive why the author should be robbed of the intellectual fruits of his labours. This officious writer informs us, however, that this is because "the public advantage to be derived from intellectual works would be ham- pered." So, if Cotta* had to pay a honorarium to the surviving heirs of Schiller or Goethe, or if the Royal Theatre had to hand over a percentage for performances of "Faust," or "Tell," then Tom, Dick, and Harry would be hampered in their enjoyment of these intellectual productions. Certainly not! Tom, Dick, and Harry would have long ago had an opportunity, at school, to enjoy these intellectual productions, more or less. * The well-known German publisher. (Translator's note.) In the literary club they would have made some further acquaintance with them, and, as people who occasionally seek amusement in the theatre, they would there have indulged themselves further in the same enjoyment. All that would probably happen would, be that they would not have bought the "complete works " from Herr Cotta if he had not brought down his prices. That, at the same time would be a matter of no impor- tance, so far as the popularity of the works were concerned. It is not the size of the edition that popularises a work, but the warmth with which it is received. Notwithstanding the cheapness of the collected editions. I myself possess neither a complete Goethe nor Schiller. And as a fact I would never buy one of these cheap editions. But I will bet that I know more of Schiller and Goethe than thousands of people who have placed their " collected works" upon their bookshelves merely on account of their smart bindings, or for the sake of winning a repiitation for literary tastes. The numl)er of copies of a book sold has nothing to do with its reception by the nation. The nation assimilates the intellectual treasures of its great authors in many ways independent of mere reading. If the high price of a book deters people from purchasing it, there are still lending libraries, which give the reader what he wants for a small price. And there are public libraries, which meet the needs of those desirous of educat- ing themselves without any payment at all. But if any one is really of the opinion that cheap editions popularise the enjoyment of intellectual treasures, it is not thereby demon- strated that the lapse of copyright is necessary to make such editions possible. The honorarium paid the author has a very small influence upon the cost of the book. We have very cheap books which have brought their authors very large profits, and expensive books for which the authors have never received a single farthing. The price of a book depends upon the edition which it is possible to sell. Small editions, a high price; large editions, a small price; that will always be the rule. The publisher who has perceived that a book will sell well, will not hesitate for an instant about placing a cheap edition in the market, because lie will earn more by the wide sale than he can by disposing of smaller editions at a higher price. In consequence, the duration of the copyright, that is to say the prolongation of the duty of paying a honorarium, neither hinders an intellectual work from making its way to the heart of the nation, nor the production of cheap editions of the work. Thus the arguments for limiting the author's right to a given period fall entirely to the ground. This is also the more ## p. 187 (#231) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. true because, in point of fact, it i.s not the public that are benefited, but only those industrial classes who work intellectual productions for their personal commercial profit. They are presented with what is stolen from the authors. If it be, however, resolved that certain advan- tages attach to the practice of leaving the publication of books to the competition of the publishers, or the production of dramatic works absolutely free to the directors of theatres (as is done in Switzerland), the Italian law demon- strates that this by no means prevents the author's rights from being so far recognised that he, or his heirs, may receive a certain percentage from the commercial profits, even after the actual term of copyright his expired. Piracies and pieces upon which no percen ages have to be paid, are not put upon the boards with the aim of advancing the cultivation of the nation, nor in the interests of art, but simply with an intention of filling the manager's pockets. And the mere fact that the newer literary and dramatic produc- tions have to suffer sensibly from the advantage taken of these privileges, granted to the book trade and the theatre at the expense of the author, should be one more reason for extending in some rational manner the present duration of copyright, The period of fifty years can be justly demanded, and justly granted. M. H. VI.—Dramatic Representation in Italy. The following extract from our Italian con- temporary / Diritti d'Autore, the official organ of the Italian Society of Authors, which has just reached us, may interest some of our readers :— "Humbert I., by the grace of God and the will of the nation King of Italy. "Seeing that the tenth article of the Act respecting the authors of intellectual works of Sept. 19, 1892, No. 1012 (3rd series), fixes at eighty years the duration of the author's rights of works intended for public representation, of ballets, and of all musical compositions, and appoints that this period shall be calculated from the day of the first representation or of the publi- cation of the work; "Since the musical work 'II Barbiere di Siviglia,' by Gioachino Rossini, was represented for the first time on Feb. 16, 1816, and that in consequence it will, in accordance with the terms of the fore-mentioned article of the law, become public property on Feb. 16, 1896: "Since the Musical Lyceum of Pesaro is to a great extent supported by the income which it receives from the performance of the aforftmeii- tioned opera, and that this income will cease upon the work's becoming public property, thus impeding the maintenance of this noble institu- tion, founded by the munificence of the immortal Gioachino Rossini: "Whilst reserving ulterior arrangements of a more general nature respecting the reform of the law of Sept. 19, 1892, which are to be placed before the National Parliament . . . .; "We decree—the lapse of the copyright, appointed by article 10 of the law of Sept. 19, 1892, No. 1012 (3rd series), is, in the case of the opera 'II Barbiere di Siviglia,' by Gioachino Rossini, prorogued for two years, to be reckoned from Feb. 16, 1896." • •••••* On this decree / Diritti d'Autore makes the following observations:— The period of eighty years of the copyright of "II Barbiere di Siviglia," bequeathed by Rossini to the Musical Institute of Pesaro* expired on Feb. 16 last; and the honourable Barazzuoli, prompted by this fact, and urged by the repre- sentatives of the institution in question, as well as by other persons of influence, conceived, in con- sequence, an idea of proposing certain radical alterations in the copyright law. In the meantime, in order that the institute at Pesaro should not lose its rights to the work, the Minister obtained a Royal Decree, of the date of Feb. 10 last, by which the duration of the copy- right was extended for two years, or, more strictly speaking, the time during which the "Liceo " at Pesaro will be able to receive fees for the performance of " D Barbiere di Siviglia." It may be seriously doubted whether this pro- vision is strictly regular, or to be defended, if regard be had to the institutions of the country. It would be difficult to justify a Government which, without reference either to Chamber or Senate, promulgated a law whose whole scope was to benefit a single individual, no matter whether that individual be a person or an individual institution, by conferring on the individual rights which the existing laws did not sanction, whilst all the other citizens, who found themselves in precisely similar circumstances, were excluded from these benefits, even after the law has been made. A case altogether similar with that which occasioned the Royal Decree in question, recently- occurred in Austria, after the death of Richard Wagner. The Austrian law, of Oct. 19, 1846, accorded to the heirs of an author a copy- right of ten years only, for the representation or performance of a dramatic or musical work; the * Rossini's native town. ## p. 188 (#232) ############################################ 188 THE AUTHOR. time being reckoned from the death of the author. In consequence, the rights of the widow and sons of Wagner lapsed in Austria on Dec. 31, 1893, at a time when the repertoire of the celebrated master was still in great demand at all the theatres. Remonstrances were on all sides addressed to the Austrian Government, with the aim of averting so gross an injustice, and on April 26, 1893, a general laic was published with the assent of the two Chambers of the Empire, by which the copyright of dramatic representation was prolonged for all authors for two years beyond the period fixed by the law of Oct. 19, 1846. The only persons excepted were the managers to whom authors had ceded the right of representation for the whole period accorded by the previous law. This was the provision made in favour of the family of Wagner. His works were not to become public property in Austria before they did so in Germany and other States. But this provision was made by a general enactment, extended to all the inhabitants of the empire who might find themselves in a similar situation. Afterwards, by the new Austrian law respecting authors' rights in works literary, artistic, and photographic (Dec. 20, 1895, s. 43), the duration of copyright was extended to thirty years after the death of the author. On the other hand, our Royal Decree of Feb. 10, 1896, does not accord with the third article of the statute, which directs the legislative power to be exercised by the King and the two Chambers collectively. It is a law ud personam, and this may much weaken the good effects of the inten- tions that directed it. We know, in fact that the Court of Reports, united in session on Feb. 13 last, determined that the Royal Decree should be registered with a reservation of its presentation to Parliament to be converted into law. NOTES FROM ABROAD. IT is a curious circumstance about Norwegian litterateurs that they invariably take the first opportunity of leaving their fatherland, however great may be the enthusiasm which they display in writing of it in verse or prose. Of Ibsen's long self-imposed exile we all know. Bjornson is very rarely in Norway, in despite of all his patriotism. In fact, he told me at Thommessen's dinner that he never felt really at home outside of Rome, that Rome was the ideal home for the brain-worker, and that this was his conviction in spite of the fact that he has lived many years in Paris, for which it is generally claimed that it is the ideal dwelling-place for the artist; an opinion also held by Mr. Jonas Lie, the novelist, who spends his life there, with occasional excursions into the. forest of Fontaine- bleau. Bernt Lie, his nephew, on the other hand, who is also a novelist, sticks to Christiania, and maintains that there is no city in the world to compare with it. But Wilhem Krag, the young poet, dramatist, and novelist, who is Bernt Lie's friend, has Christiania in holy horror, and flies to Paris or Rome whenever funds permit. His work is very excellent, and he is looked on in Norway as the man of the future. I hear that the Verdens Gang is publishing, or is about to publish, Kipling's "Captains Coura- geous." To judge from its opening chapters, it is a story which will suit the Norwegians down to the ground, fishing: deep seas, boats, and strong and hairy men. "We hanker after action," said an editor to me, and indeed the thumb-twiddling pessimists of Christiania and elsewhere preach in the desert in their own country. Nansen and his crew have glorified action, and it is deeds, not mental phrases, that the Norwegians want to hear about. For the last two months the Verdens Gang, in the absence of Mr. Thommessen, has been run by three men alone. It is a daily paper, appearing twice a day. This will show that the Norwegian journalist has to work for his living, and hard. Competition is so keen, the public so small, adver- tising so cheap, that expenses have to be kept down. Even as it is worked, the profits of the Verdens Gang, the principal Left paper in Nor- way, cannot exceed .£4000 a year. Mr. Thommessen, the editor, is a remarkable man, a born journalist, who holds amongst Scandinavians the position held by Henri Rochefort in France. He is a writer of equal ability and an editor of great enterprise. He was first to publish Nanseu's telegram, and paid 1000 kroners for the privilege. His version contained much more matter than the one published in England. He has the best writers in Norway attached to his paper—Gunnar Heeberg, for instance, writes his dramatic criticisms. He gives an illustrated interview each week, which is written and illustrated by Christian Krogh, who is the first painter in Norway, and who writes with the wit and the verve of a boulevardier. The Verdens Gang is the only paper in Christiania which appears on Monday morning; the other editors observe the Sabbath by not working on that day, whence no paper on Monday morning. Thommessen proposes shortly to bring out a Sunday edition also, for he says it is needed. He is one of the ## p. 189 (#233) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. 189 best-hearted men living, a bon viveur and a delightful talker. One is very glad to hear that he has recovered from a very serious illness, which at one time threatened to be fatal. I am very sorry to hear of the death of Paul Arene, at the age of fifty-three. Many of us in Paris had a very high opinion of Paul Arena's work, and not very long ago Jean Richepin wrote in Le Journal to point out, with all his force and fire, what high claims were his to a seat in the Academy. Arene led a Bohemian life, and seemed to have a preference for the Latin quarter, but his talents were bright to the end. He will be missed in the republic of letters, for he was a sincere man and his art was sincere, and that is, now-a-days, a rare thing, when the prccieu.v ridi- cules rule the roast. French authors seem to be asking very ridiculous prices for the English rights of their books. I met a translator a day or two ago who complained to me that it was impossible for him to get hold of any French books for translation purposes, because of the absurd prices which were being demanded. He mentioned that one second-rate novelist had asked ,£800 for the English rights of one of his recent works, and there were other demands in proportion. Francois Coppee is so sympathetic a man that one is delighted to hear that he is at last achieving popular success as a novelist also. Of his last novel, "Le Coupable," more than twenty-four editions were ordered before publication, and it is selling well still. The ways of the Official Receiver in England are peculiar. A novelist of my acquaintance has recently received a demand from such an official for a sum of over £5 for corrections. The cor- rections were on a novel published by the bank- rupt firm for which the receiving was being effected. The amusing part is that the author had never received a penny of the substantial sum to which, under his contract with this firm, he was entitled. I have been reading Paul de Kock's " Memoirs" of late, and very interesting have I found thorn. The book is full of amusing anecdotes, mainly literary. There is one story about a dramatic author called Martainville which sounds incre- dible, but is vouched for by the writer. Martain- ville was a man of great talents, but, like many such, had little liking for work. He had been com- missioned by the manager of the Gaite The .Ire to write a pantomime, but could never be induced to bring the book. One day he was very hard up and went to ask the manager for a "bit on account" of the contract. The manager refused, saying that it was his experience that " jjjjg on account" never produced any work. "fi^, „ gai<j he, "bring me two acts at the end of the month and I'll pay you .£20 in advance." "You shall have them in ten days," said Martainville. In ten days he arrived with a roll of paper under his arm, untied the packet, and commenced reading. The manager and his partner were delighted. The dialogue was witty in the extreme, the songs and lyrics sparkling, and the situations most effective. "We shall have a run of 300 nights," said the manager, when the two acts had been read, "if the rest is as good." "Give me my 500 francs," said Martainville, tying up his packet. "Here you are. Bring the rest as soon as you can." "All right, bon jour." After Martainville had left, the manager opened the packet to have another look at the manuscript. The packet consisted of blank paper; there was not a line of writing to be seen. Martainville had improvised the whole two acts as he stood there. It was not till six months later that he supplied the written play. The manager found it very inferior to the improvi- sation. Robeet Harborouoh Shebabd. NEW YORK LETTER. New York, Dec. 15, 1896. GEORGE HAVEN PUTNAM, whose firm has for a great many years made a speciality of books on economic science, in conversation the other day about the recent Election, said that it not only made an enormous demand for campaign literature proper, but greatly increased the sale of standard books, even of the most serious kind. For instance, William A. Shaw's "The History of Currency" sold during the summer by hundreds. What interested Mr. Putnam, even more than the effect of the Election on the sale of books, was the effect of books on the result of the Election. The con- ditions here, he said, were so unlike those in England, that the whole method of reaching the pubhc was different. In the publication of economic books he has always limited himself to those in the doctrines of which he believes, and he takes a strong interest in their effect on the people. To have a book reach the provincial papers in England, he said, was a comparatively simple thing. If it was reviewed in the Times, the Daily Telegraph, the Daily News, and a few other London papers, it was seen over the whole of Great Britain, whereas, however fully a book might be noticed by all the papers in New York, it would not reach Arkansas and Texas at all. Therefore one of the ways the publisher ## p. 190 (#234) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. takes to reach the remote parts of the country is to give copies of his books to the correspondents in New York who write letters on the literature of the day to hundreds, or even thousands, of paj>ers throughout the country. Another method is to give to the editorial writers, who sometimes mention the books in their editorials; and still another means, of growing importance, is to give to college instructors. The demand for books on economic subjects from the colleges is rapidly increasing; every course in history and political economy has a long list of reference books to be consulted by the students in connection with the regular text books of the course, and in these lists lies a large opportunity for the publisher. Books are also given to the committees of political societies, and during the Election an enormous amount of missionary work was done in this way. Mr. Putnam himself was a member of the litera- ture committee of the Chamber of Commerce. He said that from all this work there is to the publisher no very direct return, but that the reward does come in the end through the increased de- mand for sound economic books. The second volume of Mr. Putnam's "Books and their Makers during the Middle Ages," which is just appearing, deals in its closing chapters with privileges, censorships, and legislation in Italy, Germany, France, and England, and with the development of the conception of the literary property. Another book of immediate interest to New York, which has the question of trans- jjortation for one of its most difficult problems, is the 89th number of the "Questions of the Day" series, " A General Freight and Passenger Passage," by James L. Cowles. The Bill to stop dramatic piracy, which has passed both houses of Congress and seems almost certain to become a law at this Session of Congress, gives much satisfaction to our dramatic authors and managers, although they wanted more than it gives them. The effort to secure legisla- tion to prevent country companies from stealing plays has been carried on for years against the most discouraging indifference of Congress and the public. The probable final success ■ is one of the signs of the gradual education of the country to the truth that the people have rights even in the productions of their brains. William Gillette, prominent here as a writer of plays as well as an actor, said to me the other day that the attitude of almost everybody in Congress was: "The people like to see your play. The more com- panies that give it the more widely it is seen. What is the sense of passing laws to keep it from being played'(" Against such elementary opinions it has been almost hopeless to contend. Mr. Gillette also emphasised what has been felt by writers for a long time, that the right to collect damages for piracy and the right to get an injunction are no protection at all in the small places, because the men who produce the plays are so irresponsible that a judgment would be worthless, and because the injunctions have held only in the district where they were issued, so that when a manager is forbidden by the court to produce a play at any one-night stop, he simply appears before the curtain and says to the audience that another play will be given instead, and then he passes on to the next town and gives the pirated drama, unless an injunction is also waiting for him there. The present Bill pro- vides that the injunction of a Federal court may be enforced in all parts of the country. The Bill is not as stringent as the laws of England and France, and the dramatists and managers wished to have a violation of the copyright laws made a misdemeanour, but in that they failed. Mr. Charles H. Hoyt, the manager and playwright, said that he had lost 250 dollars a week on one play, "The Texas Steer,'' on royalties, simply because the pirate company had stolen the piece and gone into the territory where his company was to appear. The stealing was so shameless that press clippings were frequently sent to him inviting him to go and see the pirate performance if he wished to learn how the play ought to be given. Sometimes the pirates would take both the play and the name; sometimes only the play, and sometimes only the name. The trouble is mainly in this country, but not entirely. Mr. Gillette said that a friend of his recently in London stepped into a small theatre to see a play, the name of which was unfamiliar to him, but he soon found himself at a representation of Mr. Gillette's best-known drama, "Held bv the Enemy." The Chicago literary atmosphere loses a good deal this year from the absence, not only of Hamlin Garland, who is in New York, but of Henry B. Fuller, who shares with him the first place in Chicago, and who is going to spend the winter in Italy. He made his reputation at one step by the publication of a novel, " The Chevalier of Pensieri-Vani," which succeeded on account of its delicate reproduction of the Italian atmosphere, although all the author knew of Italy had been gained in Chicago. A recent addition to the new literary set of Chicago is Mrs. E. W. Peattie, the author of a book of short stories called " A Moun- tain Woman," who has just come there to live from Omaha. A few months ago Eobert W. Herrick, a Harvard graduate of 1890, returned from his first European trip to take up his work at Chicago University. The Scribners will soon publish his first novel; they have already j>ub- ## p. 191 (#235) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. 191 lished a number of short stories. During his college days he was looked upon as the most thorough Eastern member of his circle in temper, ament and prejudice, but, like many of our young literary men, he has felt the charm of Western possibilities, and his work has improved rapidly under their influence. He came back this fall from Europe feeling only upset and confused by what he had seen there, and willing to settle down for a long time to do literary work with Western material. Copelaud and Day have just published a book of verse by a class-mate of Mr. Herrick's, Herbert Bates, who went to the Far West to teach, but could never suit himself to his environment, and has now returned to New York. He expressed his longing for the East in the title of his book, " Songs of Exile," a pretty volume, one of the attractive "Oaten Stop" series in which these young publishers are giving expression to the minor poets of the country, many of whom deserve to be heard, at least for a moment. Mr. Bates is among the best of them, without a strong voice, but with a sweet one. Speaking of the rather surprising number of young poets from west of the Mississippi, the Nation in its last issue said, " There is a steady supply, from what may be called the Bryan region of the country, of poetic volumes which have a certain promise and a certain pathos. There is in them a genuine love of nature, with a fair amount of local colouring in that respect. There is a good deal of the romance of domestic antiquity; of The Old Farm and The Clock that Father Used to Wind. There is also a good deal ot James Whitcomb Riley. There is much of encourage- ment in them, however, to the patriotic and patient spirit, which is checked only when they occasionally strike a false note and indulge in rhapsodies about 'dead Guenevere' and 'a glove of mauve.' The same paper pointed out that the faults of these Western minor poets are mainly in the direction of turgidity, but the Eastern States, with less of that, have more of the kind of affectation which is usually borrowed from the French. The increasing interest in school matters all over this country during the last few years finds an illustration in the fact that for the first time one of our most distinguished men of letters has undertaken to get out an edition of a text-book. George E. Woodbury, equally eminent as a poet and as a critic, edits Tennyson's "Princess" for use in the schools, in the series of English classics which Longmans, Green, and Co. are publishing under the general direction of pr0. lessor George R. Carpenter, who has secu^j ag editor for each book a man of some position rfhe VOL VII.' same firm is about to begin a series of books on the practical workings of the functions of State and society, with especial reference to American conditions and experience, entitled " The American Citizen" series, to be under the editorial direc- tion of Professor A. B. Hart, of Harvard, who is himself to contribute the volume on "Actual Government as applied under American Con- ditions." Norman Hapoood. NOTES AND NEWS. EEADERS will find, in .the Correspondence of the Month, a letter by "Annabel Gray," in which a general charge is brought against the Press. It is that good reviews can be, and are, purchased by advertise- ments. The Author receives and publishes letters of every kind from writers—even when these letters betray prejudice or ignorance. It may be that a certain number of people do hold the absurd belief that a great paper is influenced by the money spent in its columns. Let the belief be spoken out, not whispered. The sooner such an opinion is published the better. Those who know anything about a great daily paper, and especially those who have from time to time written critical papers for its columns, know per- fectly well that the question of advertisement never enters into the reviewer's mind at all, and cannot possibly do so, because he knows nothing about the advertisements. The book is given to him, and he is entrusted with the simple responsi- bility, without any other consideration whatever, of giving his critical opinion on the work. Among the schemes of the Reverend Brooks —" poor minister and author "—was a Home for Authors and a "National Bureau of Social Life and Literature." Neither scheme has succeeded. The Home for Authors was intended, we pre- sume, to be conducted on much the same lines as that other home on the Battersea side for decayed, unsuccessful, and strayed dogs. There would be a lethal chamber in it, at the service of any inmate after the lapse of so many days. A Home for Authors! For what authors? The young—the hopeful—the old—the hopeless —all would probably crowd into it. A thousand pities that so useful an institution could not be taken up. Now that Mr. Brooks has failed, I venture to commend it to the committee—the Publication Committee—of the Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge. They could maintain their authors in such a Home on econo- s ## p. 192 (#236) ############################################ 192 THE AUTHOR. mical principles—porridge is nourisliing and cheap—such as would allow a still further retrenchment of prices; and the lethal chamber would be a most comfortable retreat for them. As for the "National Bureau of Social Life and Literature," one is staggered at the immen- sity—the audacity—of the conception. Social Life and Literature! Does it mean to meet the Regius Professor of History, and a dance small and early? Does it mean dinners at which the authors of the "penny dreadful" v. ill sit with and between the highest aristocracy of the land? Indeed, one knows not what was meant by this great philanthropist. Perhaps he may yet succeed in establishing his National Bureau. I am very sorry to learn that the Guild of Literature and Art is to be wound-up. A history of the society, extracted from the Daily Chronicle, will be found on another page. Why did the society fail? There were several reasons. In the first place its managers could not make people understand that literary and artistic folk may be very clever, and may even provide the world with the greatest possible delight, but may at the same time be very poor, may break down prematurely, may be most deserving of a pension. The efforts they made to persuade people to this effect proved useless. They had to face the prejudice, which still exists, that literary and artistic people are thriftless—that they receive immense sums, that they spend everything on oranges and skittles, and that to help them is a foolish waste of charity. Better help the stupid poor than the clever poor. Then the possible recipients of the pensions, seeing how small was the amount collected, lost interest and belief in the Guild, and gradually withdrew. Out of their slender funds the trustees have from time to time made small grants, doing, in fact—in a small way —the work of the Royal Literary Fund. Now the money has to be divided between the Royal Literary Fund and the Artists' Benevolent Insti- tution. It is a pity that our society is not to receive the whole. An Association which has run up the value of literary property so enormously surely does more for Literature than one which helps authors in need, and has already abundant funds for the purpose. There has been an interesting little discussion in the Daily Chronicle which involves nothing less than the right (?) of a publisher to alter the words of an author or a translator. It is most important than this question should be settled by the Courts. Mr. Lee's case, remained like a famous tale, half told. 1 trust that the Committee, whenever they get such a case, will at once bring an action and have it tried. In the case before us the facts are not denied. Mr. Alfred Sutro had arranged with Messrs. Henry for a translation of Maeteriinck's "Seven Princesses" for this year's "Pageant." He did the work; submitted it to M. Maeterlinck, who made certain corrections; and sent it in. When the book came out he found that his translation had been altered everywhere: sentences put in; sentences struck out in the proof, re-inserted; yet his name still appearing as the translator. The answer is that the translator had not said that his work was approved by the author, and that an "expert" was put on to restore the original text. The rejoinder to this, however, is that neither publisher nor editor has the right to alter a word of a signed paper or a signed work. And this is the point which we wish to get estabbshed. If the law gives the publisher or editor such a right, we should have to contract out of that right. It does not appear that the alterations were made in anything but good faith and in the desire to be accurate, so that the only question in the case is the right of the publisher or editor to alter or add or omit anything in a signed paper. Mr. R. W. Gilder has been talking about the work of an editor. To be the editor of a great monthly magazine, I have always thought, must be to occupy a most laborious and difficult post. A magazine is a receptacle for every kind of rubbish: one has to wade through the rubbish in order to pick out the good work which may be lying in the midst of the pile. To read MSS. all day long would be to some men simply madden- ing. But the old-fashioned notion that a maga- zine must be made up wholly of voluntary contri- butions is being gradually abandoned. The best and most popular magazines are those whose contents are carefully arranged beforehand; and the most successful editor is no longer the man who can most readily discuss literary worth, but the man who can tell beforehand what the public want to read about and knows where to get it. And the magazine filled with voluntary contribu- tions just thrown in is nowadays on the down- ward grade. ^ In the last century there was a magazine which knew what people wanted to read, provided it for them, and flourished mightily in consequence. This was the Town and Country Magazine. The proprietors, or the editor, saw that people desired to read about fashion and the world of ## p. 193 (#237) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. '93 fashion: that they also desired to read about the scandals and the amours of the great world. Therefore the readers of this magazine were pre- sented every month with a paper called "Bon Ton," in which were narrated the love passages of two pretended personages, accompanied by imaginary portraits. These articles were fur- nished for more than ten years, month by month, by a certain Count Carracciole, of whom I know nothing more. He died in 1792; his continuator failed in making the portraits re*l, and the magazine toppled and fell. Yet the circulation had reached 16,000. It is the same thing to-day. The magazine which studies the tastes of its readers, whether they are cultured readers or the reverse, gets on. oi_ Mr. Cecil Clarke sends a letter on paying for the first book. What he says is much to the point. It is useless to argue with a man who has a poem or a novel which he wants, above all things, to publish. He wants a chance—the chance of being heard. It is no use warning him that he will only lose his money; it is no use pointing out to him the truth, that printing his book will not give him the chance, becau e, in all probability, no one will buy the book ; no one will order it ; no one will read it. A poetic friend of mine, some thirty years ago, paid for the publica- tion of his poems. It cost him about ^£30. There was a contemptuous notice of it in half a dozen lines in one paper only. The number of copies sold to the public was three. Did that man get his chance of being heard? Printing, observe, is not publishing, as those who pay for the printing of their books generally discover. I have been reading in a paper called Hearth and Home a very clever vindication of her own posi- tion by a lady who acts as critic for that paper. Miss Frances Low, the lady in question, who signs her paper, lays it down as a rule which people ought to understand, viz., that opinion is not criticism. A reader says, "I like this book." Very well: why do you like it? What are your standards of criticism? Why should anyone be influenced by your opinion? Miss Low says, "The average reader is no more competent to express any criticism of any value on literature than the average spectator on art." This is per- fectly true, but it is impossible to persuade people that it is true, and that their opinions are valueless. A literary critic, she goes on, must possess "taste," which is the same thing as saying that a musical critic must possess an ear. Now, "taste'.' cannot be got by any amount of thought, but it may be cultivated by study of the great masting of literature—by long study, and, as I ventu <> to think, by personal attempt and effort. For instance, it stands to reason that there must be always something wanting in the art criticism of a man who does not know by actual personal experience the difficulties of drawing and paint- ing; the way that effects are produced, the real triumph over difficulties. So the literary critic who has never essayed to build the majestic ode or the tragedy, or even to construct and write a story, can certainly never do full justice to the result where the writer has actually achieved his intention, nor can he find out where the difficulties have proved too great for the artist. There are two difficulties in the way of Miss Low's teaching being accepted. First, the fact that some editors still believe that the office-boy is as good as any- body else for the post of critic, whether of literature, art, music, or the drama. The other difficulty is that the individual opinion will still continue to guide the world. Quoth one to another, " I like this book." Then the other reads it, and likes it too. And so the book is handed on, and the writer gets into vogue and the voice of the critic is unheeded. I have often thought that the critic ought to take into account, as a factor in the case, the popularity, or the reverse, of the author. Why does one writer achieve popularity at a bound and another fail altogether—other things being appa- rently equal. Miss Low, it appears, has spoken of a certain unnamed writer as theatrical, false, and vulgar. Yet he is popular. Why? Because he is theatrical, false, and vulgar? Those who admire him do not recognise these qualities in him. They are attracted by other qualities—else why are there so many books, theatrical, false, and vulgar, which fail utterly? and why are there so many books, neither theatrical, false, nor vulgar, which succeed? It is surely the duty of the com- plete critic to explain popularity or attractiveness. Is it the style? Perhaps. The popular book is a book which may or may not be those three adjectives; but it must have the power of charm- ing by way of presentation, by brightness of dialogue, by reality, by vividness. The writer must believe in his book or his readers will never believe in it. Is there not also something of the personal element? In poetry, the drama, fiction, one sees the writer behind the page, and if he reveals a pleasant, genial, generous personality, his readers speedily get to love him, and through him his books. But these remarks are only submitted for the consideration of the complete critic. The Manchester Guardian, in calling attention to the numbers of books of 1895 as published in ## p. 194 (#238) ############################################ 194 THE AUTHOR. last month's Author, takes exception to the classification which enables Germany, France, and Italy each to show double the number of new books that Great Britain or the United States has produced. It is an exception which must be recognised. The number of new books ought not to contain every little pamphlet, reprinted article, and degree thesis that passes muster in these three countries for a book. In fact, if we reckon as books only those which appear in the daily list of a few newspapers—which is, indeed, all that we need reckon, for the rest are books which are not lx>oks—the yearly list of all books in Great Britain is very much smaller in number than that given in The Author, viz., 6516. I propose this year, beginning with Jan. 1, to have a list compiled from the London daily papers alone which will give all the books of the least importance as literature. Such things as trade lists, pamphlets, &c, " books that are no books," as Charles Lamb said, will not appear; nor will the schoolgirl goody books appear, even as juvenile fiction. I think that in this way we may arrive at a greatly improved list of our own books: at the same time it will become still more difficult to compare this list with that of Germany. Mr. George Putnam's estimate as to the readi- ness and ease with which a book can be brought to the notice of the people in England (see " New York Letter," p. 189) will hardly be accepted by those who have studied the question in this country. He says that if a book was " reviewed in the Times, the Daily Telegraph, the Daily News, and a few other London papers, it was seen over the whole of Great Britain." Nothing of the kind. Certain London papers do, as a rule, go over the whole country, to clubs and country houses, but they certainly do not reach the people. The local papers must be used in order to reach them. The true way to put it is that if the people are to get hold of a book it must be intro- duced to them by the local papers, reviewed by the local papers, advertised in the local papers; and I do not think there is very much difference in this respect between Bolton or Wipan and Arkansas. It would, however, be interesting to know how many copies of the great London papers do get beyond twenty miles of London, not including those taken by hotels and clubs. Mr. Gladstone's views on the collection and buving of books must be interesting, if only for the lengthened period during which he has been a collector. In his recent letter to Mr. Quaritch on the subject (Academy and Times) he says that he has bought about 35,000 volumes. Among the books in his possession he mentions a copy of Hannah More's "Sacred Dramas," given to him by the author in 1815, when he was only six years of age; a copy of Hallam's "Constitu- tional History" in quarto, given him bv Arthur Hallam; early and original copies of Scott's novels; and a collecti m of Prayer Books with suggested alterations—there are thirty of them, and not one in a second edition, yet the publica- tion of the book no doubt made the improver extremely happy. Mr. Gladstone complains that the binding of books is dearer than it was when he was young, and not so good. Perhaps that is so, but the improvement in bookbinding, both in artistic taste—materials, colour, decoration— and in the case of opening a book, has been enormous. Many quite cheap books are now turned out in a style not possible ten years ago. He says that book buyers have immense advan- tages over their predecessors in accessibility and cheapness; that the secondhand trade has been enormously increased; and that the " public spirit of many publishers" has been in favour of book buyers. Here Mr. Gladstone seems to confuse things. It is quite true that the buying of new books is much cheaper than it was fifty years ago. At the present moment six shillings is the favourite price for the book of essays, of imagination, of criticism. This six shillings means four shillings and sixpence: because publishers are beginning to find out that it is better to trust the public than to confine themselves to the libraries. In another five years the 4*. 6d. book will have become 3s. 6d.; in five years after that 2*. 6d. But as regards the buying of secondhand books, which is the point considered, there may be more shops, but there are fewer bargains. Secondhand booksellers are not only more numerous, but they are also more learned in their trade. The two- penny basket no longer contains treasures; if a man has got a valuable book he has had to pay for it. However, it is pleasant to find the veteran of book collectors talking pleasantly about his hobby. Miss Ellen T. Masters, of 4, Mount-avenue, Ealing, has received the following sums on behalf of Mrs. Eliza Warren since the publication of the last list, and a total of <£6o 16s. id. has now been reached :— £. «. d. Beard, Mrs o 5 o C. H. S. (per Editor of the Epicure)... 050 Kelly, C. A. Esq.... 1 1 o Eitton, Miss (2nd donation) .. o 5 o £. s. d "Rachel " (per Miss Bowsell) o 10 6 Walker, Mrs 1 o o Whiteley, W., Esq. (per Miss Bowsell) 050 Walter Besant. ## p. 195 (#239) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. THE BOOKSELLEBS' GRIEVANCES. AHINT or two may be useful, showing how these things are managed abroad. Also there is one particular hardship of the British booksellers which so far has not been mentioned. 1. There are no discount hooks abroad. It was stated in The Author the other day that the discount book must continue, because the public would never give 6*. for a book they can get at 4*. bd. It stands to reason that the public prefer the cheap book to the expensive one, and it is in the interests of national education that books should be cheap, but why not call a spade a spade? Is it not a foolish, even a hurtful pandering to that love of a bargain which works such mischief in other directions, if the buyer is allowed to imagine he has the book he wants cheaper than it is really worth f If it is to be sold at 4«. bd., then advertise it at 4*. bd. This, at any rate, is done abroad. 2. The German publisher allows the bookseller a uniform trade discount of 33 per cent. Of the 4*. bd. book, therefore, the German bookseller has not fourpence, but eighteenpence for his own share. Obviously it is worth his while then to lay himself out for the sale of books. 3. Publishers allow him other facilities, notably that, as a rule, he is not expected to run any risk; they allow him as many copies as he asks for " on sale," there being a general annual settling time between publishers and booksellers in Germany, after the great Leipzig Book Fair, more correctly called the annual conference of the trade. Unsold copies go back to the publisher, he only requiring such to be returned in good condition.* Of course there are exceptions; a publisher may announce certain books for cash down only, but they are the exception. 4. Publishers and booksellers in Germany enjoy the same social position. I have seen a pub- lisher's circular addressing the booksellers as "Gentlemen Colleagues," and not in mere phrase only. Both are Buchhiindler alike, the former being the Verlags-Buchhilndler (publishing or issuing book-trader) the latter the Sortiments- liuchkindlcr (retail book-trader) — they are neither more nor less than "booksellers" both of them, with a common interest; and both are * It should perhaps be noted that the German Parcels' Post carries ten pounds weight for sixpence all over the Empire, and for threepence within fifty miles, which facilitates the constant transmission of books between pub- lishers and booksellers. A publisher need not always wait till his books come back; he may call them back from 0. slow neighbourhood and send them where he knows the*, ia a demand. re w educated men, educated with a view to the real knowledge of books. 5. Under this system the German publisher does not need to do mu:h advertising. He issues his circulars to the retail booksellers whose busi- ness it is to make books known; and they make them known, each bookseller in his own locality— not by "Pears' Soap" advertisements, but by personal interest. Here the country bookseller, unable to make a living, is almost a defunct species; in Germany every little country town has a well-stocked bookshop, the new books laid out in the window. 6. The German bookseller has no need, like his confrere here, to eke out a living by Christmas- cards and knick-knacks, not even by means of stationery. The stationer in Germany does not sell books. The only articles you ever find in a German Bttchhandhmg, besides the books, are photographs and engravings: and these not always. A Buchhandlunr/ is sacred to books; on entering it, though it be a "shop," you enter an atmosphere of literature, a library in fact; and you would nev. r accost the salesman before you otherwise than as a gentleman, viz., as a man of the culture which befits him. You hardly ever find more than two or three customers at a time in a Gtrman Biichhnndhtny, these having a chance then of being properly attended to, both in their own interest and (if one may say so) in the interest of books in general; if so minded, they can have no end of information, often valuable information, at the bookseller's hands. Here, if you want a book (especially at Christmas time when authors would like their books to ba w^ll to the fore), you find yourself cheek by jowl with a jostlin; crowd of buyers of Christmas-cards and fiddle-faddles, the poor book being lucky if it gets in edgeways. Men are what we make them, and is it likely the British bookseller (a few exceptions, of course, taken for granted) will ever rise to the true interests of literature, so long as we allow him to make his real living by means of stationery, flower-vases, and pretty trumpery which catches the eye? To the trumpery he will, he must, d vote his energies, for it is his living. 7. As to the practical results of the foreign system, the German bookseller, as a rule, is a well- to-do man; and publishers have never been known to starve, not even in the Fatherland. German authors, as a class, certainly have not yet awakened to the defending of their interests as British authors have. Authors' honorariums often are poor in Germany j for the matter of that, they can be poor here. Of my own personal experi- ence I am able to state that even as a beginner I have had 12 and 15 per cent, royalties in Germany ## p. 196 (#240) ############################################ 196 THE AUTHOR. for my own work, and 20 per cent, for transla- tions, concerning which I acted for a well-known English author. These translations have sold in many editions, leaving one the satisfaction that if the publisher had his fair gain, the booksellers certainly had theirs (one-third of the published, i.e., nett price), author and translator at the same time not going empty away. I know for a fact that the booksellers in the case of these transla- tions have been most active, and there was never any advertising worth mentioning. The other day I happened to want a certain five-shilling book. The book is issued at a certain place in the City; but, of course, if I want any book I am not going to spend eightpence on even a third - class railway ticket and additional omnibus, besides the wear and tear to one's health and clothes, not to mention trouble and time. I go to a bookseller, giving him my order, and—such is human heedlessness—I never for a moment think of the eightpence I am inflicting on him. Of course, if he be a thriving bookseller, enjoying the chief custom of the locality, he may have half a dozen, or a dozen orders together with mine, and the eightpence falls into proportion. But what of the small stationer, who also would like to live? This is what happened the other day. I gave my order to a small bookseller, having a fancy for the humble shop where any additional order is a godsend. •' How soou can I have the book?" I asked thoughtlessly. "To-morrow evening," says the obliging stationer. Accord- ingly the following evening I looked in for my book. It had just arrived, i.e., a parcel had just been brought from the City by the stationer's own messenger, containing two other books besides mine. "It is a five-shilling book," I said, "and I think, nett." In order to make sure, the stationer produced the invoice, and, being a simple person, even showed it to me. "So you make sixpence on this book for your- self?" I said, " this is interesting." "Yes," says the stationer; "but only because it is a nett book." In fact the stationer's earnings on the three books in that parcel were tenpeuce. "And you have sent to the City for that, spend- ing eightpence on fares, leaving you twopence on these three books for sole gain?" "Yes; and if the books had all three been discount books,* we should have been out-of- pocket—we often are." * This being the point. The above-named five shilling book being a special publication should not, one would hope, stand as an example; surely nett priced books, few and far between though they are, are calculated to leave to the bookseller more than 10 per cent't The point here is that three discount books can leave a bookseller out-of-pocket. Now, surely this is iniquitous, and this is how the system works with small booksellers. They take your order for a book, though it leaves them a loser, their one hope being that you may require a packet of notepaper at the same time, or be caught with some fancy article on the counter you do not really want. A bookseller in the same locabty—and it is a populous, even supposed to be a literary, neighbourhood—who for a couple of years has tried to live by books solely, has just shut up his shop, having "failed." Is it in authors' interests, or, indeed, is it in the interests of literature, that this state of things should continue? Hints have been thrown out in the Author now and again that authors might rise independent of the present system. And why should they not? In that social state of the future which, as some think, sooner or later must evolve out of present confusion, the State, in the interest of the nation, will be sole purveyor of literature. There are unconscious beginnings of this in Germany even now; the State even now in Germany, by means of the Imperial post-office, being almost sole dis- tributor of newspapers, and largely of periodicals. You leave your orders at the nearest post-office, and your daily papers, or weeklies and monthlies, are brought to you by the postman with your letters. To be sure, this might end in dispensing with the booksellers rather than with the pub- lishers, which is not at present aimed at; yet it shows how throughout a vast country matters can with advantage be simplified in the hands of one agency. It does away, at any rate, with one great nuisance familiar in British streets, where half-starving boys and girls, nay, men and women, are permitted to cry their lungs out through fair weather and foul, in order to make a wretched penny or so, for perhaps an hour's crying. News- paper proprietors become miUionaires with the assistance of this voluntary labour on their behalf; the heedless public get their papers free of distributing charge; the ragged street news- vendor going to the devil. In the hoped-for state of the future, poor folk who now half starve for our convenience would find something better to do. In the meantime why should not an association like ours, of over a thousand men and women, make a beginning towards a better state of things? being our own publishers, and seeing to justice all round. Authors have the grandest of all callings in being the educators of the public mind. Why should we not, as a Society, set about it, having a care that books be cheap as well as good, produced and sold by fair play? Julie Suttee. ## p. 197 (#241) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. 197 THE GUILD OP LITERATURE AND ART TO BE WOUND UP. "nnO-DAY is the latest time for depositing I private or local Bills to^be proceeded with during the ensuing Session, and among those to be handed in is one to which a melan- choly interest attaches. It provides for the winding-up and dissolution of that Guild of Literature and Art, which was originated at Knebworth as long since as the end of the year 1850. "Dickens threw himself into the scheme with his accustomed energy, and made great exertions to secure its success. Writing in 1850 to Bulwer Lytton, he said: "I do devoutly believe that this plan, carried by the sup- port which I trust will be given to it, will change the status of the literary man in England, and make a revolution in his position which no Government, no power on earth but his own, could ever effect. I have implicit confidence in the scheme—so splendidly begun—if we carry it out with a steadfast energy. "The Guild was formed for the purposes of aid- ing those of its members who followed literature or the fine arts as a profession to obtain and con- tinue insurances upon their lives, of establishing a provident sickness fund, of providing dwellings for the benefit of its members, and of granting annuities to members and their widows; and in furtherance of these purposes a fund was raised by voluntary contributions. Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton offered to endow the association, as soon as it could legally accept and hold the same, with a piece of land for the erection of the dwellings so contemplated, and a private Act to incorporate the Guild, and to enable it to hold the land in question, was obtained in 1854. In that Act there appears the names of William Spencer, sixth Duke of Devonshire (at whose town resi- dence Bulwer Lytton's ' Not so Bad as we Seem,' and Mark Lemon's farce, 'Mr. Nightingale's Diary,' which were written for the benefit of the fund, were first produced before a large audience, including the Queen and Prince Albert, the great drawing-room of Devonshire House being filled with a stage and the library turned into a green- room), the late Earl Granville, Sir Charles East- lake, P.R.A., John Forster, Gilbert A'Beckett, Wilkie Collins, Peter Cunningham, Mr. (after- wards Sir) Austen Henry Layard, Mark Lemon, Clarkson Stanfield, William Telbin, Sir J. Emer- son Tennant, John Tenniel, Dickens and Bulwer in association with the Guild. "About two acres of land situated at Stevenage were subsequently granted to it on certain con- ditions by Bulwer, afterwards the first Lord Lytton, and upon this land two cottages ^ere erected. John Forster remarks, in his ' Life of Dickens,' that the Guild 'was not taken up by the class it was meant to benefit, and every renewed exertion more largely added to the failure.' The promoters of the Act say, 'For several years the number of members of the Guild has gradually decreased, and no new members have been elected, nor have any sub- scriptions or donations been received by the Guild; and it has now no annuitants, nor do any of its members reside in the dwelling-houses,' but grants have from time to time been made by the council to necessitous members in pursuance to the objects of the Guild, or some of them. The property of the Guild consists of £2112 odd invested in 'Goschens,' a small balance at Coutts', and the land and houses at Stevenage. It is proposed, with the assent of the remaining members of the Guild, to divide the money in equal moieties between the Royal Literary Fund and the Artists' General Benevolent Institution; the land and houses are to be assigned to either, as may be agreed, or placed in trust for the joint benefit of both or either, subject to a right of purchase within twenty-one years by the present Earl of Lytton. "And so, Parliament willing, there will next Session be an end to the once famous 'Guild of Literature and Art.'" Daily Chronicle, Dec. 21, 1896. IS THERE AN AMERICAN LITERATURE? THIS is the title of an article in the Dial of Chicago by Mr. F. Lewis Pattee. He answers his own question by an argument in the affirmative. There is, he says, a literature distinctively American, as easy to be recognised as the men who wrote it are easily recognised as Americans :— "There is no one, I think, who will not admit that the case of two indejiendent literatures written in the same language is a wholly unpre- cedented one: but it is no argument that because a thing is unprecedented it is therefore impossible. The discovery of America was an unprecedented event. It was a most marvellous and world- revolutionising event. There are men, even among those whose ancestors for generations have been natives of the new soil, who have not ceased to wonder about it, who insist upon measur- ing it only by old world standards, on treating it as if it were merely a vast addition to the area of Europe. America in the first centuries after its discovery was almost literally a new world. Man never went to live in an environment more strange ## p. 198 (#242) ############################################ .198 THE AUTHOR. to him. Every element save that of race tended to separate the minds of the settlers from those of their kindred in the motherland. There was something in the air of the new continent, in its Tastness and freedom, in its unlimited wealth and unprecedented opportunities, that tended to put a new spirit into its sons—to breed a new race with a new outlook and new ideals. Three hundred years of this environment have produced a peculiar people, with a distinct and strongly marked individuality, living under an unpre- cedented form of government. "The element of epoch has had its share in the problem. The past century has been an unprece- dented one, and nowhere more so than in America. It has been a century of quick growths, of broad and enduring foundations laid with unheard of rapidity. It would have been madness a century ago to have prophesied even a fraction of the wonders which were to take place on our soil. The history of the development of Western America reads like a page from 'The Arabian Nights.' What an era of bustle and stir! Where else in all history can you find similar conditions? When have men been thrown more fully upon their own resources? The Revolu- tion, that furnace that tried the metal of our character to its utmost limit, was our heroic period. The mad struggle in the forests of a new world was at length over; the colonists found themselves face to face with a bewildering and undreamed of situation. Then came the recon- struction period, whicli called for almost super- human wisdom. The early years of the new government, with their test cases, their doubt and uncertainty; the opening of the vast areas beyond the Alleghanies, with their almost in- terminable forests and prairies, with their swarm- ing fauna and strange flora. "That the American literature is written in the English language, is, in the minds of many, an insuperable argument against its independence. But this in reality is the least of all the argu- ments. Literature springs from the soul; it is the embodiment of hopes and fears, of moods gay or melancholy, of experience, of sensation, of conjecture, and the language is only the lifeless medium of communication. Do Homer into any language, and he is still Greek. No translation can take the French out of Hugo or the Russian out of Tolstoi. It has been safe to define a literature as all the writings in a given language. So firmly fixed is this idea that a recent critic of Roger Bacon, who wrote in the thirteenth century, declares that ' his writings, being all in Latin, do not belong to English literature.' To what literature, then, do they belong? This habit of classifying literature according to the medium through which it has passed has come from the fact that in the history of the old world there have been no two nations with distinct governments and personalities using the same language. It remained for the new world to break this precedent. "Can we never achieve our literary indepen- dence? Must we go down through the ages for ever tied intellectually to the apron strings of our mother? The idea is absurd. It is certain, unless civilisation be obscured by other dark ages, that we shall never di ift away from England in our language, but we are constantly drifting from her in everything else. We are doing our own thinking, solving our own problems in our own way, and we have been doiug so for a century. It was in 1820 that Sydney Smith demanded of a British public, 'Who reads an American book?' In the meantime we have produced an Emerson, a Poe, a Cooper, a Hawthorne, a Whittier, a Lowell, a Whitman—there is no end to the list. The writings of these men have been no feeble imitation of European models. They have been strong and intensely original; they have over- flowed with a spirit of a new world; they have been coloured by its soil and permeated with Americanism, until to attempt to remove this native element would be to destroy the fabric. Men like Cooper and Whitman and Mark Twain would have ljeen impossible on any other soil. "Then for more than a century we have been making our national songs. There are hundreds of lyrics that have burst hot from the American heart, and that profoundly thrill every American, which yet mean nothing to an Englishman save as he translates into them his own emotions of fatherland. Are these hymns not our own r Is it not foolishness to speak of such songs as the 'Concord Hymn,' 'The Star Spangled Banner,' 'My Country 'tis of Thee,' and 'The Battle Hymn of the Republic,' as English songs in America? Did we not evolve them from as pro- found and tragic an experience as did England her 'Rule Britannia'? "It seems to me that it may be laid down almost as an axiom that when a distinct nation has acquired a distinct personality, and has produced writers and writings tui generis, reflecting the soil, the spirit, the individuality of that people, then that nation has a distinct literature, no matter what may be the language in which it is written. American literature is proud of its origin. It passed its infancy and childhood in the land of Chaucer. The first chapters of its life- history are the same as those in the history of English literature. But in its early manhood it migrated to a new world. Its character was evolved during centuries amid unprecedented ## p. 199 (#243) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. 199 surroundings. It stands to-day united to England by only one of the four great elements that deter- mine the character of aliteiature—thatof race; and even this tie is a weak one, since the average American citizen can boast but a small fraction of English blood." CHEAP FICTION IN GERMANY. (From Das Recht der Feder.) AJAHN'S Literary Institute, in Nuremberg, sends the following announcement to * the various editorial offices :— Un precedentedly cheap copy! Please take a post card and order from A. Jahn's Literary Institute the newest and finest romances for selection, namely: "Of Humble Rank." By Hellmuth. About 3000 lines. 4 marks. "The Singer's Love." By Hellmuth. About 3000 lines. 4 marks. "Princess Juichen." By Hermannsdorfer. About 400 lines. 4 marks. "In the Forester's House." By Hermanns- dorfer. About 400 lines. 4 marks. "Castle Hohenau." By Hermannsdorfer. About 1600 lines. 2 marks. "City Air." By Gilly. About 3500 lines. 5 marks. "Parting from Life." By Gilly. About 2500 lines. 2 marks. "The Post-Office Robbery." By B. E. Konig. About 300 lines. 4 marks. "Proud Souls." By Liebel-Monninger. About 3000 lines. 4 marks, "The Woman." By Bronner. About 300 lines. 4 marks. "The Son of the Executioner." By Steinnick. About 10,000 lines. 10 marks. "Foreign Debt." By Steinriick. About 12,000 lines. 8 marks. "Billows of Fate." By Heinberg. About 7000 lines. 5 marks. "Idol Million." By Dr. Weiss. About 8000 lines. 6 marks. "Voluntary Poverty." By John Armstadt. About 5000 lines. •; marks. "Little Baroness." By John Armstadt. About 7000 lines. 5 marks. A. Jahn's new Feuilletou Journal; This publication appears every Friday, and costs quarterly (thirteen numbers) only ^ marks, 39 pfennings postage. Every number contains one large romance (serial), one eler, w 1 (serial), one concise humourous piec^ n°VS story. Each number comprises fiy Or * to sere* pages, and contains from 800 to 1050 lines of letterpress. Subscriptions may commence at any date. Each new subscriber immediately receives the beginning of the romance, &c. Subscriptions payable in advance, or will be raised after the first number. Each subscriber is entitled to reprint all the contents at any date he pleases. The publication is not sent simultaneously to competing journals. A larger "Number" is also published weekly, containing at least ten pages, and comprising from 1600 to 2100 lines of letter- press—double as much as the smaller number. Price quarterly (thirteen numbers) 10 marks, and 39 pfennings postage. Larger journals will find the quarterly subscription covered by the use of a single contribution out of the large quantity of matter offered. A half-yearly subscription (10 marks) will provide smaller journals with matter sufficient for a whole year. Painful and improper stories excluded. Only perfectly moral and pure matter offered.' The following letter has been received from the Institute in reply to inquiries :— Honoured Sir,—We send you with this a small catalogue of novels, Ac, bat wish to add that new matter is published almost every week. We are delivering short stories of 120 to 200 lines at five marks the ten stories. Longer stories, from 200 to 700 lines, at seventy-five pfennings to one mark each. If you are about to publish, it will be best for yon to order a selection from ns, in which case we shall be able to send you a great variety from which to choose. Our self-respect and the protection of our calling makes it a positive duty to protest energetically against such underselling. It is of course evident that it is possible only because persons such as Herr Jahn can always find authors who are contented with the most miserable fee. At the same time the announce- ment shows that Herr Jahn has a large number of manuscripts offered him, and will be in a position to place further wares at the disposal of his clients. This may be so; but authors of this sort must be treated in the same manner as the agencies of the character treated above. We therefore beg any managers of literary agencies, who are ready to join us in taking steps to prevent this kind of competition, to communicate with us at once. We shall then immediately issue invitations for a full discussion of the sub- ject.—The Editor. ## p. 200 (#244) ############################################ 200 THE AUTHOR. BOOK TALK. ANEW volume by the Poet Laureate, entitled "The Conversion of Winckelmann and Other Poems," will be published early this month by Messrs. Macmillan. Mr. John Buchan has written a story entitled "John Burnett of Barns," which is to appear in Chambers's Journal, and will afterwards be published as a book by Mr. Lane. A story by the late Miss Rossetti is shortly to be published by Mr. James Bowden. It is entitled "Maude," and contains a number of lyrics and poems. Mr. William Michael Rossetti, Miss Rossetti's literary executor, is allowing the book to be published on condition that it is put forward only as a youthful work, as it was written when Miss Rossetti was twenty. Mr. Rossetti contributes a preface. Mr. E. W. Pugh, the author of "A Street in Suburbia," has written a new novel entitled "A Man of Straw," which Mr. Heinemann will pub- lish shortly. Among the forthcoming books from Messrs. Chatto and Windus area volume of" New Poems" by Bret Harte j a novel entitled "Sebastiani's Secret," by S. E. Waller; "An Anxious Moment," by Mrs. Hungerford j and " A Missing Witness," by Mr. Frank Barrett. Mrs. Barry Pain has written a novel, which Messrs, Osgood, M'llvaine, and Co. will publish in the spring, under the title of " Saint Eva." Mr. St. Loe Strachey has gathered a number of his essays and studies together, and is printing them in a volume to be published by Messrs. Smith, Elder and Co., entitled "From Grave to Gay." Mr. Morley Roberts is engaged upon a new book, dealing with certain phases of life in the the East End of London. Mr. H. G. Wells is working on another highly imaginative story. It will be called "The War of the Worlds," and its serial publication will begin early this year. Miss Macmahon has put a new novel in the hands of Messrs. Hutchinson for early publication. It is called " The Touchstone of Life." The same publishers are about to issue " The Black Mass," a novel by Mr. Frederic Breton. The publication of the edition of Byron which, as we announced some time ago, Mr. Murray is bringing out, will be begun this month. It will be remembered that this is to be printed largely from the original MS., and that it will contain a great deal of hitherto unpublished matter, includ- ing letters addressed by the poet to Mr. Murray's grandfather, and papers in his possession which belonged to Byron's solicitor. The Earl of Lovelace, Byron's grandson, is supervising the work. At a public meeting held in Edinburgh, under the presidency of Lord Rosebery, it was resolved that" it is desirable that steps be taken to provide by public subscription a memorial in honour of the late Robert Louis Stevenson." An executive committee was appointed, with Professor Masson as chairman. The secretary, Mr. J. H. Napier, solicitor, 12, Queen-street, Edinburgh, will be glad to obtain the address of all who are willing to assist in the movement. The form which the memorial will take is not yet decided. In a letter to the Times, Mr. Edmund Gosse said that whatever its ultimate expansion, it should not fail to start with the idea of a portrait in sculpture. Authors, unlike artists and musicians, have hitherto been without a reference book all to themselves. The deficiency is being made up, however, for Mr. George Allen announces that he will begin with 1897 the annual issue of "The Literary Year-Book." It will make its appear- ance this month, and will be a record of the literature and literary events of the past year, and will also contain a directory of authors. Copyright in the earlier poems of Robert Browning expired a few days ago, and several cheap editions have already been placed on the market. Messrs. Bumpus, the West End book- sellers, have been expressing the opinion that it is women, more than men, who buy Browning's poems—cultured ladies of the higher middle class and the titled class. Although never likely to be a "people's" poet, Browning is selling more largely year by year. An important work is about to engage the leading historical scholars of this country and America. Under the title "The Cambridge Modern History," Lord Acton, the Regius Professor of Modern History at Cambridge, has undertaken to edit for the Syndics of the University Press a comprehensive history of modern times. The work will appear in twelve volumes of about 700 pages, and will cover the period from the end of the Middle Ages to the present day. Each subject will be dealt with by a specialist. The first volume will deal with the Renaissance, and will be published in October, 1899. The scope of the work will be seen from the following official particulars: Universal history will be regarded not as the sum of local histories, but as a series of events transcending ## p. 201 (#245) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. 20I nations, belonging to mankind, so that the nations severally will come on for treatment when they carry flame or fncl, and are operative in the common human canse. Individual thought will be treated parallel with collec- tive action, not for itself, and therefore not substantively and separately, but as successive waves pass over Europe— theology in the sixteenth century, philosophy in the seven- teenth, politics and economics in the eighteenth, historical methods in the early nineteenth century, scientific in the later. Political ideas will be traced and expounded as com- pletely as political action. The predominant ideal is that all forces at the present time are to be exhibited in their origin and progress and substance, so that the past shall contribute what it may to make the present intelligible. Among those who have undertaken to write the History are the following: Sir "William Anson, Mr. James Bryce, Professor Bury, the Bishop- Designate of London, Principal Fairbairn, Pro- fessor Flint, Mr. James Gairdner, Mr. S. "R. Gardiner, Dr. Garnett, the Rev. F. A. Gasquet, Mr. Frederic Harrison, Major Hume, Mr. R. H. Hutton, Professor Jebb, Mr. Laughton, Mr. Lecky, Mr. Sidney Lee, Sir Alfred Lyall, Mr. John" Morley, Mr. Oman, Sir F. Pollock, Dr. Sidgwick, Mr. Spencer Walpole, Principal Ward, and Viscount Wolseley. The Bishop of Oxford will assist the work with his advice. Readers of The Author will often have observed the references to the question of how much of a book a reviewer is entitled to quote without a breach of the copyright laws. This question, we understand, is about to be raised by Messrs. Smith, Elder, and Co., Mrs. Humphry Ward's publishers, who have applied for an injunction to restrain Mr. W. T. Stead from publishing, in his Popular Novel series, an abridgment of "Sir George Tressady." A manual on "Teaching and School Organi- sation, with especial reference to Secondary Instruction," is about to be published by Messrs. Longmans, Green, and Co. It is edited by Mr. P. A. Barnett, M.A., who was formerly Professor of English Literature at Firth College, and its object is to collect and co-ordinate for the use of students and teachers experiences in special branches of educational practice, and to cover the work of secondary schools of both higher and lower grade. The Weekly Sun published its annual literary supplement with the issue of Dec. 5. Among other features of the paper, there were long accounts of the Authors' Club and the Society of Authors. The "English Catalogue of Books " f on(. is being compiled by Messrs. Sanm.;. '9 Marston and Co., who would be gla(f .£n ^OW, would send particulars—publisher's ^ authorS ***e, price. &c.—of their works which have appeared during the past year. Mr. J. R. Thursfield and Col. Sir George S. Clarke, R.E., have collaborated on a work entitled "The Navy and the Nation," which Mr. Murray will publish this month. The large circulation obtained by the Navy and Army Illustrated, during its first year, has induced the proprietors to increase the size of the paper, and also to provide their readers with a serial dealing with naval and military adventure. Mr. John filoundelle-Burton has been engaged for this purpose, and the new romance which he will supply commences at once. The subject selected is that of the War of Succession in Spain, and the hero, who is one of Marlborough's cuirassiers, sees service of a startling venture both on land and sea. Several artists of promi- nence have also been engaged for the illustration of Mr. Bloundelle-Burton's novel. Mr. G. A. Henty has written a novel entitled "The Queen's Cup," which will be published in a few days by Messrs. Chatto and Windus. An historical romance by Mr. William Westall will be published soon by Messrs. Chatto and Windus. "The Dagger and the Cross " is the title of Mr. Joseph Hatton's new novel, an historical romance of the seventeenth century. It is being published serially under the auspices of Messrs. Tillotsons and Sons, in a select number of weekly journals in England, the Colonies, India, and America. The volume edition will be issued through the press of Messrs. Hutchinson early in the spring. "Revelations of an Album," by Joseph Hatton, appearing monthly in the Idler, are more or less reminiscent of many interesting celebrities whom the author has met or counted among as friends during his active association with journalism and literature over a number of years. They are admirably illustrated by Mr. W. H. Margetson, the author's son-in-law, and should eventually make an entertaining volume. Presentation copies of Miss Browning's book "A Girl's Wanderings in Hungary," have been most graciously accepted by the Prince of Wales, the Duchess of York, the Duke of Teck, the Queen of Belgium, the Crown Princess of Austro- Hungary, the Archduchess Maria-Dorothea, Duchesse d'Orleans; all of whom have since expressed their thanks and their keen appreciation of its contents. Mr. Gladstone has also written Miss Browning an autograph note of congratula- tion. ## p. 202 (#246) ############################################ 202 THE AUTHOR. A volume by the late Archbishop of Canter- bury, dealing with the life and times of Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage, will shortly be published by Messrs. Macmillan. The Archbishop had the final proofs while making the journey in Ireland just before his death. Mr. E. A. Armstrong has written a novel which, under the title of "Under the Crcum- stances," will be published very shortly by Messrs. Smith and Elder. Thomas Cobb's new story, " Mr. Passingham," will be published early in the New Year by Mr, John Lane (The Bodley Head) as a volume of "The Pierrot Library." A new edition of Mi's. Leith-Adams' novel, "Madelon Lemoine,'' complete in one volume, is shortly to be added to Messrs. Jarrold and Son's Green-Back Series; and a six-shilling edition of " Colour-Sergeant, No. 1 Company," by the same writer, is also to be published by them. A new serial by Mrs. Leith-Adams will commence in Household IVorih early in the new year. It will be entitled "A Mighty Love." "The Three Daughters of Night," is the title of a new novel by Dere R. Vane to be published by Messrs. Hutchinson early in the new year. This is the author's most important work since "The Sin and the Woman," a story that excited a good deal of interest and some controversy on its appearance two or three years ago. The publisher of Stanley Waterloo's much- discussed American novel "A Man and a Woman," has received the following note from Mr. Gladstone :—" Dear Sir,—I thank you for your great courtesy. My ideas, formed upon older models, do not follow those of the book; but I think the letter of the mother a gem, and the narrative is of great interest in connection with the divorce laws of America, and consequent or accompanying changes in the conception of the family life. Yours very faithfully—W. E. Gladstone." Miss Jeanette L. Gilder, the well-known editor and proprietress of the New York Critic, in January next is to start a new critical magazine called the Month. The Tatler, a daily literary paper issued by the New York publishing house of Stone and Kimball, makes this interesting query—" It is worth asking, why our writers—with very rare exceptions, including of course Mark Twain, who seems to sell everywhere—have no audience in Australia. At the present time American theatrical managers are discovering Australia as a continent worth discovering, and the success of some of their ventures there makes us wonder why the Australians, if they can be interested in American plays, should not be interested in American books as well." Those "minor novelists" of America, con- cerning whom metropolitan critics are wont to be so crushingly sarcastic, are certainly arousing themselves. The startling English success of young Mr. Stephen Crane's sanguinary novel has been duplicated by Mr. Stanley Waterloo's " A Man and a Woman," and Mr. Opie Read's "A Kentucky Colonel," novels almost as striking in their way, and much more intimately and genuinely American. Mrs. F. A. Steel, whose Indian stories directly challenge comparison with those of Mr. Kipling, furnishes another example of the success of one who comes to literature comparatively late in life, like the author of " Trilby." It is said that before he even left the steamer, on his arriving at New York, a reporter asked Mr. Barrie his views on the silver question, to which querv Mr. Barrie discreetly made answer, "Silver and gold have I none; go ye rather to my publishers." The following pathetic negro dialect poem is by Opie Read, who, with Hamlin Garland, Stanley Waterloo, and H. B. Fuller, is a leader of the Chicago literary group, from which have emanated works of a high degree of literary excellence. Mr. Read's extraordinarily vivid novel of life in the Southern States before the late war, "A Kentucky Colonel," has been lately issued by Messrs. A. and C. Black:— October. De leaf's turned jailer an' de cnekle-burr's brown An' de grass is Btreaked wid de gray o' age— Natnr is er wavin' 'twixt er smile and er frown An' de red in de sky puts de bull in er rage. De old woodpecker has bushed up his song An' de old crow scratches whar we thrashed out de wheat, An' de ole bluejay sorter haster hop er long Caze de frost made him stiff in de j'ints o' his feet. De po' ole dove is er mou'nin' ergin An' it pear mighty like dat her heart is gwin'er break, An' it makes de jailer-hammer sorter nod his head and grin,-- Ah, Lawd er massy, dat bird is er rake. De soft win' comes like de Bighin' o' er child An' scatters dead leaves o'er de graves on de hill, An' de eyes o' de rabbit look strange an' wild As he hops mongst de rocks by de moss-covered mill. I strolls in de woods when de ebenin's come An' listene to der music o' de trees dat wave, An' mer heart beats low like er muffled up drum As I kneel by de side o' her little boy's grave. We laid him ter slum'er w'en de grass was gray An' de leaves had blushed at de gaze o' de sun; Wen natnr had got down on her knees fur ter pray— W'en er dead cricket lay whar er spider had spun. ## p. 203 (#247) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. "At times," says one of the intimate friends of the one great Australian poet, Adam Lindsey Gordon, " Gordon was the strongest, most weird, mysterious man I ever saw, and I could not help feeling almost afraid of him; and yet there was a fascination about him which made me like to sea him." Concerning Gordon's poems poor Francis Adams once wrote, in his clever though shallow Austra- lian criticisms: "One of them, indeed, 'The Rhyme of Joyous Garde,' is magnificent. It is the one great poem yet written in Australia. In earlier days of an enthusiastic first acquaintance- ship, I committed myself, I remember, to the opinion that it was worth all 'The Idylls of the King' put together. I would not put it quite that way now, but it seems to me that, taken with Mr. William Morris's 'Defence of Guinevere,' 'The Rhyme of Joyous Garde' is assuredly the one product of flesh and blood which has pro- ceeded from the attempt to utilise the Arthurian legend in modern poetry." LITERATURE IN THE PERIODICALS. On the Selling of Books. J. Shajlor (of SimpkiD, Marshall, and Co.). The Nineteenth Century for December. Booksellers' Errors. "W. E.'b " letter in the Daily Chronicle for Dec. 12. Bad Spelling. "A Publisher's " letter in the Times for Deo. 14. Literature, Newspapers, and the Public. The British Review for Dec. 5. Little Pharisees in Fiction. Agnes Repplier. Scribner's Magazine for December. The Poetry op the Earl of Lytton. Professor Saintsbury. The Forum for December. American Women and American Literature. The Hon. Hugh H. Lusk. The Forum for December. Sterne. Herbert Paul. The nineteenth Century for December. Realism in Fiction. British Review for Deo. 19. The Roman Church in French Fiction. Macmillan's Magazine for December. A Guess at the Origin op Hamlet. Arthur T. Lyttelton. National Review for December. Some Characteristics op Shakespeare. The Master of BJliol. Contemporary for December. Shelley at Tremadoc. MacmiUnn's Magazine for December. Journalistic Remuneration. Chambers's Journal for December. Journalism as a Profession. W. N. Shansfield. • Westminster Review for December. Some Aspects of Matthew Arnold, q j- firys Norgate. Temple Bur for December.' Reminiscences of Lord Tenntson , Magazine for January. The TemP™ Mr. Gladstone on Book Collect^ Part VIII. of "Contribution! to a Diet; * Q. Lgttflr ^ Book Collectors," published by Bernard Qi./*^*.,. , n -liab ^k^J 01 bOS' Editorial Discretion with Contributors. Letters of Alfred Sutro (Dec. 15 and 19), and the Editor of "The Pageant " (Dec. 17) in the Daily Chronicle. Notable Reviews. Of W. E. Henley's edition of Byron. Academy for Dec. 19. Of Herbert Spenoer's "Principles of Sociology." Atlienseum for Deo. 19. Of Dr. Andrew Dickson White's <; History of the Warfare of Science with Theology in Christendom. Times for Deo. 8. Do authors spell badly? According to " A Publisher" they do. This gentleman mildly suggests that we are in the midst of an epidemic of bad spelling. The number of people who write misspelt letters and offer for publication mis- spelt works of fiction, seems, he says, to l)e steadily on the increase. He gives the experience of a single day in proof of what he says. On this day, within a few hours, he chatted with a lady novelist, a woman of culture, who confesses that she can- not spell, and to correct whose proofs a special reviser will have to be employed; received a letter from an author in Scotland, an F.S.A. Scot, who only stumbles over the word frontes- piece until the end is reached, when he shows the cloven hoof in the expression "c.rceed to my request"; and a letter from another author offering " a story of eutreatjues and adventure." Curiously enough, the complainant himself makes a broad error in spelling. "For the past twenty years," he says, "I have received thousands of letters a year from more or less educated people, and I am struck with the prevalance (sic) of badly- spelt letters of late." The (sic) is from the Times. As a member of a large firm of wholesale book merchants, Mr. Shaylor's opinion on the sale of books is of interest, but it is not very original. Although no rule can be laid down that will entirely regulate the sale of books, he has no hesitation in stating that a certain sale can always l)e relied on for a book that really has value in it. "To obtain this let it be one into which the author has put his best thoughts from a realistic or ideal standpoint, let it be carefully written and re-written, so that its merit may come up to the standard of literary culture. Then let it be well printed and attractively bound, and issued by a publisher who has a reputation to maintain. The publisher will see that the distributing agencies work it well with the booksellers, and will adver- tise it judiciously, and if possible get it talked about. By these means if a large sale is not secured there will, at least, be one satisfactory alike to author, p1 ublisher, and bookseller." Mr. Shaylor has, * f,! attracting public attention. Tho " new authors11 >ecial comment on the methods of ## p. 204 (#248) ############################################ 204 THE AUTHOR. author," he says, " usually belongs 1o a clique of men who write of each other in the Press, and talk of each other at their club, in drawing- rooms; in season or out of season matters not, so that they are talked about. Cases could be mentioned in which an author has ordered copies of his recently published book from several book- sellers, stating that he would call for them in a few days. This he failed to do, and the book- sellers have been obliged to place the copies in their stock." Mr. Shaylor, moreover, finds fault with the publisher's " reader" as often having no .sympathy with the subject of the MS. he is con- sidering, and lays to his charge the refusal of many MSS. which have afterwards been pub- lished with marked success. But it will l)e on the question of the future of the bookselling trade that Mr. Shaylor's views will command most attention, and in this connection he suggests that a better understanding between the Pub- lishers' Association and the Association of Book- sellers might result in a way being found to place the trade in a more satisfactory condition. The difficulty is of course the question of dis- counts. At the present time, he says, the book- selling trade is suffering more acutely from competition than any other. A commentary on Mr. Shaylor's suggestion that it is in booksellers themselves, and not in bookselling, that the decay is most noticeable, is supplied by a bookseller's assistant at Great Yarmouth. How, he says, can the small pro- vincial bookseller afford to pay intelligent assis- tants \f "He cannot do so from the absurdly inadequate profits which, except in concerns having very large turnovers, the present day bookselling business yields." The cut-throat competition of the 25 per cent, discount, he says further, is rapidly reducing the trade to mere dealing in so much weight of printed paper. The English of our newspapers is called seriously in question by the British lievietc, which complains of it as a thing of ready-made phrases rapidly pieced together, and as tending to deaden the reader's appreciation of anything that is more accurate. Two other conditions un- favourable to style are—the growth of the reading public, and the growth of writing as a profession. The vast mass of readers are imperfectly educated, and they form the writer's most important patrons. The writer, therefore, who regards writing as a profession, is constantly tempted to adjust his style, not to his own inner standard of excellence, but to the crude taste of an uncritical public. Another condition that militates against style is certain qualities in the English language itself—its want of inflection, the ambiguity of its pronouns, and the flaccidity of its structure. But after all, says the writer, whatever may be the results of an ideal perfection in style, one thing is certain, that professionally it will not pay; and if ever English prose is to be advanced to real perfection, the result must be due to men who either possess riches or who are indifferent to them, and who are, above all, indifferent to democratic state and the entire financial aspect of democratic rewards. Mr. Wilson's depreciation of journalism as a poorly-paid profession is replied to in the West- minster Review by Mr. Shansfield. He holds that to put the average remuneration at <£ioo a year is to under-estimate it; but it is the alleged wane in the demand for literary ability in the newspaper world that he is most concerned in contradicting. It requires a man of education to be a good journalist, he says, and a good journa- list will more and more in the future be able to command a larger wage. As for the mechanical reporter, he is doomed to be gradually swept off the field. A writer in Chambers's provides some rates of journalistic remuneration, by way of enlightening the fugitive contributor. The Times, he states, will pay from five to ten guineas for an article contributed by a correspondent, and rather than lose a good one considerably more. The rate on the other great London dailies is as a rule two guineas per column. The St. James's Gazette and the Westminster pay a guinea and a half; the Globe pays a guinea for its "turnover," and the Evening Standard two guineas a column for the essays that are a feature of its outside page. Among the weekly reviews, the Spectator and the Saturday lievietc give as much as five guineas for accepted articles, but in their case attention should lie drawn to the editorial warning that the sending of a proof is no guarantee of acceptance. . CORRESPONDENCE. I.—" Mons." MR. E. H. SHERARD has done well to hft up his voice against the barbarism of "Mons." for " Monsieur." A still more common one in England, and as bad, is " Mrflle." for "Mademoiselle." I think I have also seen "MJme." "Mine." and "Mile." are the correct abbreviations. It was lately, if it is not now, distinctly rude to abbreviate "Monsieur" or "Madame" in the address of a letter. The blunder "Saint-Beuxe" in the same article is doubtless due to the printer. I must be allowed to observe that Mr Sherard would not talk of the " fat, sluggish language of the Netherlands" if he had read any modern ## p. 205 (#249) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. 205 Dutch prose. The average of prose style in the Netherlands is much better than in Germany, and any Dutch scholar would be ashamed to write in the clumsy and involved fashion which is thought good enough for scientific works by most learned Germans. _ _ II. II.—Stamps with MSS. It is natural that magazine and newspaper proprietors should protect themselves against loss by imposing the above condition. At the same time, at least from its sentimental aspect, the need for so stringent a rule is to be deplored. None of us care to anticipate rejection. Com- pliance, however, with this decree conjures up the dismal possibility in most unromantic fashion. When the "stamped directed envelope," ad- dressed to ourselves, stares us iu the face, the prosj>ect is quite distressing. Could not patrons be persuaded to trust their contributors a little more in this matter of postal outlay? We may not all be clever: I fain hope most of us are honest. Nor would the confidence reposed be altogether one-sided. We send our stamps. Do we always get them back again r But I suppose we are so elated when receiving those pleasant remunerative slips, in exchange for brainwork, as not to trouble about such trifles. The cruel business is where both MS. and stamps are unceremoniously appropriated — an experience which has also come to some of us of late, in- cluding one of my own brood. Old Bied. Authors' Club, S.W., Dec. 11, 1896. III.—Thirteen Copies as Twelve. Iu last issue of The Author my good and clever friend John Bickerdyke tells us that Mr. Hutchinson, the publisher of his last novel, says that "the thirteen-as-twelvo business is a mere trick." But Mr. Hutchinson knows that, while in high-priced works likely to have a limited sale such terms are unnecessary and unadvisable, books, no matter the selling price, which it is hoped may " run away," have an infinitely better chance if the booksellers be bribed with the odd copy, and is charged thirteen as twelve. A fairly saleable book offered on these terms will be stocked and shown to every person who enters the shop ; but when the inducement is withheld, the bookseller will often order a single copy, or he may say, " I will wait till I am asked for it." As a case in point let me mention the cheap edition of Phil May's "Gutter-Snipes " (bougie out- right by the Leadenhall Press), which t|le hook- seller has at the usual discount, an.(J . , n copies as twelve. Can this be justly (J^ thirteen "a mere trick "? Andrew \y.s^ribed »s The Leadenhall Press, E.C. • TuER. IV.—Reviews and Advertisements. With regard to authors and publishers, it will be seen on reflection that the public will only buy what is put under their nose. Certain wealthy and powerful publishing houses are able to do this, the great librarians and monopolists buying largely of them. The works of well- known and gifted writers, and the novels that are accepted by the literary taster of any eminent firm, are forced upon the public by the medium of repeated and incessant advertisement, in- evitably followed by good reviews. The two are indivisible; but the advertisement, more than the review, sells the book. Would any critic "cut up" the works issued by a wealthy firm, or firms expending many thousands yearly in the columns of the papers he represents? An author's poverty, which may be after all his only crime, is a great barrier in achieving permanent literary success. Paid paragraphs to establish his name are very expensive luxuries. To have a wealthy or aristocratic clientele is also of great assistance. The public are indifferent, generally opinionless; they care for externals, pleasure, visiting, shopping—what they eat, drink, and wear, but books—to tempt them must be forced upon their notice. Clever, attractive, silly or common-place novels, if glorified by log-rollers, heavily advertised, and "worked up," will go; but these same books issued under any other conditions, by less pushing and wealthy firms, would be passed over unnoticed, and generally anathematised by the London Press and those who guard the sacred ring. Personal interest and influence count for a good deal in successful authorship, when one man may review for a dozen papers, but money is invincible. Continuous advertisement (not spas- modic, which is always wasted) will sell any- thing. Annabel Gray. V.—To "J. G." I note "J. G.'s" reference to myself in The Author. May I give him a word of cheer, and also remark upon his letter? He must find a "taster" who can appreciate his work; the most popular have had to make their start. I think that, in all probability, a '• taster" is an absolute necessity to a publishing firm; the further I go the more I seem to see this necessity, especially in these days of—dare I say it ?—bad, superficial work. The only safe road to success seems to me to lie through " trouble, sorrow, need"; and the worst of it is that success, when it comes, some- times unlearns the lesson. Then, out come the boneless M-SS- of which •• J. G." speaks Even tbemost p°P our modem writersliave no; ## p. 206 (#250) ############################################ 206 THE AUTHOR. been strong: enough to resist the blandishments of the almighty dollar, and have foisted their former early failures upon the public on the strength of their latter successes. Write on, "J. G."! (there is nothing else for it) till you have written something which has some grain of worth in it; you will probably get it accepted. Absolutely without a single literary friend (in fiction), and with no guide as to how or where to submit my work, my chief want has seemed to myself to be an adviser. But I am beginning to think that even in this I was mistaken, and that nothing but some particle of worth in what is written will give it any marketable value. At last I have found an appreciative friend (I am sure I may call him so) ; but I am by no means sure of success yet. Still, I hope on. I have also—at last—set myself to please the severest taskmaster ; I might appear irreverent in naming him. "J. G." states that, as yet, he is not in the ranks of the accepted. I would say to him " work and hope, but set yourself a high aim, and do not be in a hurry. Some day you may learn to thank God that your early work was rejected, as I do." Alan Oscar. VI.—Still Looser English. The excellent paper on " Loose English," which appeared in your October issue, moves me to wonder if the writer of it has ever been confronted with such an enormity as the word ('() " affaired" used in the sense of occupied. "She was too much affaired with her own thoughts" occurs in a recently published novel from the firm of Ward and Downey; and this is not a misprint, as might be imagined, for the word is used in a similar sense elsewhere in the book. Nothing much worse could be found in America. And will no one raise a protest against the splitting of infinitives? I remember, when I was very young, reading the "Ride to Khiva," in which, as well as I recollect, scarcely a single infinitive escapes this barbarous treatment—and wondering over it, as over something strange and new; but since those days the splitting process has crept onward and upward. One finds it difficult to discover any widely read book published within the last ten years in which one will not meet at least a dozen hideously mis- placed adverbs divorcing what no adverb should put asunder; and the newer the books, the more frequent the divorce. From Kidd's "Social Evolution" to "The Sorrows of Satan," they are all tarred with the same brush—the trail of the split infinitive is over them all, "and nothing said" by the reviewers, who seem as indifferent to the murdering of style as the European Powers to the murdering of the Armenians. So much of slipshod negligence is being allowed without protest to range itself as literature, that one scarcely marvels at a young lady novelist's daring to become "affaired with her own thoughts." She probably does not care for the opinion of critics who might tell her "to immediately lay down her pen." M. Penrose. VII.—A Want. Is it not time that we had a good Gernian- Envhsh dictionary? Those which at present do duty ar<j German, or German-American, which is not precisely the same tiling. They contain such English words as "forinsecal," "fortrail," "occlude," "inition," "inlagary "; and such ex- pressions as "to be astern of one's reckoning," "to lark one," " to get the run upon one," "to gouge," meaning to trick, "lady-bishop," meaning bishop's wife, "within a six-month." "to cut shines, or didoes," "hotch-potch" for "mob," "giugle" for "jingle," "aglet" for small plate, "squab " for " easy-chair," "squab!" as an inter- jection, "to ambition something," "to clap a trick upon one," &c, all of which are so many pitfalls for the unwary foreigner. S. G. VIII.—The Ethics op the Review Copy. Some discussion has been taking place as to the disposal by reviewers of books sent them. According to certain publishers, copies of new books can be had at the second-hand shops in Holy well-street even before the works have been issue! to the public. Now, a book sent to be reviewed is a presentation copy, and a reviewer may suivly, if he does not think it worth adding to his library, sell a presentation copy with the same freedom of conscience as he would sell a book he had paid for, considering always, of course, that the presentation has been an impersonal one, i.e., through a newspaper or journal. It is his property, to do what he likes with. The evil is when a reviewer hastens to sell his copy practically the moment he gets it, instead of waiting a reasonable time, and thus deprives the publisher and bookseller of the first full benefit of sales. I trust this practice is not so very common after all. But it is to detect i-uch cases, I presume, that certain publishers choose to put an indelible stamp on the review copies, afterwards tracing, if possible, the persons ■—let us not call them reviewers, please—who have thus shamelessly put the books on the market. When it goes that length, publishers are assuredly justified in striking off certain papers from its future lists. But I have seen it alleged, as a question apart, that reviewers do ## p. 207 (#251) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. 207 not like to receive a fine book thus marked— "disfigured," some call it—and to place it on their shelves. Is this so? Why, as a literary workman, I regard it rather as a source of pride —certainly it causes me no annoyance—to have as many books as possible marked in this way adorning my shelves. Reviewer. IX.—Monsters in Fiction. I have read with considerable interest D. F. Hannigan's article on ."Monsters in Fiction," and George St. Clair's letter on the same subject. I am inclined to think that these "prodigious growths" are neither the creations of the human imagination nor symbols with a deep recondite meaning. May they not rather represent different stages in the wonderfid history of evolution of which our planet has been the scene? May they not have been the tentative efforts of Nature's prentice-hand? According to Aristotle, Nature experiences many failures before she can send a perfect article out of her workshop. Empedokles of Akragas, 440, B.C., an evolu- tionist considerably older than Darwin—main- tains this view. He enumerates four periods of development; and his description of them are sufficiently ghastly—strangely reminding us of the modern emulation of Mrs. Shelley's Franken- stein. During the first period, according to the Greek philosopher, heads without necks, arms without shoulders, and eyes without foreheads wandered over the primal earth. During the second age these stray members were joined together in haphazard fashion, and thus creature il§w\o(f>aviis, as weird and hideous as any that the fantastic imagination of a Gustave Flaubert or a Shakespeare has depicted, came into existence: flovyivrj (ivhpoTrputpa, or bulls with men's faces (rj., Assyrian man-bulls), and vice rent/; beings with faces and breasts before and behind; mino- taurs, sphinxes, centaurs, ehimaeras, et hoc genus omnc. In the third period "perfect types" emerged, but without distinction of sex—the "androgyne" of Lucretius (<;/'. Darwin's " herma- phrodite ascidians ") ; while the fourth and last stage is the existing order of things. In the above account I have simply reproduced in the briefest way—adding a few illustrative comments—the " placita " of Empedokles. W. B. Wallace. X.—The First Book. Sermons upon sermons might be preached on e "Never, never, never pay for pul,lisl • .jvel" text. The ripeness of , uslllnb stablishes without doubt the wisdo^*ptTieilCC advice. But what man is there so ej0 of suC" ^ent as t° bring the warning home to the aspirant fired with ambition to seek the public verdict as to work which has cost him much diligence, thought, possibly some self-denial? The preacher may spare his breath and his arguments with a writer thus pressing his ewe-lamb, in the form of a first completed effort, to his literary bosom. What- ever its worth, the result belongs to him and him alone. Hand and brain have united to produce an ideal in which he believes and has even learnt to love. It must therefore go forth to the world, publishers' adverse judgments notwithstanding. Surely that is only a natural impulse it would require something stronger than the mere risk of money to check. So long as hope, aspiration, the dpsire after fame exist, the sanguine creator of books will continue to pay for his chance of a hearing. Yes, "chance." That is the false beacon which will lure Mr. Verdant on to the rock of sadness and disillusion. But until he has been buffeted by the rude waters of failure, it is useless to attempt to trim his barque to prudence. Poverty, we are told, is the surest friend in the long run. If not always a welcome visitor, he hits home and is severely practical. Perhaps, therefore, it is best to purchase one's experience at his hands. After prolonged acquaintance, some of us have come to the conclusion that his arguments carry more weight than a whole sheaf of discourses, let them be ever so well-intentioned. Cecil Clarke. Authors' Club, S.W., De.'. 18, 1896. the u< I' XI.—Wanted, a Strike. Grumbling about publishers in the pages of The Author is like railing against habitual drunkenness in a church full of respectable citizens, but this particular grumble is going to be converted into a sugges ion to our successful brethren and sisters. The length of time which many articles are kept by magazine editors (or, rather, is it not the publisher who is to blame r) increases year by year, and now it is not uncommon to have one's work "translated" from month to month, and even annouuced for three or four years in succes- sion. This is provoking from several points of view, financial and other«isj; perhaps the more so, wdien one is sat upon by a scathing critic in terms of this character: "Mr. X. evidently is not up to date; this subject was thrashed out some eighteen moDths ago by Mr. Z. in the 'Demon'; an(l surely even the editor of the ever-blimdering 'Lamb' might have known so ^Now it 's °^ coulse no use ^or rallk an*^ ## p. 208 (#252) ############################################ 208 THE AUTHOR. file to be independent. "If you don't like the terms you can keep your articles to yourself," is certainly what we should be told if we protested. But surely the officers of the literary army might help us. If the distinguished Deans and Canons of the Church, if the eminent Cabinet Ministers, and the popular "a shilling-a-word" writers who appear in divers monthlies would only resolve to boycott all and every editor and publisher who refuses to pay ready money for accepted literary wares to all contributors, great and small, the matter would soon be settled agreeably. It would be as great a charity as doling out blankets and soup to the indigent; for these magazine articles are the blankets and soup of the hard working authors, who have to pay for their ink long months before they get paid for their brains. Ready money payments all round is what the world wants to relieve it of one of its most deadly curses—demoralisation through long credit. The tradesmen have found out the advantages of the ready money system; why should brain- workers have to give long credit for their work? Me. X. [One agrees perfectly with the writer of this note. But his remedy would surely prove no remedy at all. For suppose the writers who can afford to be independent refused to write except for money on delivery of MS 3., how would that help those who are not independent?—Ed.] XII.—Touting Publishers. It seems to me that The Author cannot too often repeat the warning that young, or even old and experienced writers, should have no dealings under any circumstances with publishers who, openly as well as covertly, advertise for MSS. No reputable firm would ever stoop to such practices any more than a physician of good standing would think of soliciting patients. [ believe, too, that it should be repeatedly pointed out, that although such publishers have on their lists books by several winters of the first rank, these works are not generally bought from the authors, but from a syndicate who have pre- viously used the novels in serial form, and sell the book rights to the highest bidder. More than one distinguished author has indig- nantly protested at his name being used as a lure for the unwary writers of both sexes. Such firms do not publish books to sell, but for what they can make in producing and adver- tising them at the author's expense. With your permission (at some future time) I should like to give your readers my experience with one of these touting firms. A Recent Victim. OBITUARY. MR. COVENTRY PATMORE died at Lymington on Nov. 26, aged seventy- three. His father, Peter Patmore, was the friend of Keats, Coleridge, the Lambs, and other writers of that period. The boy was furnished with an introduction to Leigh Hunt, who being shown his first verses remarked "He is a poet." In 1844 his first volume was published, " Tamerton Church Tower, and Other Poems." In 1846 he became an assistant librarian at the British Museum. He was the friend of Millais, Ruskin, and Rossetti; and the poem called "The Seasons," in the first number of the Genu, was by young Patmore. His great poem, " The Angel in the House," which began to appear in 1853, had a great and immediate success both in Britain and America. "The Unknown Eros" appeared in 1877. He wrote a good deal for reviews and magazines, and a series of papers in the St. James's Gazette, afterwards published anonymously in a volume, entitled "How I Managed and Improved my Estate," was his, the estate being Heron's Ghyll, near East Grinstead. In recent years he produced two volumes of essays, "The Principles of Art," and "Religio Poetae "; and a little book of religious aphorisms entitled " Rod, Root and Flower." He edited The Children's Garland and the biography of his friend "Barry Cornwall." Although he kept rather aloof from the world, Mr. Patmore was socially a charming man. "As far as I know," says Ruskin of Patmore after the the appearance of "The Angel in the House," "he is the only living poet who always strengthens and purifies." Miss Mathilde Blind, the poet, died in Londou on Nov. 26. She was the author of numerous volumes of verse, including " The Prophecy of St. Oran," " The Heather on Fire," "The Ascent of Man," "Songs and Sonnets," and "Birds of Passage." Her single work in prose fiction was the romance "Tarantella." Among her other work were a translation of the Journal of Bash- lrirtseff, critical monographs on George Eliot and Mine. Roland, and editions of selections both from the poems and the letters of Byron. Miss Blind, who was fifty-four years of age, was a step-daughter of Karl Blind. Mrs. Brookfield, the friend of Thackeray, who it is understood drew the character of Lady Castlewood in "Esmond" from her,' was the author of several novels, and published some years ago a number of delightful letters by Thackeray. Her husband, the late Rev. W. H. Brookfield, was the friend of Ttimyson. ## p. 208 (#253) ############################################ AD VER TISEMENTS. iii Ready about the middle of January. THE LITERARY YEAR-ROOK 1897 EDITED BY FREDERICK G. AFLALO, F.R.G.S., &c. An Exhaustive Book of Reference for all Writers and Readers of Books. AMONG THE CHIEF FEATURES ARE :- A Critical resume of the past year's Literature, by Ernest Rhys. Portraits and Biographical Sketches of a number of Distinguished Authors. The Year's Obituary, with Portraits. A New and Complete Calendar for Literature. Some Account of the Chief Literary and Scientific Clubs, and Learned Societies and Institutions in the Kingdom, with their Addresses. Directories of Authors, Publishers, and Booksellers. A Directory of the chief Free, Public, and Subscription Libraries in Great Britain and Ireland. Practical Information in connection with the Reading Rooms of the British Museum, Bibliothique Nationale (Paris), and K'dnigliche Bibliothek (Berlin). Articles on various Literary matters. Information concerning the Production of Books and the Processes in Illustration. &c, &c, &c. About 300 pages, crown 8vo., cloth, 3s, 6d. It is hoped that this volume, which deals with every matter of practical interest to the Literary World, will supply a long-felt want. LONDON: GEORGE ALLEN, RUSKfN h0USE, 156, CHARING GROSS ROAD, AND BOOK^LLERft ## p. 208 (#254) ############################################ iv AD VER TISEMENTS. LOWEST PRICES IN LONDON. Authors' M.SS. correctly and neatly copied at lOcl. per lOOO words. ♦ Carbon Duplicates at 3d. ., ,, » LEGAL A.ISTI3 GENERAL COPYING at Id. per folio. * We have a skilled and tcell educated stajr of operators. Gice as a trial, and compare oar trork and prices Kith those of other ojftccs. ♦ LARGE ORDERS ESTIMATED FOR. ♦ 2 Xote our address— ♦ | THE ECLIPSE TYPEWRITING AND SHORTHAND OFFICES, * I 28, FENCHURCH STREET. LONDON, E.C. THE TEMPLE TYPEWRITING OFFICE. "1YPEWRITING EXCEPTIONALLY ACCURATE. Moderate prices. process. Duplicates of Circulars by the latest* OPINIONS OP CLIENTS — Distinguished Author:—"The moBt beautiful typing I hare erer teen." Lady of Title :—" The « work was very well and clearly done."' Provincial Editob :—" Many thanks for the spotless neatness and beautiful accuracy." MISS GKNTEY, ELDON CHAMBERS, 30, FLEET STREET, E.C. TfrawvnM by Clergyman's Daughter and Assistants. MISS E. M. SIKES, The West Kensington Typewriting Agency, 13, Wolverton Gardens, Hammersmith, W. Authors' MSS. carefully copied. Is. per 1000 words: duplicate copy half price. Legal and General Copying, 1 Jd. per folio: duplicates Id. Typewritten Circulars, Notices, Ac., by copying process. Terms on application. References kindly permitted to authors. Estali. ]<•*",. ACCURATELY AND PROMPTLY EXECUTED. I>OSTAGB TAID. PLEASE GIVK TRIAL. MISS RAINES, 11, FALCONER CHAMBERS, SCARBOROUGH. TYPIST, 44, Oakley Street Flats, Chelsea, S.W. Authors* MSS. carefi lly transcribed. References kindi.v PERMITTED TO MA.YY WELL-KNOWN AUTH0H8. Fire - Proof Safe for MSS. Particulars on application. Telegraphic address: "-Patzkv. London.'- Published every Friday morning; price, without Reports, ad.; with Reports, Is. THE LAW TIMES, the Journal of the Law and the Lawyers, which has now been established for over half a oratory, supplies to the Profession a complete Record of the Progress of Legal Reforms, and of all matters affecting the Legal Profession. The Reports of the Law Times are now recognised as the most complete and efficient series published. Offices: Windsor House, Bream*a-buildings. EC. 35, MRS. Q- ILL, TYPE-WRITING OFFICE, LUDGATE HILL, E.C. (ESTABLISHED 1883.) >•< Authors' MSS. carefully copied from Is. per 10O0 wonts. Duplicate copies third price. Skilled typhts sent out by hour. day. or week. French MSS. accurately copied, or typewritten English translations supplied. References kindly permitted to Sir Walter Besant: also to Messrs. A. P. Watt and Son, Literary Agents, Hastings House, Norfulk-street. Strand. W C. THE AUTHOR'S HAIRLESS PAPER-PAD. (The I.eadenhall Pkess Ltd.), • jO, Leaden hall Street, Lomlon, E.C. Contains hairless paper, over which the pen slips with perfect freedom. Sirpe7ice each: 5s. per dozen, ruled or plain. MESDAMES BRETT & BOWSER, TYPISTS, SELBORNE CHAMBERS, BELL YARD, TEMPLE BAR. Authors' MSS. carefully anil expeditiously copied, from ip. per 1000 words. Extra cirbon copies half price. Refer- encos kindly permitted to Augustine Birrell, Esq., M P., and "Anthony Hope." Crown 8vo., cloth boards, price 6s. HATHERSAGE: A Tale of North Derbyshire. CHARLES EDMUND HALL, Author of " An Ancient Ancestor," Ac. London: Horace Cox, Windsor House, s-buildings. E.C, Printed and Published by Horace Cox, Windsor House, Bream's-buildings. London, E.C. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Author, Vol. 07 Issue 08 (January 1897) Subject The topic of the resource The Author, Vol. 07 Issue 08 (January 1897) Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015049239455" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015049239455</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Publication Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 1897-01-01-The-Author-7-8 publications The Author https://historysoa.com/files/original/5/297/1896-12-01-The-Author-7-7.pdf 6a55175280a6e7c036340c0c90e48464 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 The Author Description An account of the resource A digitised run of the Society of Authors' monthly periodical, The Author, 1890–1914, made available together for the first time. Currently users can browse issues and <a href="https://historysoa.com/items/browse?search=&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bjoiner%5D=and&advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=51&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Index&collection=&type=&tags=&exhibit=&date_search_term=&submit_search=Search+For+Items&sort_field=Dublin+Core%2CTitle">indices</a> (not available for all volumes). Full text search for all issues, and other additional search functionality, will be added in 2022. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1890–1914 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context The-Author-Issues Publication Date The date of an event (in YYYY, YYYY-MM or YYYY-MM-DD format) 1896-12-01 Volume 7 Issue 7 Pages Page range in volume 145–176 Ngram Date Version of the date in YYYYMMDD format for use by the Ngram plugin 18961201 Ngram Text Version of the text with no HTML formatting for use by the Ngram plugin TLhc Hutbor* (The Organ of the Incorporated Society of Authors. Monthly.) CONDUCTED BY WALTER BESANT. Vol. VII.—No. 7.] DECEMBER 1, 1896. [Price Sixpence. CONTENTS. General Memoranda 148 TAOE Notes from Abroad. By B. H. Sherard PA91 161 The Authors' Club 147 New York Letter. By Norman Hapgood ItU Literary Property— Puolications of the Year 1895 164 1. An Official Report of the Paris Conference ... 147 Copyright 165 — 2. Denmark and the Union 149 Notes and News 165 3. Agreement with Publisher 149 Prize Competitions 167 4. Proposed Law for the Stamping of Books 150 Literature In the Periodicals 167 a. The Question of Agreements ISO Book Talk 169 «. (iriffith r. The Tower Publishing Company Limited nrH Correspondence.—!. The Title. 2. The First Book. 3. A Plea Moncrieff UI for Signed Criticisms. 4. Educational Criticisms. 5. Thirteen 7. Control of Copyright 152 as Twelve. 6. "A Falling Off." 7. "Publication." 8. An 8. The Liability of Publishers 152 Inquiry 9. Copyrights. 10. The Completion of Mr. Spencer's 9. Pitt Pitts r. E. George and Co 153 Philosophy 17« PUBLICATIONS OF THE SOCIETY. 1. The Annual Report. That for January 1896 can be had on application to the Secretary. 2. The Author. A Monthly Journal devoted especially to the protection arid maintenance of Literary Property. Issued to all Members. Back numbers are offered at the following prices: Vol. I., io«. 6d. (Bound); Vols. II., III., and IV., 8«. 6d. each (Bound); Vol. V., 6s. 6d. (Unbound). 3. Literature and the Pension List. By W. Morris Colles, Barrister-at-Law. (Henry Glaisher, 95, Strand, W.C.) 3*. 4. The History of the Societe des Gens de Lettres. By s. Squire Spkigge, late Secretary to the Society, is. 5. The Cost of Production. In this work specimens are given of the most important forms of type, size of page, Ac, with estimates showing what it costs to produce the more common kinds of books. Henry Glaisher, 95, Strand, W.C. 2s. 6d. 6. The Various Methods Of Publication. By S. Squire Sprigge. In this work, compiled from the papers in the Society's offices, the various forms of agreements proposed by Publishers to Authors are examined, and their meaning carefully explained, with an account of the various kinds of fraud which have been made possible by the different clauses in their agreements. Henry Glaisher, 95, Strand, W.G. 3*. 7. Copyright Law Reform. An Exposition of Lord Monkswell's Copyright Bill now before Parlia, ment. With Extracts from the Beport of the Commission of 1878, and an Appendix containing the Berne Convention and the American Copyright Bill. By J. M. Lely. Ey-*^ and Spottiswoode. is. 6d. 8. The Society of Authors. A Becord of its Action from its Foundation. By Walter Besj^^ (Chairman of Committee, 1888—1892). i*. 9. The Contract of Publication in Germany, Austria, Hungary, and Switzerland. By E-^ Lunge, J.U.D. 2*. 6r/.' ## p. 144 (#184) ############################################ 11 AD VER TISEMENTS. ^iie $octefg of Jluffjors (gncorporafei)). Sib Edwin Arnold, K.C.I.E., C.S.I. A lfbsd Austin. I. M. Barbie A. W. X Beckett. F. E. Beddabd, F.E.S. ROBEBT BATEMAN. Sib Henbt Bebqne, K.C.M.G. Sib Walteb Besant. augustine blbbell, m.f. Rev. Pbof. Bonnet, F.R.S. Rioht Hon. James Bbtce, M.P. Right Hon. Lobd Burghclerk, P.C Hall Caine. Eoerton Castle, F.S.A. P. W. Clatden. Edward Clodd. w. morbis colles. Hon. John Collieb. Sir W. Martin Conwat. F. Marion Crawford. . PRESIDENT. GBOEGE MBBEDITH COUNCIL. The Eabl of Desart. Austin Dobson. A. Conan Doyle, M.D A. W. Dubourq. Sir J. Eric Eeichsen, Babt., F.R.S. Pbof. Michael Foster, F.R.S. Richard Garnett, C.B., LL.D. Edmund Gosse. H. Rider Haggard. Thomas Hardy. Anthony Hope Hawkins. Jebome K. Jebome. RUDYARD KlFLING. Prof. E. Ray Lankesteb, F.R.S. W. E. H. Lecky. J. M. Lely. Mbs. E. Lynn Linton. Rev. W. J. Loftie, F.S.A. Sir A. C. Mackenzie, Mns.D. Pbof. J. M. D. Meiklejohn. Herman C. Mebivale. Ret. C. H. Middleton-Wakk. Sib Lewis Morris. Henry Norman. Miss E. A. Ormebod. J. C. Pabkinson. Right Hon. Lord Pirbbight. Sib Fbedkbick Pollock, Babt., LL.D. Walteb Hebbies Pollock. W. Baptists Scoonks. Miss Flora L. Shaw. G. R. Sims. S. SguiRE Sfbigge. J. J. Stevenson. Pbof. Jas. Sully. William Mot Thomas. H. D. Tbaill, D.C.L. Mbs. Humphby Waed. Miss Chablotte M. Yonge. Hon. Counsel — E. M. Underdown, Q.C. COMMITTEE OF MANAGEMENT. A.. W. X Beckett. Sir Walter Besant. Eoerton Castle. W. Morris Colles. Solicitors— Chairman—H. Rider Haggard. Hon. John Collier Sir W. Martin Conway. Anthony Hope Hawkins. J. M. Lely. Messrs. Field, Roscoe, and Co., Lincoln's Inn Fields. Herbert Thring, B.A., 4. Portugal-street, W.C. IS Sir A. C. Mackenzie, Mus.D. Henry Norman. S. Squire Sprigge. Secretary—G. Herbert Thring, B.A. OFFICES: 4, Portugal Street, Lincoln's Inn Fields, W.C. J±. IP. WATT <fe SOILST, LITERARY AGENTS, Formerly of 2, PATERNOSTER SQUARE, Have now removed to HASTINGS HOUSE, NORFOLK STREET, STRAND, LONDON. W.C. WINDSOR HOUSE PRINTING WORKS, IB^IE-A-IMI'S BXTILDIlTGrS, ZE.O. Offiees of "The Field," "The Queen," "The Law Times," &e. Mr. HORACE COX, Printer to the Authors' Society, takes the opportunity of informing Authors that, having a very large Office, and an extensive Plant of Type of every description, he is in a position to EXECUTE any PRINTING they may entrust to his care. ESTIMATES FORWARDED, AND REASONABLE CHARGES WILL BE FOUND. ## p. 145 (#185) ############################################ tTbe H u t b o r, (The Organ of the Incorporated Society of Authors. Monthly.) CONDUCTED BY WALTER BESANT. Vol. VII.—No. 7.] DECEMBER I, 1896. [Price Sixpence. For the Opinions expressed in papers that are signed or initialled the Authors alone are responsible. None of the papers or para- graphs must be taken as expressing the collective opinions of the committee unless they are officially signed by G. Herbert Thring, Sec. THE Secretary of the Society begs to give notioe that all remittances are acknowledged by return of post, and requests that all members not receiving an answer to important communications within two days will write to him without delay. All remittances should be crossed Union Bank of London, Chancery-lane, or be sent by registered letter only. _il Communications and letters are invited by the Editor on all subjects connected with literature, but on no other sub- jects whatever. Articles which cannot be accepted are returned if stamps for the purpose accompany the MSS. GENERAL MEMORANDA. EOB some years it has been the practice to insert, in every number of The Author, certain " General Con- siderations," Warnings, Notices, &c, for the guidance of the reader. It has been objected as regards these warnings that the tricks or frauds against which they are directed cannot all be gnarded against, for obvious reasons. It is, however, well that they should be borne in mind, and if any publisher refuses a clause of precaution he simply reveals his true character, and should be left to carry on his business in his own way. Let us, however, draw up a few of the rules to be observed in an agreement. There are three methods of dealing with literary property:— I. That of selling it outright. This is in some respects the most satisfactory, if a proper price can be obtained. But the transaction should be managed by a competent agent. II. A profit-sharing agreement. In this case the following rules should be attended to: (1.) Not to sign any agreement in which the cost of pro- duction forms a part. (2.) Not to give the publisher the power of pntting the profits into his own pocket by charging for »d?. .. ernents VOL. VII." in his own organs: or by charging exchange advertise- ments. (3.) Not to allow a special charge for " office expenses," unless the same allowance is made to the author. (4.) Not to give up American, Colonial, or Continental rights. (5.) Not to give up serial or translation rights. ■(6.) Not to bind yourself for future work to any publisher. As well bind yourself for the future to any one solicitor or doctor! (7.) To stamp the agreement. III. The royalty Bystem. In this system, which has opened the door to a most amazing amount of overreaching and trading on the author's ignorance, it is above all things necessary to know what the proposed royalty means to both sides. It is now possible for an author to ascertain approximately and very nearly the truth. From time to time the very important figures connected with royalties are published in the Author. Readers can also work out the figures themselves from tho "Cost of Production." Let no one, not even the youngest writer, sign a royalty agreement without finding out what it gives the publisher as well as himself. It has been objected that these precautions presuppose a great success for the book, and that very few books indeed attain to this great success. That is quite true: but there is always this uncertainty of literary property that, although the works of a great many authors carry with them no risk at all, and although of a great many it is known within a few copies what will be their minimum circulation, it is not known what will be their maximum. Therefore every author, for every book, should arrange on the chance of a success which will not, probably, come at all; but which may come. The four points which the Society has always demanded from the outset are:— (1.) That both sides shall know what an agreement means. (2.) The inspection of those account books which belong to the author. We are advised that this is a right, in the nature of a common law right, which cannot be denied or withheld. (3.) That there shall be no Becret profits. (4.) That nothing shall be charged which has not b^et. actually paid—for instance, that there shall be no charge, c advertisements in the publisher's own organs and non^ * exchanged advertisements; and that all discounts slxa\-»^0T duly entered. If these points are carefully looked after, the anthi^^ rest pretty well assured that he is in right hands. ^ ^^ViS same time he ^jll do well to send his agreement; secretary befot^ }je siguB it. <5f ## p. 146 (#186) ############################################ 146 THE AUTHOR. HOW TO USE THE SOCIETY. 1. IiTVERY member has a right to ask for and to receive CJ advice upon his agreements, his choice of a pub- lisher, or any dispute arising in the oonduct of his business or the administration of his property. If the advice sought is such as can be given best by a solicitor, the member has a right to an opinion from the Society's solicitors. If the case is such that Counsel's opinion U desirable, the Com- mittee will obtain for him Counsel's opinion. All this without any cost to the member. 2. Remember that questions connected with copyright and publisher's agreements do not generally fall within the experience of ordinary solicitors. Therefore, do not scruple to use the Society first—our solicitors are continually engaged upon such questions for ns. 3. Send to the office copies of past agreements and past accounts with the loan of the books represented. This is in order to ascertain what has been the nature of your agree- ments, and the results to author and publisher respectively so far. The Secretary will always be glad to have any agreements, new or old, for inspection and note. The infor- mation thus obtained may prove invaluable. 4. If the examination of your previous business trans- actions by the Secretary proves unfavourable, you should take advice as to a change of publishers. 5. Before signing any agreement whatever, Bend the pro- posed document to the Society for examination. 6. The Society is acquainted with the methods, and—in the case of fraudulent houses—the tricks of every publish- ing firm in the country. 7. Remember always that in belonging to the Sooiety you are fighting the battles of other writers, even if you are reaping no benefit to yourself, and that you are advancing the best interests of literature in promoting the indepen- dence of the writer. 8. Send to the Editor of The Author notes of everything mportant to literature that you may hear or meet with. 9. The committee have now arranged for the reception of members' agreements and their preservation in a fireproof safe. The agreements will, of course, be regarded as con- fidential documents to be read only by the Secretary, who will keep the key of the safe. The Sooiety now offers:—(1) To read and advise upon agreements and publishers. (2) To stamp agreements in readiness for a possible action upon them. (3) To keep agreements. (4) To enforce-payments due according to agreements. THE AUTHORS' SYNDICATE. EMBERS are informed: 1. That the Authors' Syndicate takes charge of the business of members of the Society. That it submits MSS. to publishers and editors, concludes agree- ments, examines, passes, and collects aocounts, and, gene- rally, relieves members of the tronble of managing business details. 2. That the terms upon whioh its services can be secured will be forwarded upon detailed application. 3. That the Authors' Syndicate works only for those members of the Society whose work possesses a market value. 4. That the Syndicate can only nndertake any negotiations whatever on the distinct understanding that those negotia tions are placed exclusively in its hands, and that all communications relating thereto are referred to it. 5. That clients can only be seen by the Director by appointment, and that, when possible, at least two days' notice should be given. 6. That avery attempt is made to deal with all communi- cations promptly. That stamps should, in nil coses, be sent to defray postage. 7. That the Authors' Syndicate does not invite MSS. without previous correspondence; does not hold itself responsible for MSS. forwarded withont notice; and that in all cases MSS. must be accompanied by stamps to defray postage. 8. That the Syndicate undertakes arrangements for lectures by some of the leading members of the Society; that it has a "Transfer Department" for the sole and purchase of journals and periodicals; and that a " Register of Wants and Wanted" is open. Members are invited to communicate their requirements to the Manager. There is an Honorary Advisory Committee, whose services will be called upon in any case of dispute or difficulty. It is perhaps necessary to state that the members of the Advisory Committee have no pecuniary interest whatever in the Syndicate. NOTICES. I^HE Editor of The Author begs to remind members of the Society that, although the paper is sent to them free of charge, the cost of producing it would be a very heavy charge on the resources of the Sooiety if a great many members did not forward to the Secretary the modest 6s. 6d. subscription for the year. The Editor is always glad to receive short papers and communications on all subjects connected with literature from members and others. Nothing can do more good to the Society than to make the Author complete, attractive, and interesting. Will those who are willing to aid in this work send their names and the special subjects on whioh they are willing to write P Communications for the Author should reach the Editor not later than the 21 at of each month. All persons engaged in literary work of any kind, whether members of the Society or not, are invited to oommnnioate to the Editor any points connected with their work which it would be advisable in the general interest to publish. Members and others who wish their MSS. read are requested not to send them to the Offioe without previously communicating with the Seoretary. The utmost practicable despatch is aimed at, and MSS. are read in the order iu which they are reoeived. It must also be distinctly under- stood that the Sooiety does not, under any circumstances, undertake the publication of MSS. The Authors' Club is now open in its new premises, at 3, Whitehall-court, Charing Cross. Address the Secretary for information, rules of admission, Ac. Will members take the trouble to .ascertain whether they have paid their subscriptions for the year t If they will do this, and remit the amount, if still unpaid, or a banker's order, it will greatly assist the Secretary, and save him the trouble of sending ont a reminder. Members are most earnestly entreated to attend to the following warning. It is a most foolish and may be a most disastrous thing to enter into an agreement binding ## p. 147 (#187) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. i47 for a term of years. Let them ask themselves if they would give a solicitor the collection of their rents for five years to oome, whatever his oondnct, whether he was honest or dishonest? Of course they would not. Why then hesitate for a moment when they are asked to sign them- selves into literary bondage for three or five years? Those who possess the "Cost of Production" are requested to note that the cost of binding has advanced 15 per oent. This means, for those who do not like the trouble of "doing sums," the addition of three shillings in the pound on this head. In other words, if the cost of binding is set down in our book at eight pounds, to this must now be added twenty-four shillings more, so that it now stands at £9 41. The figures in our book are as near the exact truth as can be procured; but a printer's, or a binder's, bill is bo elastic a thing that nothing more exact can be arrived at. Some remarks have been made upon the amount charged in the " Cost of Production" for advertising. Of course, we have not included any sums whioh may be charged for inserting advertisements in the publisher's own magazines, or in other magazines by exchange. As agreements too often go, there is nothing to prevent the publisher from sweeping the whole profits of a book into his own pocket, by inserting any number of advertisements in his own magazines, and by exchanging with others. Some there are who call this a form of fraud; it is not known what those who practise this method of swelling their own profits call it. LITERARY PROPERTY. -An Official Report of the Paris Conference. THE AUTHORS' CLUB, REFERRING to the proposal of the Authors' Club to change its quarters—a question which has been referred to the members for decision—the Literary World broaches the subject of amalgamating this club with the New Vagabond Club. The latter, it says, has largely taken the wind out of the sails of the Authors' by its monthly reunions. It recognises that the one is a club in the old sense of having a permanent residence to which members can go at all times, while the other is merely a dining club with a purely nominal subscription. Our contemporary proceeds to make the following suggestion: "The simplest way of combining would be to make the monthly dinner the joint function of both clubs, and perhaps it might be possible to admit members of the New Vagabond Club to some of the privileges of the other on a reduced subscription. We have never seen much hope of success in the policy of narrowing the range of the Authors'. In these days small clubs necessarily mean large subscriptions, and authors are not, with rare exceptions, rich enough to afford them. If the committee could halve the subscription (four guineas), and thereby attract ten times the members, we should see more promise in the undertaking. There are examples of success achieved on these lines in the popular political clubs within a few doors of the Authors' present quarters." Translated from Le Droit d'Auteur, Oct. 15, 1896, p. 132. IT is important, when speaking of the results of the Paris Diplomatic Conference, to dis- tinguish between those which amount to a material and substantial advantage gained by the International Fnion, and those wbich constitute only steps towards a higher ideal of the inter- national rights of authors. Among the former must be ranged the decisions adopted on May 4, 1896, and the legislative modifications which they have already occasioned, as at Monaco, or may hereafter occasion. Such changes, however, are neither considerable nor numerous. But by no means few are the indirect consequences of the Con- ference, those moral results which the reunion will necessarily entail, which appear to be likely to be of very great value. The Berne Union has made everyone feel its vitality. It may meet with great practical difficulties in certain countries, but in its own breast it feels no misgivings. Its members may entertain divergent views about several questions, but no country disputes the leading principle which suggested the foundation of this new International Convention. No Government is hostile to the Union. On the contrary, all are animated by the strongest desire to perfect and to consolidate its work. That is the origin of the cordial and lofty unity of feeling which dominated all the discussions of the Conference. That is the origin of the energetic and fruitful exchange of ideas, and of that sense of joint responsibility which relegated personal and national opinions to the background, in order to bring into relief the one common cause, the strengthening the bonds of the Union. And it was impossible that a spectacle so encouraging at a time like the present, should not impress the delegates of the fourteen countries which have not yet signed the Berne Convention. These gentlemen found themselves in the presence of a power, actuated by a definite aim, and resolved upon attaining it by steps, deliberate it is true, but sure. That is what several of the delegates remarked at the Conference itself Others will have said the same thing to th.%lr Governments. A great tide of sympathy; surging up around the Union, as it beco^ better known, and better appreciated; and. Vv^? tide of sympathy, in itself of the greatest v»v^* will sooner or later lead to action. Vvs,i The first Toice to have made itself of$^ heard is that 0{ M- Miguel Cane\ Minister ^^-V^n^ ## p. 148 (#188) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. Argentine Republic at Paris; an acute observer, and a literary man of high rank, as his works prove. The report addressed by the Argentine delegate to the Minister of Foreign Affairs at Buenos Ayres, on May 8, 1896, has been pub- lished by an Argentine journal, not inconside- rately, but, as we are informed, "on purpose to evoke expressions of opinion." The conversion of a man of M. Cane's intellectual standing should be placed to the credit account of the Conference of Paris. He has become a fully convinced apostle of the cause of the Convention, and makes before his fellow countrymen the most explicit avowal of his sentiments. This fact might well be recommended to the considera- tion of those who, on the other side of the sea, suppose that they can still defend the lawfulness of literary piracy. We shall analyse this report for their benefit. M. Cane, after having briefly described the results of the Conference, explains the position of the delegates representing countries outside the Union, and more particularly his own; and he says: "In one of my first communications I explained to your Excellency that my views, at the moment when I received the honourable commission to represent my Government at the Conference, were opposed to all arrangements respecting literary and artistic property. In fact, the subject had never seriously occupied my attention, and I must humbly confess that I was even ignorant of the approval, on the part of the Argentine Congress, of the Treaty concluded at Monte Video on Jan. 11,1889. I was at this time of the opinion, a mistaken one, that it was by no means advantageous for a country that produced little or nothing in the way of art to agree to treaties intended to limit the free right of reproduction of foreign intellectual works. In this matter I did not take my stand upon the question of the material interests of the publishing trade (about which I was indifferent), but I took the higher view of the possibility of placing within the reach of the public at the low prices which illegitimate re- production makes possible, the means of in- structing their minds, and of improving their tastes. "But in the presence of the Treaty of Monte Video, which is at present law amongst us, I at once perceived that it was no longer possible for me, in my official character, absolutely to main- tain these positive opinions, when the Argentine Government—following the bent of the civilised world—had admitted the principle of the recog- nition of the rights of the intellectual worker. Afterwards, reflection, seconded by long conver- sations with eminent men, amongst whom were many of those who were delegates at the Con- ference, convinced me that the liberty to commit literary theft, which is accorded to the publisher and booksellers in the Argentine Republic, must in the end inevitably lead to two results, and these results are already palpably discernible amongst us. "The first is the propagation, generally in the form of vile translations, of an unwholesome, low- classed literature, absolutely incapable of elevating or even of maintaining at its present level the intel- lectual status of our country, which if not high, is frankly progressive, like that of all new countries. It is not literary works of the highest class that tempt the covetousness of publishers, but naturalistic novels, indecent prints (estampes obscenes), trivial music, and marbles and bronzes which can be termed works of art only by an indulgent misuse of words. Is it for the sake of insuring diffusion of educational forces of this sort that a country is justified in stifling the voice of conscience com- manding it to protect all lawful rights? "The second result is that the nation's own pro- ductiveness, in the way of literature and of the arts, does not find, and cannot find, the means neces- sary for its existence and for its development, in consequence of the irresistible competition of the foreign product, whose form and character I have just described. Now, if, guided by a sense of moral dignity, and by a sense of what I believe I have demonstrated to be the wider interests of our country, the Argentine Republic would join the Berne Convention, the publishers established amongst us would have, when reproducing foreign works, to pay the authors for their rights. If compelled to do this, it is certain they would not dream of reproducing any works except those of the highest rank, whose importance and certain sale would indemnify them from the expenses incurred in the acquisition of the rights. As for foreign educational works, one of two things will ensue: either their value will guarantee a profit which will amply compensate for the payment made to the authors, or else they will not be reproduced, but be easily replaced by national productions. "Apart, however, from all these utilitarian con- siderations, I am persuaded, vour Excellency, that if a tinker possesses, by law, the absolute right over any saucepan which he has made, there can be no reason, in a civilised country like ours, for depriving of the same legal pro- tection the literary man or the artist, who by intense cerebral labour has produced a book, a picture, a statue, or an opera. The base of our social organisation is property. The theory in accordance with which a work of art is less the individual production of the artist than the ## p. 149 (#189) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. 149 product of his epoch or his intellectual circum- stances, and so ought rather to belong to humanity collectively (because that has rendered the production possible) than to the individual, could not be logically applied to intellectual products alone. It would be even more reason- ably applicable to those industrial products which the law, nevertheless, distinctly protects. "These are the views which, as well as the above-mentioned Treaty of Monte Video of 1889, ■determined the attitude I felt it my duty to take at the last sitting of the Conference. In the few •words which I, on that occasion, spoke to express my thanks for the invitation addressed to my -Government by the Government of France, I mentioned what had been already done in this direction in the Argentine Republic—I refer to the example of honesty set by some of our journals who have made arrangements with foreign authors for the reproduction of their works—and, without committing my Government, I expressed my resolute intention to do all in my power to persuade the Argentine Republic to join the Berne Convention. No doubt, at th3 present moment, our accession to the Union involves practical difficulties, because there is no law regulating such matters amongst us. The Berne Convention constantly refers to the interior legislation of the contracting countries, to which legislation it leaves a very wide latitude. And in case of a contravention of the Treaty, our tribunals would not be able to exact penalties which do not exist. I believe, then, that if the Argentine Government decides upon entering into the Union created by the Berne Convention, the first step to be taken will be to pass a special law bearing upon these matters." M. Cane then recommends that in the prepara- tion of this enactment a middle course should be taken between the French law, which is very concise and very liberal, and the new Norwegian law, which is very explicit. In his opinion it would be enough, until further experience had been gained, to establish a recognition of the author's right, the duration of copyright, a clear enumeration of the works which are to be pro- tected, and the penalty to be exacted for any infraction of the law. When the working of the new law had brought its faults, or inconveniences, to light, it might be reformed; or even abrogated, if joining the Union turned out, after all, pre- judicial to the evident interest of the country. In M. Cane's opinion, however, there is no danger of its turning out to be anything of the kind. We sincerely congratulate M. Cane upon the promptitude with which he has entered the lists m the cause of honesty and right, and not less upon his courageous explanations, which are 3, victorious confutation of the obstinate prejudices of many of his compatriots. II.—Denmark and the Union. A copyright law, which would permit Denmark to join the Berne Union has a good chance of being passed by the Danish Parliament which assembled on Oct. 5. Since Norway has joined the Union active opposition to international copy- right in Denmark is much diminished. {Droit <TAuteur.) III.—Agreement with Publisher. The Droit d'Auteur giveB the following points from the report upon "Agreement with Publisher," which M. Pouillet presented to the Berne Congress. It should be mentioned that the Association has given up the project of elaborating an international law for the regula- tion of the publisher's agreement, first of all, on account of the vast differences of usage in different countries ; and, secondly, because it was impossible to provide for all contingencies. On the other hand, its investigations led to the esta- blishment of a certain number of points, respect- ing which there exists, at least in theory, a pretty general agreement. These points are :— The agreement with the publisher is a contract by which the author confers upon the publisher the right to reproduce his work in a certain number of copies. The agreement is always presumed to refer to one kind of reproduction only, and to be of limited application. If the agreement does not fix the number of editions, the publisher has a right to publish only one edition. The author cannot renounce the usual hono- rarium unless there is an expressed understanding to that effect. The author is to assure the publisher the free enjoyment of the right ceded him. The publisher is to publish the work as promptly as possible, and to make it known to the public by all means at his disposal. If the agreement refers to several successive editions, the publisher is to bring out the new editions so as to avoid any interruption in the delivery of the work. tC\ 1 • WOrk' -ulUbed as banded over by fiJtS? "i0 1» V^tt ^bidden to make a^r. The 6bape at notes or jnake in the proofs _„ consider nseinl, ^ ,. u,ts a t,D be • ## p. 150 (#190) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. these corrections do not diminish the value of the work. The rights conferred upon the publisher by the agreement cannot be transferred by him, except in the case of his parting with his stock-in-trade. If the dues payable to the author depend upon the number of the copies sold, the publisher ought to vouch for the number sold by a memo- randum signed both by himself and by the printer, He ought also to furnish the binder's memorandum. Every fraud respecting the number of copies published will be punished as a penal offence, without prejudicing the damages to be claimed. IV.—Proposed Law for the Stamping of Books. In July last M. Vignu d'Octon, Member for the Department of Herault, delivered to the Bureau of the Chamber of Deputies a draft of a law requir- ing an official stamp to be affixed to every copy of every work published in France. In explanation of his aims we subjoin the enacting clauses of the proposed law. Art. i.—Printed publications of every kind, with the exception of newspapers and periodical publications, and of those which comprise altogether less than one page of letterpress, are to have affixed to them a special stamp intended as a guarantee of their authenticity. In the case of works in several volumes the stamp is to be affixed to every volume. In the case of works which appear in parts the stamp is to be affixed to the first part of every volume, if the actual text of the work comprised in the part extends at least to one page of letterpress, exclu- sive of title, engravings, preface, introduction, or table of contents. Art. 2.—At the time when each stamp is affixed the State shall be entitled to receive a sum not exceeding one centime per copy. A public regulation shall determine all details respecting the affixing of the stamp, the places in which it shall be affixed, the forms in which the affixing of the stamp shall be registered, and all other measures for the execution of this law. Art. 3.—The stamp is obligatory, and forms an integral part of the volume. Every unstamped copy will be regarded as a piracy. Art. 4.—Works of which the copyright has ex- pired do not require to be stamped. Art. 5.—The present law applies to Algiers and the Colonies. M. Vignc d'Octon explains his reasons for proposing this law as follows :— "The existing laws and enactments require j>rinters and publishers to deposit, at the Pre- fecture and at the Home Office, two copies of the works which they publish, and bind them at the same time to declare the actual number of printed copies drawn from the press. Without wishing to enter into all the reasons which prompted these regulations, it is evident that authors would find in the exact compliance with the above formalities both an evidence of the royalties to which they are entitled, and also an easy method of verifying the multiplication of their works. But if the formalities of deposit are exactly complied with, the same cannot be said of the declarations con- cerning the number of copies printed. As a rule, no information is given after the first edition. Such statements as are made present no guarantees of correctness; and there is no way of checking thorn. In consequence, difficulties between authors and publishers are not only possible, but, as a matter of fact, frequently occur; difficulties which arise from the peculiar character of literary property, and indeed from the very nature of intellectual works. At the same time, it cannot be doubted that every copy of a work printed without the consent—whether gratuitous or remunerated—of the author is a piracy; and both authors and readers should be secured against this piracy. In the course of last March the committee of the Societe des Gens de Lettres had presented to it by M. Chosson (the author of the most exhaustive, fullest, and clearest work on literary property which we possess) a suggestion that volumes should l)e so- stamped as to verify the number of copies printed. No action, however, was taken, as it was feared that all private enterprise would be powerless to check long established commercial practices, howsoever great their injustice. I ought not to omit to mention that, at a date which I cannot exactly fix, my illustrious master, M. Edmond de Goncourt, devoted himself to the consideration and preparation of a law to the same effect. My proposal is, therefore, one analogous to that of M. Chosson and of M. Edmond de Goncourt; and I make it considering that it is the first duty of the Legislator to correct the imperfections of previous laws, and to regulate the possession and working of intellectual property, which, by its very nature, is insufficiently protected by general enactments." _ V.—The Question of Agreements. Mr. H. A. Moncrieff writes to the Publishers' Circular and Booksellers' Record, of Nov. 21, upon a recent decision on a question of copy- right law. Generally speaking, he says, in agree- ments made between authors and publishers, based upon the principle of a division of profits, the idea is that the publisher shall find the money ## p. 151 (#191) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. •5' for the joint venture, take all risks, bear all losses, and divide any profits at certain fixed periods. In the case to which he refers, a certain publisher A. had contracted with an author B. to print and publish his works on these conditions. The agreements for each book were of a personal nature, only the actual contracting parties being mentioned. For a time matters went smoothly, but presently there seem to have been differences about profits. Shortly afterwards A. got into financial difficulties, and Mr. Moncrieff was was appointed receiver. "On going through A.'s agreement," he says, "I saw that my rights, even under the compre- hensive order made by the Court, were by no means definite, and for this reason I approached B. with a view to induce him to buy out A., and so be free to make arrangements elsewhere for the future publication of his works. Interviews and negotiations dragged on for over two months, and it is only fair to B. to say that he acted throughout in a courteous snd friendly way. Unfortunately, I failed to obtain an offer from him. Finally, another publisher, C, made an offer for the stock and such rights as I had, C. being prepared to take all risks, and I verbally agreed to accept this offer, subject to the consent of the Court. It will be understood that B. could only claim one half interest in the stock and plant, and as C. was prepared to make new and liberal terms with B., the arrangement promised to satisfy all parties. . , . At this stage of the proceed- ings the family solicitor was consulted and a writ was promptly issued. The author was 'pro- tected' by stopping the circulation of his books and the revenue therefrom, and the advantages of this action are somewhat doubtful. The writ claimed: "(i) Au injunction against A. and the receiver, restraining either or both from parting with or selling any of the property comprised in any of the several agreements between A. and B. "(2) That these contracts had lapsed and deter- mined by A.'s failure, B. being an uupaid credi- tor; and in the Court it was argued that, A. being insolvent, the solvent partner, B., was en- titled to custody. "(3) Damages for breach of contract and power to appoint a receiver. "The motion was argued at some leDgth, and many well-known precedents were, as usual, cited. Eventually the Court held: "(1) That the contracts between A. and B. were of a personal nature, and could not be assigned by A. without the consent of B. way of trade, but B. was entitled to his share of any profits arising from such sales. "(3) That the property as a whole should not be sold or assigned to a third party within the consent of the Court." "This decision," continues Mr. Moncrieff, "decides for the time being a point upon which much uncertainty of opinion seems to prevail, and it may be capable of wide application. If A. personally and expressly- contracts with B., the former cannot assign and transfer the sup- posed benefits—or otherwise—to a third party without the consent of B., and that consent B. is not legally bound to give. "If A. takes a partner into business with him, these personal contracts do not pass to that partner. Unless he continues the business in A.'s name he may have no right to reprint A.'s books, and it is doubtful whether he can publish them at all except by consent. If A. wishes to sell a few of his unprofitable speculations, and he often does wish, he is absolutely at the mercy of the authors under such contracts as these. The so-called goodwill of A.'s business, so far as it consists of personal contracts, is not his own, but a joint and indivisible asset, and as such cannot be transferred without the consent of all parties interested. "While willing to admit that there is something to be said from the author's point of view, I contend that these personal contracts imply a grave risk to the publisher. It goes without saying that many firms quite understand this, and never put their hands to such documents. But I have in my possession at this moment over fifty agreements, some printed forms, and bearing names well known in the publishing world, and the bulk of them make no provision for con- tingencies highly probable in ordinary life. Common sense and mutual interests may prove sufficient to counteract mischief in many cases, but after my own experiences of late I should prefer to rely on a tight and comprehensive agree- ment, with a stamp on it." ere "(2) The existing stock, being joint proper sated while the contracts were valid an.(j h force, could be sold by the receiver in the na ^ —' VOL. VII. VI.—Griffith v. The Tower Publishing Company Limited and Moncrieff. (High Court of Justice.—Chancery Division, before Mr. Justice Stirling.) This case raised a question of considerable importance to authors and publishers as to the assignability of the rights under a publishing agreetnent. The plaintiff was the author of three >,0vel3) catted "The Angel of the Revolu- tion'» ifflffa Romanoff, or the Syren of the SkU A 0uttaws of the Air," in ^ V' & „r\i °f "which be had entered into an ## p. 152 (#192) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. agreement with the Tower Publishing Company for their publication in volumes, the novels having previously been published in serial parts in Pearson's Weekly, The agreements in ques- tion were made by letters passing between the manager of the company and the plaintiff, and by them the company undertook the publication of the books upon the terms that they took all risks and were only to charge the plaintiff with actual out-of-pocket costs of printing and adver- tising, and were to hand over to him half of the ascertained profits. The copyright of the works was to remain with the plaintiff and Mr. Pearson, with the proviso that the defendant company was to have the sole right of producing the works iu volumes subject to the agreements. The defen- dant Moncrieff was the receiver, who had been appointed by the court in a debenture-holder's action brought against the company, and he had informed the plaintiff that it was his intention to sell the whole of the assets of the company, including the benefit of the agreements between the company and the plaintiff, without consulting him. In consequence of this the plaintiff brought this action, and now moved for an injunction to restrain the defendants from selling without his consent any of the property or assets in their possession under or by virtue of the agreements, and also from selling or assigning without the like consent the benefits, rights, or interest alleged by the defendants to be vested in them under the agreements. Mr, Millar, Q.C., and Mr. T. B. Napier appeared for the plaintiff, and argued that such agreements were merely personal to the individual entering into them, and could not be assigned. They relied upon the following cases:—Hole v. Bradbury (L. Rep. 12 Ch. Div. 886); Stevens v. Benniny (24 L. J. 153, Ch.), and Read v. Bentley (4K. &J. 656). Mr. Hastings, Q.C., and Mr. E. Ford, for the defendant Moncrieff, contended that the principle of those authorities did not apply to the case of an agreement between an author and a limited company. With regard to the copies of the books in his hands as receiver, and the illustration plates and other matters in connection therewith, he was willing to undertake not to dispose of them except under the direction of the court in this action. The company did not appear. Mr. Justice Stirling said that, if the agreement in question had been entered into by the plaintiff and an individual or a partnership firm, the authorities were clear that the contract was of a personal nature, and the benefit of it was not assignable. It was said that there was a difference between that case and the case of a similar con- tract with a limited company. His Lordship would hesitate long before accepting that view of the law. The result would, he thought, be very startling to many authors who had entered into publishing agreements with the numerous firms which had recently been turned into limited com- panies. It would be going too far to lay down such a principle. Authors might reasonably have confidence in a company, just as much as in an individual or partnership firm. His Lordship thought it would be wrong to draw any such distinction as was suggested. The other part of the case had been very fairly met by the defendant, and his Lordship would accept the undertaking. From the Times, Oct. 31. VII.—Control of Copyright. It is absolutely necessary that writers of scien- tific, technical, medical, educational, theological, &c., works, should not part with their copyright. These books 0 instantly require to be brought up to date on account of new discoveries and fresh knowledge on the subject. It is therefore of the utmost importance that the author should he able at stated intervals to regain the control of his book. Several cas. s have come before the Society in which a specialist writer on a given subject has had the fruits of his labours taken out of his hands by the fact that he has sold the copyright, and cannot regain control of his work. VTII.—The Liability of Publishers. At the Westminster County Court, yesterday, his Honour, Lumley Smith, tried the case of JVatson v. Newnes, ,in which the plaintiff, Mr. Robert Watson, a journalist and author, sued Messrs. George Newnes and Co., publishers, to recover damages for injury alleged to have been done to the manuscript of a novel which had been placed in their hands with a view to publication. The plaintiff was called, and said he was a journalist. In the early part of the present year he submitted to the defendants the manu- script of a novel for the purpose of inser- tion in one of their journals. But, after keeping it for five months, the defendants returned it, in a damaged and disordered condition. The defence was that the novel was found to be unsuitable for publication, and that so far as the defendants were aware, it was returned in the same con- dition as it was received, In giving judgment his Honour said the plaintiff's case failed as to the delay, and as to the damage to the manu- script he did not think it was proved. Judg- ment, therefore, would be for the defendants.— The Daily News, Nov. 13. ## p. 153 (#193) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. i53 IX.—Pitt Pitts v. E. George and Co. Friday, November 6, 1896. In the Court of Appeal, before Lord Justice Lindley, Lord Justice Lopes, and Lord Justice Kigby. [From the shorthand notes of Messrs. Marten, Meredith, and Henderson, 13, New-inn, Strand, taken for the Society.] Judgment. Lord Justice Lindley.—The plaintiffs aie the assignees of the English copyright in a German piece of music published at Leipsic, and they seek to restrain the defendants from importing into this country for sale here, copies of the piece of music lawfully printed in Leipsic and sold to the defendants in Brussels. The title of the plaintiffs is admitted; and it is conceded that although they have not registered their assignments, that circumstance is imma- terial having regard to the International Copy- right Act, 1886, and to the decision in Hanf- staengl v. The American Tobacco Company (1895, 1 Queen's Bench, page 347). It is further con- ceded that the question turns on the statutes relating to copyright in books, and not on the statutes relating to the performance of musical composition or dramatic pieces. Mr. Justice Kekewich decided that the defen- dants were not infringing the plaintiffs' rights; and from that decision the plaintiffs have appealed. The case turns on the true construction of sections 2, 11, 13, 15, and 17 of the Copyright Act, 1842 (5 & 6 Victoria, chapter 45) ; and of sections 2, 3, 10 of the International Copyright Act, 1844 (7 Victoria, chapter 12). The Copy- right Act of 1842 (5 <fc 6 Victoria, chapter 45) has no reference to copyright in foreign works under any International Copyright Act. It contains, however, two sections for the protection of copyright in other books, namely, sections 15 and 17. Section 15 gives a remedy by action on the case for (1) printing in any part of the British dominions, for sale or exportation, any book in which there is copyright, without the consent in writing of the proprietor of the copy- right; (2) importing for sale or hire any such book so unlawfully printed; (3) selling, publish- ing, or exposing for sale or hire any such book known to have been so unlawfully printed or imported; (4) possessing for sale or hire any such book known to have been so unlawfully printed or imported. The section is so wordpri as apparently not to hit the importation of co> • printed in foreign countries. This result V^S to the use of the expressions "such book" ^\jg vou vii. "so having been unlawfully printed," which occur after the clause which prohibits printing. I understand these expressions to mean as follows: "Such book" means any book in which there ia copyright under the Act. "So having been un- lawfully printed," means printed in any part of the British dominions without the written consent of the proprietor of the copyright. Section 17, however, goes further as regards the importation of printed books first composed or written or printed and published in the United Kingdom. If there is copyright in such books, the importa- tion of copies into any part of the British dominions for sale or hire, except by the pro- prietor of the copyright or by some one autho- rised by him, is absolutely prohibited wherever such copies may be printed, and all such copies may be seized and destroyed by the officers of customs or excise. Penalties, moreover, are inflicted on the importers, and on persons who sell, publish, expose for sale, or let for hire copies known by them to have been unlawfully imported. This section, however, is confined entirely to printed books first composed or written, or printed and published in the United Kingdom. It does not apply to other books. Neither of these sections prohibits importation for private use, but only importation for sale or hire; neither of them, moreover, is framed with a view to protect copy- right in books first published in foreign countries, nor would the language of these sections be applicable to such books unless made so by some other statute. Neither of these sections, moreover, alludes to any remedy by way of injunction. But having regard to well settled principles of Courts of Equity, there can be no doubt that an injunc- tion would be granted to protect the owner of copyright conferred by the Act, and to restrain an infringement of either section. I pass now to the International Copyright Act, 1844 (7 & 8 Victoria, chapter 12). This statute replaced an earlier International Copyright Act of 1838 (1 & 2 Victoria, chapter 59), which was found insufficient for the purpose of enabling the Crown to confer on the authors of works first published in foreign countries, copyright to the same extent and with the same remedies for infringement as the authors of works first pub- lished in this country enjoyed under our own Copyright Acts. The preamble of the Act of 1844 alludes to this defect, and its main object is to remedy it. Accordingly section 2 enables the Crowti to confer on the authors of books first pub- lished in foreign countries, the privilege of copy- right Vi rei*1' an<^ sec^on 3 Cllacts that persons on wh.<\ tike , privilege i8 conferred shall be entitled to IV* 8 fit °* t1ie Act 5 & 6 Vlttoria> chapter *Vtv hefl^wie manner as if such books had been 45> *2 ## p. 154 (#194) ############################################ '54 THE AUTHOR. first published in the United Kingdom. The language of this section 3 is so important that I will read it: "And be it enacted that in case any such order shall apply to books, all and singular the enactments of the said Copyright Amendment Act, and of any other Act for the time being in force with relation to the copyright in books first published in this country, shall from and after the time so to be specified in that behalf in such order and subject to such limitation as to the duration of the copyright as shall be therein con- tained, apply to and. be in force in respect of the books to which such order shall extend, and which shall have been registered as hereinafter is pro- vided, in such and the same manner as if such books were first published in the United King- dom." Then there is an exception about the British Museum which I pass over. This section, unless controlled by section 10, requires the court in effect, and so far as possible, to apply sections 15 and 17 of 5 & 6 Victoria, chapter 45, to books first published in foreign countries. But before attempting to do this it is necessary to consider section 10 of the Act of 1844, and to ascertain to what extent, if at all, it modifies section 3 or excludes the application of the sections 15 and 17 of the Act of 5 & 6 Victoria, chapter 45. Section 10 of the 7 & 8 Victoria, chapter 12, is as follows: "And be it enacted that all copies of books wherein there shall l>e any subsisting copyright under or by virtue of this Act, or of any Order in Council made in pursuance thereof, printed or reprinted in any foreign country except that in which such books were first published, shall be, and the same are hereby, absolutely Tjrohibited to be imported into any part of the British dominions, except by or with the consent of the registered proprietor of the copyright thereof, or his agent authorised in writing, and if imported contrary to this pro- hibition, the same and the importers thereof shall be subject to the enactments in force relating to goods prohibited to be imported by any Act relating to the customs ; and as respects any such copies so prohibited to be imported, and also as respects any copies unlawfully printed in any place whatsoever of any books wherein there shall be any such subsisting copyright as aforesaid, any person who shall in any psrt of the British dominions import such prohibited or unlawfully printed copies, or who, knowing such copies to be so unlawfully imported or unlawfully printed, shall sell, publish, or expose to sale or hire, or shall cause to be sold, published, or exposed to sale or hire, or have in his possession for sale or liire, any such copies so unlawfully imported or unlawfully printed, such offender shall be liable to a special action on the case at the suit of the proprietor of such copyright, to be brought and prosecuted in the same courts and in the same manner, and with the like restrictions upon the proceedings of the defendant, as are respectively prescribed in the said Copyright Amendment Act with relation to actions thereby authorised to be brought by proprietors of copyright against persons importing or selling books unlawfully printed in the British dominions." It will be observed that this section expressly excepts from its operation the importation of copies made in the country in which the copyright book was first published. This exception is quite new, and the reason for it is not stated. Moreover, the express prohibition against importation does not extend to copies printed in any of the British dominions. Such copies are, however, included in the second part of the section, which gives a remedy by action in respect of the importation of books unlawfully printed anywhere. The con- sequence appears to be that the Customs-house officers cannot, under section 10, seize any copies of a foreign book in which there is copyright under the Act of 1844 unless such copies have been printed in some foreign country other than that in which the book was first printed. Copies printed in that country or in any part of the British dominions cannot be so seized under the section in question. The reason for this is difficult to discover. The power of seizing copies wrongfully imported for sale or hire under section 17 of the 5 & 6 Victoria, chapter 45, extends to copies printed anywhere abroad. Again, in framing section 10 the Legislature, in prohibiting importation, has drawn no dis- tinction between importation for sale or hire and importation for other purposes. The distinction drawn is between importation with the consent of the proprietor of the copyright, and importation without such consent. This was no doubt deemed an improvement. But why section 10 was framed as it is, and why, if intended to qualify and cut down the effect of section 3, those two sections should be left as they are, I confess I am unable to discover. But however difficult it may be to account for the language in which section 10 is expressed, it is not difficult to interpret that language as it stands. Beading it in its plain literal sense, the present case is expressly excepted from the operation of the section, for the impor- tation complained of is of copies not only printed, but also lawfully printed, in the country in which the copyright work was first published. So that the present case is not covered either by the first part of the section, which prohibits im- portation; nor by the second part, which gives a remedy by action. We are thus thrown back on sections 15 and 17 of 5 & 6 Victoria, ## p. 155 (#195) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. i55 chapter 45, with a direction (see sect. 3 of the Act of 1844) to apply them to a case to which their language is apparently inapplicable, and with a statement (see the preamble) that the •object is to confer on the owners of copyright in foreign works greater rights than would have been conferred upon them under the earlier Inter- national Copyright Act, and similar in all respects to those enjoyed by British authors. The work here in question must be deemed to have been first published in this country, and the plaintiff must be treated as if he were the owner of the copyright in this country in such work. Section 30? the Act of 1844 clearly requires these assumptions to be made. Section 3 does not say "first printed and published," but I do not attach importance to this verbal criticism. To attribute importance would nullify section 3. I take " publish in section 3 to include printing for publication. They appear to me necessarily to involve as consequences that the expressions "such book" and "so having been unlawfully printed" which occur in sections 15 and 17 of 5 & 6 Victoria, chapter 45, must be applied to the work the copyright in which belongs to the plaintiff. I have already pointed out that this could not be their meaning in the statute 5 & 6 Victoria, chapter 45. Even if section 15 cannot be held to apply owing to its language being restricted to printing in the British dominions, section 17 can, for, as already pointed out, its scope is under. To hold that neither section applies is to hold that section 3 of the Act of 1844 is absolutely nugatory; and in obedienee to this section the difficulties in applying sections 15 and 17 of 5 & 6 Victoria, chapter 45, to this case must be got over. The alterna- tive is to hold that the plaintiff has no remedy for a manifest injury, and that Parlia- ment failed in 1844 to give effect to its de- clared intention. Mr. Scrutton, in his very able argument, almost persuaded me that this was so. His contention was that section 10 was intended to be a code containing a complete enumeration of the remedies available for an infringement of copyright in foreign works, and that it was in- consistent with sections 15 and 17 of 5 & 6 Victoria, chapter 45, if applied to such copyright. I confess I was much struck with this contention, but I cannot adopt it. Section 10 is certainly not a complete code, for in the face of section 3 it cannot be regarded as impliedly depriving the proprietors of copyright under the Act of 1844 of any of the rights which that section, and the statute there referred to, confer upon them, ijn truth is, that when closely examined section will be found not to cover the whole »>, \° covered by section 3 and the incorporated s^?^d 15 and 17 of 5 & 6 Victoria, chapter 45. What then is the true inference from the express exception in section 10? Is it to be inferred that the foreigner entitled to copyright in this country is liable to have that copyright infringed by any importer of books printed in his own country? Or is the inference to be that as regards such books he is entitled to the same protection as a British author would have under the Act of 1842? The latter inference is most in accordance with legal principles and good sense, and is the only inference which is consistent with the preamble and section 3 of the Act of 1844. If the defendants' contention were correct, it would follow that a foreign author could assign his English copyright, and import and sell copies of his work here in competition with his own assignee unless prevented from so doing by express agreement. Such a state of our law would not be very creditable, and I am glad to find that the court is not driven to hold the law to be so unsatisfactory; nor to hold that, owing to a blunder in drafting, the Legislature has con- spicuously failed to attain its declared and mani- fest object. One other point was urged which requires notice. The defendants are purchasers of the books they have imported, and it is contended that they have a right to dispose of those books as they like without any interference from the owner of the foreign copyright or from the plaintiffs who claim under him. The right, however, of the defendant to use in this country the books which he bought abroad depends on the law of this country, and not on the law of the place of sale. The copyright in this country confers upon the plaintiffs rights here which no contract of sale abroad by other persons can deprive them of. Even if the defendant had bought his copies direct from the proprietor of the foreign copyright, the defendant would be in no better position as against the plaintiffs than such proprietor himself; and for reasons already given he could not justify what the defendant claims the right to do. The appeal must be allowed with costs here and below. An injunction must be granted to restrain future importations for sale or hire without the consent of the plaintiff, and there must be an- inquiry as to the damages sustained by the plaintiff by reason of the importation for sale or h.ire of 9UC^ copies before the date of this j^^^gtice Lopes.—It is with great diffidence thj»4^ i-rfot from m? ^rot,hers in this case, who H \ al*1 ^ore familiar than I am with these ^.^ . ..K'T* 1 Ms/but after careful consideration I £cte,^vit after careful consideration \ / ## p. 156 (#196) ############################################ •56 THE AUTHOR. have arrived at the same conclusion as Mr. Justice Kekewich in the Court below. The piece of music in question was first published in Leipsic, and the plaintiffs are the assignees of the English copyright in this German piece of music. Copies of the piece of music printed in Leipsic and sold to the defendant in Brussels have been imported into this country for sale here. The plaintiffs seek to restrain the defendants from such importation. Whether they can do so depends on certain provisions in the Copyright Acts which are by no means clear. Sections 15 and 17 of the 5 & 6 Victoria, chapter 45, have been relied on. I cannot discover how the prohibition contained in section 15 can apply to the importa- tion of books printed in foreign countries in which an English author had no copyright. This section applies to the British dominions only. Nor can I see how section 17 applies to a case like the present. It is directed against the importation of foreign copies of copyright works, first composed or written or printed in the United Kingdom. This piece of music was first published in a foreign country, namely, in Germany. ■ We must now look at the 7 & 8 Victoria, chapter 12, and the important section is section 10. This section deals with copies of books (books by the interpretation section including sheets of music) subsisting under this Act or of any Order in Council made in pursuance thereof, but printed or reprinted in this country. If there was nothing more this section would cover the present case, but there occur in the section these important words " in any foreign countries except that in which such books were first published." I am unable to disregard this excep- tion, which in my judgment was inserted to meet a case like the present. It is said that the exception is to be disregarded because section 3 of the same Act says that "in case any such order" (that is to say, the Order in Council) "shall apply to books all and singular the enact- ments of the said Copyright Amendment Act (5 & 6 Victoria, chapter 45) and if any other Act for the time being in force with relation to the copyright in books first published in this country shall from and after the time so to be specified in that behalf in such order, and sub- ject to such limitation as to the duration of the copyright as shall be therein contained, apply to and be in force in respect of the books to which such order shall extend, and which shall have been registered as hereinafter is provided in such and the same manner as if such books were first published in the United Kingdom," &c. The question is whether anything in the section is so repugnanc to the exception contained in section 10 as to render it inoperative. I think they may be read together, section 3 dealing with foreign countries, not being countries where such books were first published, and section 10 excepting countries where the books were first published. It is said this imposes a great hard- ship on the plaintiff and assignee circumstanced in the same way as the plaintiff. That may be so, but we have to construe the Acts of Parliament,, and the plaintiff might have protected himself by an express covenant. I think that this appeal should be dismissed with costs. Lord Justice Rigby.—This case has been argued only on the construction of the two Acts of 1842 and 1844, as modified with reference to registra- tion by section 4 of the Act of 1886. It seems necessary, however, to refer to other Acts for the purpose of arriving at a clear view of the whole scheme of copyright law at any given time. The material section of the Acts are singularly involved in their provisions, owing, no doubt, partly to the difficulty of getting through Parlia- ment any Bill extending the right of authors, and partly to the fact that provisions for the protec- tion of copyright were confused with provisions for the protection of revenue, as will hereafter appear. The Copyright Amendment Act, 1842 (5 <fe 6 Victoria, chapter 45), whether by section 15 or by section 17, provides only against importation for sale or hire. A book lawfully printed abroad might, so far as this Act is concerned, be law- fully imported by the owner for his own private use, although not for sale or hire. The statute of 1709, the 8th of Anne, chapter 19, gave copy- right only in Great Britain, and made no distinc- tion between copies imported for sale and other copies imported. The distinction between impor- tation for sale and other importations was in 1735, as I think for the first Time, introduced in an Act for the protection of copyright in engravings— that is the 8th George II., chapter 13. But the Act which seems to have afforded a basis for section 17 of the Act of 1842 is the Act of 1739, the 12th of George II., chapter 36. It was not a copyright statute at all, but a Revenue Act founded upon the consideration that the duty on paper imported for printing books exceeded the duty on printed books. The statute was not required for the protection of copyright in books. It was fully effectuated as to importations by the statute of 1709. The prohibition extended to books in which there was no copyright, if only there had been a printing of them within twenty years. The printing was in that Act the very thing aimed at, whilst in the Copyright Acts the ## p. 157 (#197) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. 157 protection of the owner of the copyright is the important point. This Act related to importa- tions into Great Britain only. The International Copyright Act of 1838 (1 & 2 Victoria, chapter 59), repealed by the Act of 1844, by section 1, empowered Her Majesty by Order in Council to direct that the authors of books pub- lished in any foreign countries, or their executors, administrators, and assigns, should have the sole liberty of printing and reprinting such books within the United Kingdom and every other part of the British dominions. Sect. 8 enacted that" if any person in the United Kingdom or any other part of the British dominions should print, reprint or import for sale "—there is no doubt the word means imported from a foreign country for sale —" any book to which the Order in Council should extend without the consent of the author or other proprietor of the copyright first had and obtained in writing, shall be liable to special action on the case at the suit of the author or other proprietor of the copyright." It is manifest that the copyright here spoken of is the British copyright under the British International Copy- right Act, and it is to be observed that no exception is made of books imported from the foreign country where they were first published. On the other hand, the importation of books otherwise than for sale, as for instance for hire or for the private use of the importer, was not struck at. The Copyright Amendment Act, 1842, like the Act of 1838, extended the copyright to the whole of the British dominions. Section 15 of this Act is in pari materia with section 8 of the Act of 1838. Its operation is extended as to imports by adding to the words "for sale" the words "or hire," but as to the importations which it is aimed at we should expect to find them to be the same in both sections, and I have been unable to see any reason why there should be any difference in this respect. Section 17 of the Act as before suggested, and a comparison of the wording, shows it is evidently based 011 the Act of 1739, adding to the words "for sale" the words "or hire." Probably in both sections the words "or hire" are introduced because of the development of the circulating library system. Comparing therefore the Act of 1838 with that of 1842, the first named Act authorised, subject only to questions raised on the precise construction of section 15 and 17 of 'he later Act, at least the same amount of protection from imported books to be given to copyright under that Act, which was giv^n to copyright in books first published iu 11 United Kingdom by the last Act, except +, importation for hire was not prohibited. Jjfe.*W Act prevented the importation from f. Hqgf countries of books for the private use of the importer. It is, however, material to be noted tint by an Act to amend the laws relating to the Customs (5 & 6 Victoria, chapter 49), which came into operation a few days after the Copyright Amendment Act, and must have been before Parliament while the last-mentioned Act was under consideration, on a recital in section 23 "that great abuse had prevailed with respect to the introduction into this country for private use of works reprinted abroad, to the ureat injury of the authors thereof and of others," it was by section 24 enac ed that from and after the 1st April, 1843, all books wherein copyright should be subsis ing, first comjx>se.! or written or printed in he United Kingdom, and printed or reprhred in any other country, should be and the same were absolutely prohibited to be imported into the United Kingdom. It seems therefore that there was no substantia! depar.ure as to importations from the policy of the Act of 1709. We have to approach the consideration of th j International Copyright Act, 1844, with the knowledge that provision was made against importation for sale or hire contained in the Copyright Amendment Act, 1842, and for absolute prohibition of importations, even for private use, in the later Act of the same session, whilst the International Copyright Act, 1838, was clearly imperfect in both respects. We should expect therefore that adequate although not necessarily identical provisions would be con- tained in the Act of 1844 with reference to both subjects, and in my judgment such provision is made accordingly as to books imported for sale or hire by section 3, and as to books absolutely prohibited by section 10. If the sections as to imports iu the Copyright Amendment Act, 1842, are not incoqwrated into the Act of 1844, it is obvious that the proprietor of copy- rights under this later Ac1., assuming him for the moment to be a different person from the owner of the copyright in the country where the book was first published, would be in so much the worse position than the owner of the copy- right in the book first published in the United Kingdom, and that the two rights would be essen- tially different, the object of the Acts being to make them as far as possible the same. Take, for instance, the case before us of a book first, published in Germany. The proprietor of the copvright in the British dominions would indeed have as to all countries but Germany, the ex- tended right of having stray copies in the bags of tovn-; ,fS tonfi8cated for his benefit, but in ex- cha " for tbis comparatively unimportant advan- t&j>^of ucott^ nave to 8Vrt>Imt to an unlimited be from every part of Germany itself, UYv •-,11 j L — ———J'' tl\ *HiTt* * which it would be most likely the ## p. 158 (#198) ############################################ 158 THE AUTHOR. book would be printed. The very person from whom the derived title might, as far as copyright alone is concerned, import and sell as many of the boots as he could get a market for, or set up circulating libraries like Mudie's for the diffu- sion throughout Her Majesty's possessions of the very book as to which he had parted with his copyright in those dominions. What he could do any other person could do. Under conditions of trade favourable to books made in Germany, the copyright in the British dominions under the Act would be absolutely worthless, and the bene- ficial object of the Act entirely frustrated. This consideration affords, in my judgment, a very strong presumption against the suggested con- struction which would make section 10 of the Act of 1844 an entire code with reference to importa- tions from abroad. It is, however, said that by appropriate cove- nants with the owner of the original copyright the assignee may be protected. The suggestion, of course, involves the assumption that the copy- right law has altogether failed to afford adequate protection; but the possibility of adequate pro- tection being given by covenant is by no means clear. The British Legislature is supposed to say to every person everywhere: "You may import for every purpose books to which our British international copyright extends if only you go to Germany for them." The proprietor of the original copyright might indeed covenant not himself to introduce into the British dominions any other books, but how can he effectually pro- vide against the acts of other persons i He might enter into a warranty that no other person should import books from Germany, so as to make himself liable to the damages that might arise, but the actual importation he would be for the most part unable to prevent. It is by no means certain that in every country to which an Order in Council mav extend there must be a law preventing the printing for exportation (it never existed in our country till 1842) of copyright books, and there is no evidence that there is any such law in Germany. It is, however, unnecessary in my judgment further to consider the construction of the Act on the assumption that is left open to us. The preamble of the Act makes it plain that the repeal of the Act of 1838 was intended not for the pur- pose of limiting, but for the purpose of increasing the powers of Her Majesty as to remedies for infringement of copyright under the Act. This, in my judgment, makes it incumbent on the courts to construe the Acts, if it can reasonably be done, to make them as effectual as those given by the existing law for the protection of home copyright, so as to avoid the great injury to the proprietor of copyrights that I have before pointed out. Now section 3 of the Act, in what seems to me quite clear and unambiguous terms, provides that all and singular of the enactments of the Act of 1842, including, of course, sections 15 and 17, unless their language is clearly inappropriate, should apply to the books to which such order will extend which have been registered as hereafter men- tioned in such and in the same manner as if such books were first published in the United Kingdom. Registration is now unnecessary by the Act of 1886, and the exceptions in section 3 are for pre- sent purposes irrelevant, but it may be observed that the power reserved to Her Majesty by Order in Council to make exceptions which are found necessary would obviate any inconvenience arising from the very sweeping terms in which the enactments of the Copyright Acts are applied to, and, in fact, made part of the Act now before the Court. It is not alleged that by the Order in Council applicable to the present case any relevant exception is made. Of course it may be found that sections 15 and 17, or one of them, are from the terms incapable of being applied to the case of copyright, and might not be able to be applied to importations from the country of origin, but such a conclusion ought not to be accepted without necessity, having regard to the grave results already pointed out. The contentions with regard to the two sections are, of course, in the main dependent on one another. I must do full justice to the able argument of Mr. Sorutton, which for the time went far to convince me that section 15 deals only with books unlawfully printed in the British dominions. It may be that he has in his favour the strictly literal reading of the words of the section: "11 any person shall in any part of the British dominions print any book without the consent of the proprietor," it may be that makes the unlawfulness depend on the place as well as want of consent, and that the words " so unlaw- fully printed" cannot be fully satisfied without importing both elements. I cannot say that this, as a mere matter of grammar, may not be correct, but when you look to the substance and meaning of the section, I think that the words " unlaw- fully printed " mean only " printed without con- sent," otherwise no sufficient effect is given to the provisions as to importation from parts beyond the sea. What is the meaning of speaking of importation into any place in Her Majesty's dominions from parts beyond the sea? It is a phrase which is perhaps not very accurate, but I think it means from places outside Her Majesty's dominions. It would be strange if the words were used as to a transfer from one part of Her Majesty's dominions by sea ## p. 159 (#199) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. '59 —if they were distinguishing for instance between a transfer from New Zealand to Australia, and a transfer between one Australian colony and another, or, what may seem a stronger case, a transfer between England and Ireland, or a transfer between England and Scot- land or Wales. I cannot see how you can avoid the conclusion that that distinction would have to be taken unless the words applied to foreign countries. But a still stronger argu- ment to my mind arises from the fact that if the words as to imports refer only to transfers from one part of Her Majesty's dominions to the other, they add absolutely nothing to the section, and may be struck out without altering its opera- tion in the slightest degree. We have only to read the section to see that that is so. I will read it as if there was nothing about importa- tions: "If any person shall in any part of Her Majesty's dominions print any book "—I let that go by—" in which there shall be a subsisting copyright, without the consent in writing of "—I will leave out the words now about importing for sale as being immaterial, because I want to test what the section means—" or shall sell, publish, or expose for sale or hire," and so on, "or have in his possession for sale or hire any book so unlawfully printed"—leaving out the word "imported."—" then he shall have a special action on the case." Now, I say upon the construction to be put on the section everything is contained there. Of course we have the word " imported," and we have it brought in in a very important manner, "unlawfully printed or imported without such consent." It is not necessary to read this as extending to "unlawfully imported,"' but "unlawfully printed or imported without con- sent," but I say if that means from one part of the dominions to the other the words have abso- lutely no meaning, all you have to show is that they were unlawfully printed within Her Majesty's dominions, and that the man has them in his possession knowing that fact. What is added by saying "or imported without the consent of the proprietor "? Nothing. The first part of it is all sufficient to found a special action on the case, and the second is a condition which cannot operate unless the first is there. It seems to me to be demonstrated—it is not a matter of con- jecture—that upon that section the importation spoken of will include—I will not say necessarily —importations from foreign countries. If that be so, we have a clear enactment in section 15, clearly incorporated in section 3 of the Act of 1844 prohibiting—not absolutely, but prohibiti^, —importations if they are for sale or hire, the pv, * sent case being a case of sale. Now we tuf^ * section 10, and what do we find there? Wo. H) VOL VII. \k now dealing with a part of the Act which replaces nothing in the Copyright Act, but, for the pur- poses of international copyright, something in the Customs Act of 1842. I do not say that it replaces it in the same words. If it had done it would have been enough to incorporate that as is incorporated the Act of 1842; but it was manifestly felt that the words of that Customs Act were not altogether appropriate to the case of international copyright, and therefore that Act was not incorporated, and is not referred to or mentioned, but provision is made by section 10 for what is thought to be the proper treatment of the question of absolute prohibition in the parti- cular case of a foreign publication receiving copy- right here. I will not read what I have put down particularly about that section, but it comes to this. I have dealt with prohibition for sale or hire by section 3, incorporating section 8. That is practically the same thing as is done for home copyright. I have not hitherto dealt with the question of absolute prohibition because that was dealt with by the Customs Act to which I have not referred. What then is reasonable r What they thought reasonable does not appear to mo to be difficult to explain. It was an abso- lute protection against importations, not giving a special action, but an absolute prohibition except from a foreign country. Now, the result of that is that, with regard to imjwrtations from what I call the country of origin, you must rely on section 8 of the Copy- right Act, and you must show that that was sale or hire. That enables every person—and there may be a great number of them who have bought a book in the country of origin—to bring it into this countrv for their own private use. They take into consideration the question of the practice which had been aimed at by the Customs Act of 1806. They will not have that at all. They prohibit even for private use from any place except the country of origin. With reference to the country of origin they do not make any provision at all for absolute prohibition, though the prohibition for sale or hire is, as might be expected, found in another section of the Act. Now, the conclusion to which I have arrived clearly as to the meaning and construction of section 15 of the Act of 1842 makes it unneces- sary for me to consider the clear construction. I do not think there can be a clear construction, hut, at anv rate, what is the true construction of section 17. That, as I have said before, is a very involved section. It is absolutely senseless in liianv rt« of & ^ °-° not ne8itate to say, but it 's at ^ te tf^°^veo- ano- complicated by reason 1 c w^tiy ttgt consider the somewhat ridiculous Ufatl^^uonforthe purposes of copyright ## p. 160 (#200) ############################################ i6o THE AUTHOR. that Act of 1739 which had nothing to do with copyright at all, but was simply an Act to protect the revenue. I will not give a definite opinion as to the construction of that, but I am by no me ins satisfied on the true construction of that section, taken in conjunction with section 73 of the Act of 1844, that the proprietor in this country of the British international copyright might not have a protection even if section 15 did not exist. I am by no means satisfied of that, but I do not go further than that. On the construction of the Act of 1844, and on the construction of section 15 of the Act of 1842, I arrive unhesitatingly at the conclusion that there is ample protection in a case of this kind for the owner for the time being of the British international copyright, and the appeal, in my judgment, should be allowed, with the consequences stated by Lord Justice Lindley. Mr. Cozens-Hardy. — My Lords, the parties have made an arrangement as to costs, which your Lordships will give effect to. Lord Justice Lindley.—Yes. Mr. Cozens-Hardy.—Then, as to the injunc- tion, I have got the words which your Lordship read. Lord Justice Lindley.—Either keeping for sale or hire. Mr. Cozens-Hardy.-—I should suggest your Lordships should vary the words: Injunction granted to restrain the future importation for sale or hire without the consent of the plaintiff, inquiry as to damages sustained by the plaintiff by reason of the importation for sale or hire of such copies before the date of this judgment. I have nothing to say on that except this: Ought not the injunction to go to restrain the sale or hire of copies which the defendant already has? This injunction only restrains the future im- portations. Lord Justice Lindley.—Has not he sold those he has got. Mr. Cozens-Hardy.—I do not know. Your Lordship intended, of course, I presume, to prevent him selling copies which he has already imported. I do not know how that is. Mr. J. E. Adkin.—The affidavit states the fact. Lord Justice Lindley.—I understood there was no controversy about that. Mr. Adkin.—There is a controversy, if I might say a few words to your Lordship. This agree- ment has been arrived at between the parties with regard to costs, and with reference to that it seems to me, and I understand from my client that the agreement extended to this, that there should be no further costs incurred. My client is willing to submi . to thi injunction, but with regard to an inquiry my client has in his affidavit already admitted the receipt of a certain number of copies, which he accounts for, and he in his affidavit has offered to give an undertaking not to sell auy more. However, the legal point has been argued here, and no doubt an injunction must go against him, but those are all the copies he has had, and it is so stated in his affidavit, and there is no doubt about it, and the result of putting my client to the costs of an inquiry as to damages will be to do away with the agreement as to costs. My sub- mission is it was understood there should lx' no inquiry as to damages, for there wei-e no damages. Lord Justice Lindley.—I do not know what agreement you have arrived at. Mr. Adkin.—My friend, Mr. Scrutton, who has been in this case alone, is in the other court at the present moment, and is addressing the court. Would your Lordship defer this question as to the form of the order till he can come in? Lord Justice Lindley.—It strikes me you ought to arrange it between you. Mr. Cozens-Hardy.—I have the agreement in my hand signed by my learned junior and Mr. Scrutton. It does not say a word about the inquiry as to damages. It deals with the costs in the court l elow and here. Lord Justice Lindley.— Do you want an in- quiry? Lord Justice Bigby.—It is a small matter. Mr. Adkin.—Would your Lordship allow me to read one paragraph hi the defendants' affidavit which I think will state the facts. Lord Justice Lindley.-—I think this is a little irregular. You have cither agreed or you have not agreed. If you have agreed, carry out the agreement. The order will be drawn up by the registrar to carry out the agreement. If you have not agreed, what we have said is right. Mr. Cozens-Hardy.—We shall not pursue the inquiry if we find there is nothing in it. Lord Justice Lindley.—Do not put it in if you do not want it. Lord Justice Kigby.—No doubt it is a small matter, and if you are satisfied with the affidavit, you will not want an inquiry. Mr. Cozens-Hardy.—We can probably agree as to the figures. My right is to have this inquiry which your Lordship has given me. Lord Justice Lindley.—Yes. Then there is no agreement as to costs. That all goes if your opponent is right. Mr. Cozens-Hardy.—There is no question about the costs. Lord Justice Lindley.—I do not know what the agreement is. Settle it with the registrar. Mr. Cozens-Hardy.—If your Lordship pleases. ## p. 161 (#201) ############################################ THE AUTUQll. Lord Justice Lindley.—Aud if there is any ■difficulty it can lie mentioned to us. Mr. Adkin.—Then we will decide this question before the registrar, with liberty to apply. Lord Justice Lindley.—Do not decide it— settle it. I may say that I have taken the opportunity of looking through all the Acts of Parliament I know of relating to this complicated matter, and in spite of my endeavours to exhaust all the statutes I think I missed one altogether. It is in a most complicated state. I do not mean that I missed a Copyright Act, but one of the Customs Acts. NOTES FROM ABKOAD. I^HE following notes were made in Norway, where I spent six weeks in September and October. They may be found of interest, and if so, I shall be glad to send a fresh batch next month. The Norwegians, who gave us much of their language, seem to be greatly interested in English literature. Norway has quite recently " adhered" to the Berne Convention—that is to say, she joined the Convention only three months ago— and yet her interest in English literature continues. I write "and yet," because she has now to pas- tor what three months ago she could take without a bare " I thank you." Which shows that her interest is a real one. All the Norwegian newspapers publish feuille- tons. Whilst I was in Christiania every feuilleton published in a Norwegian paper was a translation from the English. The Verdens Gang — the principal paper on the left side—for instance, was publishing the "Pige of Orleans," which you will recognise as Mark Twain's "Maid of Orleans." I heard, by the way, that the pro- prietors had paid for the right of translation and serial publication of this book "very much more" than they paid for one of Zola's novels, " Rome," for instance. However, as I also know that for Zola's " Rome " they only paid 200 crowns (about eleven guineas), the sum cannot have been a very extravagant one. Elsewhere I saw Robert Ban-'s " Damen-Reporteren" (Lady Reporters), which is, of course, his "A Woman Intervenes "; stories from Tit Bits, and so on—nothing but English fiction. In the booksellers' shops one saw translations from Conan Doyle, from Mrs. Humphry Ward and Fergus Hume, to mention a few names only. Our literary celebritieg are as well known in Christiania and Beri>A as they are in Birmingham or in Lo^f? Indeed better, for in Norwav everybody jv. ^U. and mos! people take an interest in literature, whilst in England . There would be a good source of additional income here, for our popular authors, were it not for the fact that Denmark is still outside the Convention. Now Danish as a written language is the same as Norwegian, although as a spoken language it differs somewhat. The Danhh publishers and newspaper proprietors can there- fore take what their Norwegian confreres have tj buy, and under these circumstances competition is difficult for the latter. "I would like to buy the Norwegian rights of such a book," said au able editor to me, "but I cannot afford to pay very much for it, as it will be ' taken' by (here the name of a widely circulated Danish paper) "which competes with me." I mention these facts to recommend English authors to be lenient and considerate when dealing with Nor- wegian publishers. The Danes, by the way, help themselves most liberally, not only to our literature, but to our ideas. I saw a paper in Copenhagen which was a replica of one of the Messrs. Harmsworth's publications, and I have before me on my table a weekly periodical, also issued in Copenhagen, which is an exact copy of Tit-Bits, green cover, typographical arrangement, features and all. It is called Dit oa Bat (" This and That"), and is widely advertised in Norway and Sweden. It contains three serials, translations of English works, and these are Mr. du Maurier's "Trilby," Conan Doyle's "Rodney Stone," and Fergus Hume's "Tattoo-Morderen," which, I suppose, is the story called "Tracked by a Tattoo" which the firm of Cassell and Co. advertised so liberally some months back. "The Martian" is also now apj)earing in more than one Danish news- paper. This is rather hard on English writers. I cannot miss this opportunity of acknow- ledging in the names of all the foreign journalists who visited Christiania at the time of the recep- tion of Dr. Nansen and his brave crew of the Fram, the great courtesy and hospitality which was shown to all of us by our confreres! of the Norwegian Press. The gentlemen of the Verdens Gang especially, Messrs. Thommessen, Hammer, and Gulbransen, did everything that could be done, not only to help us in our work, but tj render our stay in their town an agreeable one. We were taken for drives; we were introduced to the people we wanted to know; we were sumptuously entertained. I could not help thinkxna how a Norwegian journalist, en mission to IjQ^oli '"om,i ^e differently received aud rt^ttiessen, editor and part proprietor of thft * c G""?-invited me to meet Bjornstein ## p. 162 (#202) ############################################ the a union. Bjornson at his house, and, as I sat next to him at dinner, between him and Fru Sigurd Ibsen, his daughter, T had abundant opportunity of conversation. I had met the foremost Norwegian poet many years ago in Paris, when, for political reasons, he had left his country, and I found that the long years had developed his enthu- siasms, instead of diminishing them. He is a wonderful old man, who will do in the future even greater things than he has already done. His countrymen hold him in very high esteem, and I shall not readily forget with what enthu- siasm he was received by several thousands i if people when he rose to speak at the jwpular fete which was the last of the festivities given in Christiania in honour of Nansen and his comrades. Few poets can afford to In- active in political life also, but Bjornson has known how to win fame and affection both as a ]>oet and as a politician. I hardly know in which capacity his countrymen love him better. I was amused and interested in watching the fight that went on round Nansen. All the leading publishing firms in Europe and America con- tested for the right of publishing his book on his experiences in the Arctic regions. When I left Christiania he had not yet signed any con- tracts, but I understood that the immediate receipts on account which will be paid to him on delivery of his manuscript will exceed 15,000, a sum which does not include what may come to him in the way of honoraria for articles for maga- zines and newspapers. I know for a fact that he was so busy with his book, that he refused an offer of 100,000 mark from a German leeture- agent for a lecture to be repeated in a hundred different German towns, with all expenses paid into the bargain; that he refused to allow himself to be interviewed for a lower fee than £2 50 for a short conversation, and so on. So that, from a financial-literary point of view, his expedition has not been an unsuccessful one. He is working very hard at his book, and keeps a secretary and twoexpert stenographersconstantlyemployed. Literary work—the North Pole explorers apart seems to l>e very badly paid in Norway. Publishers there pay authors so much or so little by the sheet of sixteen pages. Ibsen sold the copyright of one of his first books for about £12 to a publisher at Bergen. This publisher, however, not long ago tore up the contract, and is now paying Dr. Ibsen a royalty, Journalists is"£t'v*P meagre salaries. Fifteen pounds a month miin<n^idered a good salary for a good all-round j^or(. \And it must be remembered that all 3janvegian journalists are University men. theirtv of them speak several languages, all of X have some knowledge of English and German. A journalist on the staff of a Christiania daily would translate an English, French, or German feuilleton as a part of his daily work, without extra remuneration. As a class they are very wrell-read men. It was my privilege to visit several of them in their homes, and as I always judge a man by the books he has on his shelves, I can speak of them with high admiration. At one gentleman's house in particular, I saw amongst the hundreds of books which lined the walls of the room in which he worked when at home, every book of any importance which has been published, in any language, on the social question during the last ten years. I thought of my own library and hid a blush. At another house I saw a very fine collection of historical works, all well- thumbed too. Their owner was receiving 1200 crowns a year (.£67) as all-round man on a small daily, an income which he eked out by con- tributing articles at four cere (|<f.) the line to such papers as would accept outside contributions. This pay of four cere a line is considered good pay for outside contributions on most of the Norwegian papers; a foreign correspondent is handsomely remunerated at a penny the line. The gentleman in question showed me an article of three columns which he was sending to order to a daily paper. I afterwards saw the editor, and heard, casually, that twenty crowns (£1 2s. 6d.) would be paid for this article. It must be remembered that Norway is a very small country, and that competition amongst publishers is cut- throat. A book by a Norwegian author which goes to 5000 copies is as great an exception as was •■ Trilby " in England and America. Robert Harboeouoh Sherakd. NEW YORK LETTER. New York, Nov. 17. HAMLIN GARLAND, much as he dislikes city life, has been in New York frequently of late on account of the history of Grant which he is writing for McClure and Co. He read aloud to me some of the poems quoted in the October number of The Author, to explain that his was not the arbitrary, but the musical, theory of verse, so that it cannot be properly read by anyone who does not feel intimately the spirit of it. For instance, to take illustrations only from the poems quoted in The Author, "The Wild Sad Wail of the Plain" does not make music at all unless it is read like a wail; and in the lilies How nice the grave'll be, jest Ono nice, sweet everlastin' rest ## p. 163 (#203) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. the long meditative pause after "be" and the lingering on "jest" (the inevitable mode of speech for the characters represented) are, of course, necessary to the verse. Mr. Garland's greatest power is his intensity of feeling, which is brought out strongly in his own reading. After he had read from the poems he went on to talk about them. "I hold Lanier's theory of verse," he said; "it is not measured by feet, but by intervals of time." It will perhaps be remem- bered by Englishmen interested in the young American poet, that the London Spectator was among the first papers to announce Lanier's genius. Mr. Garland, who has never been abroad, will probably be in England in the spring. "If I can get up the courage, I will go to London in April or May," he said; "I can take a horse and a couple of blankets, and camp out from Denver to San Francisco, but I can't stand water. I am a prairie man ; I want to go to London, Paris, and Berlin, that is all I care for; that is where the young men are grouped, men in sympathy with progress." In the Life of Grant, Mr. Garland is using a method unusual in the writing of history. Nothing is foreshadowed. The author thinks it a cheap method of getting contrast to tell when writing about Grant's boyhood, for instance, that such and such an influence had such and such a consequence at Gettysburg, perhaps. He writes about the boy Grant as if his readers were hearing of him for the first time. "I want to do it in such a way that people shall say how human he was; especially to show that there was no luck about his career; that he worked for everything." After this work is over, in six months or a year, he will write more verses from time to time, but give his main attention to the drama and the novel. His first work will be a long dramatic conception, probably put first in the novel form, dealing with the interaction of the plain and the mountain. "I am coming to do more and more work relating to the mountains," he said. "It is a sad thing, the passing away of the wild things of the country. Every time I go into the mountains and the plains they are a little more tracked; and when I stay in the cities I feel as if I were wasting my time. I love the prairies, and the prairies are gone, and only the plains remain. It is a requiem of the prairie that I put in my book of verse. The gofer, the rattlesnake, the vulture, the Indian, the settler, and all the birds and animals are dis- appearing. 1 think I have told the true story of the prairie. There is no love, no history or religion in the poems, so they have not sol<j much; all are directly on their theme. After £ lost my prairies, I found them again lifted 10,00^ feet above the sea in the Rocky Mountains. On those mountains I can tell the altitude by the foliage; the higher you go the more beautiful it becomes. I have a book dealing with this characteristic of the mountains—the growing beauty as you ascend—planned and partly written; it will deal with the wild places, with the wild trails where few go. I am a hunter, and I ride my horse 13,400 feet high. I like to be where the wild animals are, where the mountain sheep are, but I never kill anything. It seems to me a cheap thing to take a modern 16-shooter and kill these innocent things; I used to do it." Mr. Garland's simple, easy manner corresponds with his words, and makes him a charming talker. His theory of art, often misquoted, is a simple one. "A man must be himself. To be himself he is sure in the larger number of cases to be local in his study and in his emotions, but he should be universal in his appeal. That is where I am misrepresented. I am the last man in the world to uphold cheap work, but I do uphold localism, such as is found in Barrie, Maclaren, and in this country in Riley and Miss Wilkins, such as Crane is doing in New York, and Fuller in Chicago. But after a man has chosen his subject his method should be the best there is in the world. An artist has no business to consider anybody but himself when he is creating his work. I put the creative energy above culture, but I am an evolutionist, and I believe in knowing what has been done; but we should know it in order to be better able to work out our own salvation here in America. The Greek art is much stronger than the Roman because it is indigenous, and the Roman borrowed from the Greek. Whitman lived and died for this principle, and he has been a great inspiration to me." Mr. Garland calls himself an impressionist. In describing the kinds of originality he cares for he names Ibsen, Whitman, Carlisle, and Monet. And speaking of one writer whose work is especially marked by culture, whom he liked very much, but in whom he felt a lack of something vital, he said, " Man needs mud, clean mud—the mud of the lane, and not the mud of the street." Mr. Garland is one of the group of American writers who believe that a larger portion of litera- ture which is read by Americans is, every year, produced in America. The announcements of the magazines for the coming year do something to support tHs belief- They certainly show more A aierica,r,„ iV,ftn usual in the serials. In McClure's Tn wh; * \?T Garland's " Life of Grant" is to as a* . 1 "^collections of War Times," by rll5\ 1\ ty@*thfi San> ifi a^80 to appear in serial f!, ^' of />r's tae Stockton and Howells ## p. 164 (#204) ############################################ 164 THE AUTHOR. and Du Maurier in serial fiction. Owen Wister will give a number of sketches of Western life, and there will be serial papers on American History by Professor Woodrow Wilson, Professor J. B. McMaster, and James Barnes. The Round Table follows the same general line, having serial articles on the War of 1812; the Story of Texas and the gold fields, and other things in Western life. The Bazaar and the Weekly show almost entirely American writers and American sub- jects. The number of serials which are not fiction seems to be greater this year than ever before. This is looked upon by some people closely connected with our magazines as one of the secrets of their success. It has never been tried in England, except by the Pall Mall, and by it only spasmodically. The Century, for instance, has for its most prominent serial, "Campaigning with Grant," by General Horace Porter. Its two serials in fiction are by Dr. Weir Mitchell, of Philadelphia, and F. Marion Crawford. In the Atlantic Monthly serials on general subjects are also prominent, among them the "Reminiscences of General T. W. Higginson," and the "Interpretation of Democracy in the United States," by E. L. Godkin, the editor of the Nation and the Evening Post; and a series of direct studies of the people in various sections of this country. The only serial story announced is by Charles Egbert Craddock. Finally, IScribners Magazine will have among its serials "Undergraduate Life in the Colleges," by various graduates; a series of articles on leading industries, a series on "Woman's Art of Living," and a number of articles on travel by Richard Harding Davis and others. Charles Dana Gibson, the artist, will appear for the first time as a writer in some Im- pressions of London. In fiction, two important serials are novels by Richard Harding Davis and W. D. Howells, each to run six months. Norman Hapgood. PUBLICATIONS OF THS YEAR 1895. LE DROIT D' AUTEUR" gives the fol- lowing statistics for the year 1895, which are interesting, though they leave a good deal to be desired. It is especially to be regretted that no information is forthcoming respecting how the 12,496 French books are made up, and the great diversity of the various classifi- cations renders impossible any satisfactory com- parison of the literary activity of the various nations in the respective provinces of philosophy, science, art, and belles lettres •— Great Britain. New New Books. Editions. Theology and Sermons 501 ... 69 Educational, Classics, Philo- logv 660 ... Ill Noveis and Stories 1544 ■■• 347 Law and Jurisprudence 57 ... 33 Political and Social Economy, Commerce 163 ... 23 Arts, Sciences, Illustrated Works 96 ... 16 Geography, Travels 263 ... 75 History, Biography 353 ... 68 Poetry and Drama 231 ... 16 Almanacs, " Ana." 311 ... — Medicine 153 ... 53 Belles Lettres, Essays 400 ... 42 Miscellanies, Pamphlets 749 ... 182 Total 5481 1035 United States of America. New New Books. Editions. Novels 1050 ... 64 Law 480 ... 51 Theology 47' ••■ 35 Educational, Philology 456 ... 32 Literary, History, Miscel- lanies 455 ... 13 Juvenile Works 365 ... 10 Political and Social Science... 313 ... 22 Poetry 294 ... 15 Physical and Mathematical Science 313 ... 22 History 185 ... 8 Biography, Memoirs 167 ... 13 Medicine, Hygienics 141 ... 22 Travels 134 27 Fine Arts, Illustrated Books 133 ... 7 Industrial Arts 100 ... 11 Philosophy 55 ... 6 Domestic Economy, Agricul- ture 48 ... 4 Sport 34 ... 5 Humorous and satirical works 32 ... — Total 5101 368 1894. 1895. Germany 22,570 ... 23,607 France i3»53° ••• 12,495 Italy 9,416 ... 9,437 ## p. 165 (#205) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. '65 COPYRIGHT. THE following letter appeared in the Sjwctator some weeks ago. I believe that no auswer was printed in the paper. I cut it out at the time, mislaid it, found it agaiu, and submitted it to Sir Frederick Pollock. He has very kindly given me his opinion, which is subjoined.—Editor. "To the Editor of the Spectator. "Sir,—I have read with interest your valuable remarks on copyright, it propoi of Matthew Arnold's poems in the Spectator of Oct. 3. If a writer leaves his copyright (as the late Master of Balliol did) to the University of Oxford or of Cambridge, or to any college in either, or to certain other" learned bodies, on trust for the charitable and educational purposes of the institution, it is, I believe, the fact that the copy- right is thereby made perpetual, and does not expire in the ordinary course. Whenever this plan is adopted, such scandals as you mention are impossible. But I should like further informa- tion on a point connected with this. A writer may wish to provide for his widow or children by leaving them his copyright. Supposing he does this, and they thereupon keep the copyright till, say, six months before it is timed to expire, can they then, by making a present of the copyright to an Oxford College, prevent it at the last hour, so to speak, from expiring at all, or is it necessary that this should have been done by the author himself in his lifetime? Or again, supposing a copyright has twenty years to run, can the author bequeath it for nineteen years to his widow and then in perpetuity to a college ?—I am, Sir, &c, "Nullum Tempus Occtjrrat Honestati." the opinion. "The Act is 15 Geo. III., c. 53. The gift or bequest must be by the author or his representa- tives, and the profits must be devoted to the advancement of learning. I think the general funds of a college in either university would be presumed to be so devoted. Of course, any arrange- ment for returning any part of the profits to the donor or his successors would be fraudulent and void, and possibly make the whole gift invalid. With regard to the transference of an author's copyright by his widow to one of the privi- leged foundations: if the widow, <fcc, be the author's legal personal representative, it seems the gift would be good. And with regard to the last sentence of the letter, I see nothing in the Act to prevent the gift from being subject to a preceding life or other limited interest. Our copyright legis- lation, however, is so perplexed that it is difficult to give an off-hand opinion upon any part of the suj^ ject with any confidence. "F. P." NOTES AND NEWS. IQUOTE the following from the Westminster Gazette. I am not greatly interested in the facts recorded, because in The Author we are not concerned about a writer's income, but in the management of his property with honesty and fairness :— Hannah More is looked down upon now and forgotten by the writing fraternity. Yet she was no mean citizen of the republic of letters in her own day. Her "Cajleba in Search of a Wife " brought her .£2000 in one year, although published anonymously, and altogether she computed that she had earned .£30,000 by writing during her lifetime, most of which went in philanthropic work. What would Sir Walter Besant nay to this? When Cadell and Davis sent their first statement of " Coolebs," Hannah More found that "the cost of printing, paper. *c. is exorbitantly in- creased, and I had near .£5000 to pav for expenses, besides all the bookseller's profits: partly in consequence of my having given more for the money than any book that has lately appeared; as you know, books do not sell in propor- tion to their intrinsic value, but to their size." Two editions were sold in a fortnight after its appearance in December, 1809, and twelve editions in nine months. America consumed 30,000 copies. She did not oonfess to the authorship until it had run through several editions. The italics are mine. I should very much like to know what was in the writer's mind—what he was thinking—when he asked that question. What should I say to it, except to express a hope that the agreement was fair and fairly carried out? We are fighting for a principle, not for guineas: the desire of the Society is, and always has been, to recover for authors the command of their own property, to make them as much independent owners of literary property as they are of house property, and to show them what steps they should take for the administration and safeguarding of that property in the same manner as they look after property of every other kind. Above all, we are not carrying on an ignoble strife for more money, though this is charged against us. Little by little these things are beginning to be understood, yet such questions as the above show that they are as yet very far from being understood. I also observe that the Publishers Circular trots out again the old statement, disproved and denied a thousand times.that the Authors' Society says that a publisher never takes risks. What the Society has said, and repeats, is that a pub- lisher ta,Ves verv ^ew "sks—as little risk as riOSsiWe . l\ at there are hundreds of writers whose r jj8 . » tn» ^Q 0I risk. Of course this rfectl *6 statement wul continue to be 0^ t ^ tf^ei , the time will come when certain ## p. 166 (#206) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. publishers will recognise the advantage of open books and open dealing iu all respects. Here is an illustration of what risk means. It is a common practice with some—perhaps all— publishers to subscribe a new book to the London trade before it is sent to the printers. By this method they learn the extent of the risk they run, if any, and have some guide to the size of the first edition. Thus, suppose a six shilling book: if the Loudon trade take 500 copies, the pub- lisher may decide upon an edition of 1000. At 3*. 6c?. a copy he has thus made ,£87 10s. What margin of risk is left may be ascertained by a reference to "The Cost of Production." If there is any one subject on which publishers might be expected to know something, it would be the value of reviews in promoting the sale of books. (1.) Does a laudatory review help a book? (2.) Does a hostile review injure a lx>ok? Never were there collected together opinions so various and so conflicting as those taken from the St. James's Budget, which will be found on p. 168. Now, my own personal experience covers a good many years. I have carefully watched the reviews of my own and other books during the whole period. My experience is that where books are lumped in a batch it matters nothing at all what is said of any one book. In the case of a paper, however, which reviews only books of im- portance; gives a special review of reasonable length; and insists on its reviewer reading the book: the effect of the review is immediate and striking. Where books are lumped in the batch, the remarks of the reviewer, who has not had time to read any, are either vaguely benevolent or venomously ill-informed. What publishers and authors alike should desire is selection by the editor, and an impartial judgment after reading the book by the reviewer. As for the complaint that copies sent out for review go to the secondhand shops before the edition is out, surely that may be met by the simple practice of sending no more copies to the office where such things a> e allowed. It is rather inconsistent to be crying out that reviews are no good and still to be sending the books, though tbey go at once to the secondhand bookseller. Our New York correspondent, Mr. Norman Hapgood, corroborates my own views, expressed more than once, as to the use of the serial in magazines. The serial in fiction we have always with us; the serial which is not fiction, but his- tory, biography, travel, is common in American magazines but never seen in our own, except the Pall Mall. Yet there can be no doubt that a valuable and interesting book, run through a magazine, might enormously increase the popularity of the magazine, while it might increase tenfold the influence of the book. Imagine Seeley's "Expansion of England" run through the Nineteenth Century! Another point, which may perhaps be called sordid, would be the improvement of the property represented by the "Expansion of England." Like a novel, the book would have its serial rights at home, in the United States, in the Colonies, and on the Continent. There are not many great teachers in the world, but there are some, and it might be considered, even by them, worth while to multiply their direct influence by the thousand and the value of their property by the hundred. Another trouble over a title is reported in the "Book Talk." These troubles are likely to occur more often, as writers grow more anxious to find a happy title. I do not know how far the author of a dead and buried novel, twenty years old, and for- gotten for as many, could claim the right of keeping a title to himself. He would, at least, have to sho.v some actual or probable loss and damage to himself. Yet there are so many novels whose authors would not admit that they were dead, that one may very easily infringe on the rights of property. I have discovered an easy method of minimising the danger. It is to get a copy of Messrs. W. H. Smith's catalogue of books on sale. There will be found a list of novels, among other books, which seen.s to include every novel which can pretend to be still in demand. Armed with this catalogue, the seeker after a title can protect himself. jiq The new books of the season are all out by this time, and one can consider the nature and extent of the output. There are before me the Athenceum and the Spectator, both for Nov. 21, 1896. These two papers contain the greatest number of book advertisements, and we may therefore expect to find nearly the whole of the new books announced in these columns. In fact, there are advertisements by thirty publishers. The books produced, though by no means all that were promised in the " forthcoming " lists, amount to a goodly number. They are classified as follows. Observe, however, that the classification runs over, so that a book on art may be also a book of biography; and a "novel" may be a collection of children's stories; and a book of travel may be also a book of sport. ## p. 167 (#207) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. 167 Under the head of history are also included books of biography, literary criticism, essays, <fcc. Of these there are 81 ; of books of travel, 16; on political economy, 7; on art, 19; on religion, 19; of poetry, 17; on sport, 6; science, 22; novels, 107; reprints, 160. The total number of books is 454. In this list, new editions or translations of the classics are omitted. There is hardly any book in the list which belongs to educational literature. Religious literature is quite inadequately repre- sented, and the list of books on science is most incomplete. The list, however, may stand for the books of the season which are offered to the average reader of the cultivated class. The reprints contain new editions of novels now running; of old novels—Scott, Charles Dickens, Charles Reade; of many illustrated books and of standard editions. Among the novels are new books by well known writers: by writers not so well known: and by new writers. It remains to be seen whether any of the new writers are also "coming men." iiiri The most remarkable feature of the list is, however, the great number of biographies and memoirs. The following is a list, perhaps not quite complete, of an astonishing collection for one season. They are: Lives, Letters, or Recollections of Lord Blachford, Samuel Butler, D.D., Fori Madox Brown, John Constable, Sir Charles Halle, Philip Gilbert Hamerton, Sir John Drummond Hay, Maria Josepha Holroyd, the Jerningham Letters, Sir Edward Burne-Jones, Lord Leighton, Princesse de Lamballe, John Gibson Lockhart, Francis Orpen Morris, Albert Moore, Nansen, Rev. Professor Charles Pritchard, Sloane's Napoleon Bonaparte, and Mr. Augustine Birrell's new edition of Boswell's Johnson. PRIZE COMPETITIONS. THOSE of our readers who are interested in the current prize competitions may note the following :— £10 10s. each for original stories accepted, to cover five weeks, about 2500 words for each instalment.—Editor of the Weekly Herald, Glasgow. £1 is. for original stories accepted, complete in one instalment of about 2500 words. — Editor of the Weekly Herald, Glasgow. .£5 5*. for best original short story; minimum 2000 words, maximum 3ooo ^ than Dec. 31.—Editor of the Osborne Magazine, 9, Paternoster-row, London. £5 5*. for best original biographical article; dealing with famous living English men or women; minimum 2500, maximum 3500. Preference if accompanied by material for illustration. Not later thau Dec. 31.—Editor of the Osborne Magazine, as above. Byron—Shelley—Keats, In Memoriam (endowed) Yearly Prizes, for the best essay in English, written by a woman of any nation. The prizes for 1897 will be as follows: Byron's "The Giaour."—First prize, <£io; second prize, £5. Byron's "Cain." — First prize, £10; second prize, =£5. Shelley's Prose Letters.— First prize, £\o; second prize, .£5. Shelley's "Hymnto Intellectual Beautv." —First prize, £7; second prize, £$; third prize, £3. Keats' "Hyperion."— One prize, £$. Prizes awarded in August, 1897. Enquiries should be addressed to Mrs. Crawshay, 12, War- wick-road, Paddington, W., London. Essays not to exceed ten pages of twenty-one lines in length, and to be sent before June 1, 1897. LITERATURE IN THE PERIODICALS. The Reviewer and the Reader. A Symposium of Publishers. St. James's Budget for Oct. 30. A Plea for Unsigned Criticism. Notes in the Chap Boole for Nov. 1. The Watson v. Newnes Action. Literary World for Nov. 20. Publishers' Circular for Nov. 21. Copyright at Home. II. W. Morris Colles. Book- man for November. The Disfiguring of Review Copies of Books. C. K. S. in Illustrated London News for Oct. 24; Mr. McQvaine in St. James's Budget for Oot. 30. The " Academy." First number of New Series. Nov. 14. "Oliver Twist." An Old Question of Author and Pub- lisher. Daily Chronicle for Nov. 9. The Abuse of Fiction. Ingrad Harting. Girl's Ov 'i Paper for December. The Modern Babel. Pr0fe88or Mahaffy. Nineteenth Century for November. Politics in Recent It»t. „ m .u,mo&'* Magazine for November. *ICTU>S. OoAwo** Influence of the o^. t xf%. Charies F. Thwing, LL.t> L^*JB IN \*WlCA« ^ {ot November. "«0rtK American Re»*« Autograph Letter . wf» ^o„r for December. °* *V & .William Morris. . hlw . ****** "V ## p. 168 (#208) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. Pemocritus of Abder\. W. B. Wallace. Humanitarian for November. Eobkrt L. Stevenson, Illustrator. Joseph Pennell. Winter number of the Studio. A Novel from the Platform. (Referring to lecture by Mr. Hall Caine.). Report in Scotsman, Nov. 7. Mr. W. Jerrold's letter in the Daily Chronicle for Nov. 12. Notable Reviews. Of Lang's " Life and Letters of J. G. Lockhart." Mrs. Oliphant. Blackwood's Magazine for November. Of Stnrgis's "European Architecture." Times for Nov. 7. The lesson to be learned from the Watson v. Newnes action, says the Literary World, is that authors should be more businesslike in their dealings with editors. If an author is not willing to leave a MS. to be considered at the editor's convenience, however long a time that may entail, he should state a period within which it must be returned. The Publishers' Circular, commenting on the case, represents publishers in this matter of manuscripts as struggling to do their duty in the face of the impatient author, "never once making a bitter retort about the kind of excel- L nee they are so often asked to admire and purchase." Only those behind the scenes can have any idea of the number of manuscripts sub- mitted to London publishers in the course of twelve months. The "reading" and corre- spondence involved are prodigious. "The head of one of the largest publishing houses in London recently stated that his firm published on an average some 3 per cent, of the manuscripts sent in for approval." We are stating a simple fact when we say that every year it costs publishers immense sums to deal with books which never reach the booksellers. On this point statistics would furnish surprising information. Considering the very small percentage of books that ever get beyond the manu- script stage, it will easily be understood, even by the uninitiated, that the expense of dealing with rejected works is no trivial item in the annual expenditure of publishers. That in addition to being made to pay for examining matter, which in most cases ought never to have been put on paper, they Bhould be compelled to read unsolicited manuscripts according to limits of time set by the sender, and be further held responsible for accidental damage sustained—perhaps in the course of transit—is a view which only the unreason- able could take. The views of individual publishers upon the question of how Press notices affect the sale of books are given in the Sf. James's Budget. Mr. Elkin Mathews thinks that they have a great influence with the public, and is persuaded that readers wait for reviews to appear before they buy a book. Mr. John Murray's opinion is that if the work is thoroughly done it invariably helps the book, whether the notice is adverse or favour- able. Mr. Fisher Unwin is of opinion that people have become more independent than formerly, and prefer to use their own judgment rather than rely upon the newspaper critic. They would much rather have served up to them a description of the contents of a book than be provided with mere log-rolling and glorification. He adds that the latter alone is of no service to the publisher in the long run, however much it may promote the temporary interests of the author. Messrs. Ward, Lock, and Co. say that the influence of Press notices is of vast importance or is of no importance at all, in proportion as to whether the criticism is well founded upon fact or not. Messrs. Bell and Sons think that as regards novels, cheap and popular books, Press notices influence the public very largely; on the other hand, im- portant intellectual books, appealing to a com- paratively limited circle, are not much affected by reviews. The experience of Messrs. W. H. Allen and Co., again, is that with novels and that class of literature many reviews are of no practical use, although in books of travel and technical works careful criticism can do a great deal. "The majority of people read books in which they have been previously interested, either in subject or author," say Messrs. Allen, with whose view that of Messrs. Osgood, M'llvaine, and Co. is on all fours. Mr. James Bowden likewise says that favourable reviews affect the sales if the book is what the public want. Messrs. Blackie and Son admit that reviews cannot be done without; a favour- able one is beneficial to the sale of a book, but an unfavourable one is not necessarily detri- mental. Messrs. Chapman and Hall regard the accumulated effect of reviews as valuable, although scarcely any direct effect can be traced from any one review. Messrs. Hutchinson says that where the consensus of opinion is in favour of a book the reviews are a great help to the publisher ; but Mr. John Lane believes that controversial reviews of a good book have a m >st telling effect. Messrs. Sampson, Low, Marston and Co. say that in these enlightened days it takes an ava- lanche of concentrated praise to induce readers to give any attention whatever to a book, while faint praise has still the power to damage a good book irretrievably. Messrs. Chatto and Windus say that the days are past when a very good review in a high-class journal could "make" a book; while, finally, Messrs. Kegan Paul and Co. regard reviews as making not the least difference to the sale of a book, and as being only read by publishers and the authors reviewed. As to the effect of that kind of reviewing which consists in giving many and long extracts from the book under notice, all the publishers who alluded to it—namely, Mr. Murray, Messrs. Hutchinson, Messrs. Ward Lock, Mr. Elkin ## p. 169 (#209) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. 169 Mathews — condemned the practice. "The reader feels," said Mr. Murray, " that he has got so good an idea of the book that he does not want to read it." The question of what becomes of books sent out for review was also remarked upon by several publishers. "C. K. S." in the Illustrated London News first raised this question by way of a protest against the custom of many publishers in stamping (" disfiguring ") review copies of books. The reply of the publishers—expressed in terms, it must be observed, of strong feeling by Messrs. Constable, Sampson Low, and Mr. Mathews—is that in many offices the books are so disposed of that in the case of nearly every one sent for review, copies may be bought in the second-hand shops before the edition is actually issued to the trade. Are there too many books? Yes, says the St. James's writer in summing up the foregoing interviews. "Too many books, and consequently too much criticism. The very number of the volumes issuing from the press makes it impossible to adequately notice more than a few." How signed, as compared with anonymous reviews, affect sales was a matter touched upon only by Mr. Mcllvaine, but his opinion is suffi- ciently striking. "A signed review," he said, "is undoubtedly important, whether favourable or unfavourable. An anonymous one, except in leading journals, is ineffective to increase or diminish the sales of any book." As a com- mentary on the discussion of this question, one may point to the case of the Academy, which, in taking on a completely new and modern dress and spirit, under a new editor, and a new proprietor— Mr. Lewis Hind and Mr. John Morgan Richards, respectively—has made the most radical internal change of all by banishing the signed review and adopting anonymity. The Chap Booh article by Professor Brander Matthews in support of the French custom is replied to vigorously by the writer of "Notes" in that periodical. Anony- mous articles, says this backer of the old method, mean neither cowardice nor recklessness; and a signature neither adds to nor detracts from the weight of judgment. The " anonymous " system is admittedly imperfect, but there are the two extremes; if the unsigned article now and then gives the scoundrel who finds his way into every business too obvious an opportunity, the other method of universal signatures opens the door to unashamed villainy and destroys the worth and dignity of criticism. Notoriety would spoil the critic. The critic's work, existing not for the signature's sake but for its own, stands or fall8 by its merits. The critic alone amone of letters is forbidden to bolster Up ^"^gj articles by the conjuring of a name. On the other hand, if once the signature becomes omni- potent there is an end of criticism. The larger the name the more worthless the work ; and the journal would become a mere album of autographs. Mr. Hall Caine spoke a new story from a Dundee platform, by way of opening the Armistead course of lectures. The Daily Chronicle having styled this "a new form of entertainment," a correspondent in its columns immediately pointed out that, in Mr. Thomas Hardy's story, "The Hand of Ethelberta," the heroine's efforts to support her brothers and sisters in their London home takes the form of telling stories to fashionable audiences in a West End hall. Professor Mahaffy regards the use of one common language in addition to the mother tongue of each people, as the arrangement which would bring order out of the prevailing confusion of the modern Babel. It would produce an enormous saving of time, and tend to the nearer and better knowledge of the world's progress among all people. The English is to be this salving "common tongue," as its preponderance all over the world is so great. The attempt to settle the problem by inventing an arbitrary tongue has been ineffectual, and will never succeed, he says, in the face of practical languages which are the natural growth of the human mind, spoken and understood already by millions of men. The Professor wishes, therefore, that we should encourage such gradual and modern licences— i.e., in the matter of spelling—as may make English easier to acquire. BOOK TALK. DEAN BUTCHER, of Cairo, is the author of a historical tale about to be published by Messrs. Blackwood, entitled "Armenoso of Egypt." It is based upon the romance of Armenoso, who was to have been the bride of Constautine, had not fate decreed otherwise. Mr. Edward Clodd has nearly completed a new work entitled "Pioneers of Evolution: From X Causeda£* J *-rf-»<WJ will be published in tC Atbfi Movement * Grant Richards. m^d\e of January by » Messrs. Chapman ~ . y. J*\e announcement ^fl* *«£ » |>ea. That is, t* a % ^-cVeu9 tot: filling each. In, ^V>^W L»s ti> V> ^Mst be rem eme^ 9* ## p. 170 (#210) ############################################ 170 THE AUTHOR. works are still copyright. The edition is to be printed on good paper, with decorative red cloth binding, and a frontispiece picture in each case. A new historical novel by Dr. Conan Doyle will be published shortly, entitled " Uncle Bernac: A Memory of the Empire." Mr. Herbert Russell, son of Mr. Clark Russell, has placed a story- with Messrs. Sampson Low, which will be issued immediately, entitled "The Longshoreman." Mr. Anthony Hope is at work on a new novel which will probably be called "Born in the Purple." Mr. George Knight is the author of a romance called " The Circle of the Earth," which is an- nounced for early publication by Messrs. Ward, Lock, and Co. A novel by Mr. Charles Kennet Burrow, called "The Way of the Wind," is about to appear from the house of Messrs. Kegan Paul and Co. Miss Dora McChesney has written a historical novel called "Miriam Cromwell, Royalist." Messrs. Blackwood will publish the book. Mrs. Croker has a new three volume novel in the hands of Messrs. Chatto and Windus for early publication. The next volume in the new Irish Library, edited by Sir Charles Gavan Duffy, and published by Mr. Unwin, will be ''Bishop Doyle: A Bio- graphical and Historical Study." The author is Mr. Michael McDonagh, a journalist in London, and author of " The Book of Parliament." Captain Mahan has completed his important "Life of Nelson," which will be published in two volumes, containing portraits and battle-plans, by Messrs. Sampson Low about March. Miss Kingsley has almost finished the volume relating her recent travels and adventures in West Africa. The country dealt with lies in the region of the French Congo and the Cameroons, including Corosco. There will be a map and several illustrations in the volume, which will be called "The Log of a Naturalist in West Africa." Sir Richard Burton's MSS. have been placed in the hands of Mr. W. H. Wilkins, to be pre- pared for publication. They include a book on "Human Sacrifice amongst the Sephardim or Eastern Jews;" "Ladislas Magyars," a volume of African travels; a '* History of the Gypsies ;" "The Book of the Sword," and two additional volumes of Camoens. These books will he brought out at intervals during the next two years. Much earlier, however, there will appear what has been described as the Life of Burton from the point of view of the Burton family. It is founded on unpublished letters and docu- ments, and written by Miss Georgina M. Stisted, niece of the traveller. It is called " The True Life of Captain Sir Richard Burton." The late Mr. George Augustus Sala's " Common- place Book " is being prepared for publication by Mrs. Sala. The original volumes are to be pre- sented to the British Museum. Lord Amherst of Hackney recently came into possession of a MS. of the New Testament, sup- posed to be in Scots. It was shown to Dr. Murray, the editor of the new English Dictionary, who has no doubt that it is a Scottish version of Wyckliffe's translation, and from specimens sub- mitted to him he concludes that it may date from 1500, or thereabout. Lord Amherst has con- sented to the publication of the MS. by the Scottish Text Society, which will issue the work to its members. Mr. Hughes-Hughes, of the British Museum, has begun the transcription, and it will be edited by the Rev. Dr. Walter Gregor. The enticements offered to book-buyers in America, though always of an ingenious character, have not until quite recently possessed the ele- ment of the bizarre in such a striking degree as this. Messrs. Scribner's have published a new "History of the United States," and the first edition has been bought up by the Tribune, who state that the work is not obtainable in the ordinary way from the bookseller, nor through the "oily-tongued agent," but in the following way:— Ring up The Tribune-Scribnera History Club, Tele- phone No.—, any time from eight a.m. to nine p.m. Give the operator your name and address. He has under his hand direct wires to every District Telegraph Offioe in New York and Brooklyn. In two minntes a uniformed boy from the branch nearest you will be on his way with sample volumes (a complete set if you prefer) and full par- ticulars. No charge for the service. Keep the boy as long at you like. Pay the messenger no money. The following is the inscription borne by the monument of the late Prince Henry of Batten- berg at Balmoral, which has just been erected. The author of the quatrain is the Marquis of Lome: "Brief life, in sport and war so keen. Mourned by these winds in heath and fir, As where the falling breakers stir The palms that crown thy oloBing scene." The library of the late Prince Louis-Lucien Bonaparte, consisting of a unique collection of philological works representing a cost of .£40,000, has been bought from the Princess by Mr. H. S. ## p. 171 (#211) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. 171 Nichols for something like an eighth of that sum. Some strong criticisms have been passed upon the Corporation of the City of London for allowing its negotiations for the purchase of the library to fall through, London being the proper and most suitable place for this splendid accumula- tion. Mr. Charles J. H. Halcombe, the author of "Tales of Par Cathay," is producing a work on China entitled " The Mystic Flowery Land." It will be published soon by Messrs. Luzac and Co., with illustrations. Mr. Hugh Clifford, British Resident at Pahang, is publishing early in the new year through Mr. Grant Richards, a volume of stories illustrating life and character in the Malay Peninsula. "Reliques of Old London," is the title of a book which Messrs. George Bell and Sons are about to publish. It consists of a group of studies of houses of the period from the Great Fire to Queen Anne. These studies are drawn in lithography by Mr. T. R. Way, and the letter- press descriptions arc from the pen of Mr. H. B. Wheatley. A proposal to place a memorial window in the church of the parish in which Oliver Goldsmith was born, has been made by the Rector of Fergney, Among those who are giving sympathy and sup- port to the project are Professor Skeat, Professor Hales, Mr. Edmund Gosse, Mr. Austin Dobson, Sir Walter Besant, and Mr. Edward Bell. Subscriptions to the fund may be addressed either to the Rev. J. H. Rice, Fergney Rectory, Mullingar; or Professor Hales, 1, Oppidan's-road, London, N. The Kelmscott Press announces that Spenser's "Shepheardes Calender" will be ready shortly, bound in half-holland, with twelve full-page illus- trations by A. J. Gaskin. The third volume of the " Earthly Paradise" will also appear shortly, and will be followed by the other five volumes in due course, as well as by "Sire Degravaunt," "The Water of the Wondrous Isles," and another romance by the late Mr. William Morris called "The Sundering Flood," particulars of which will be issued later. Two projects announced in the summer—namely, the folio editions of Froissart and of "Sigurd the Volsung"—have been abandoned. After its present engagements are fulfilled, the Kelmscott Press will be closed. Mrs. William Morris asks all those who may possess letters of her late husband's, or notes of conversations with him, or other documents likely to be of service in the preparation of his biorTrauhy. to be so good as to send them to Mr. J "Vy \r ■kail (27, Young-street, Kensington, W. j. jjj^ j*tte« will be especially welcome. All documents will be carefully returned. In his work on Christina Rossetti, Mr. Mackenzie Bell will enter very elaborately upon exposition and analysis of all that writer's books —fourteen in number. Of the eight chapters which will make up the book, three will be bio- graphical. There will be several portraits, and a bibliography compiled by Mr. John P. Anderson, of the British Museum. The attention given to literary matters by the London morning papers is on the increase. The Morning Post has, during the month, made a con- cession to the modern spirit by inaugurating a special page of reviews and literary news weekly —on Thursday. The volume of reminiscences by the late Mrs. Rundle Charles, author of "The Schonberg-Cotta Family," is being brought out by Mr. Murray, under the title " Our Seven Homes." Miss B. M. Croker's Irish novel, " Beyond the Pale," at present appearing serially in the weekly edition of the Times, will be published in book form in London and New York on Jan 15. November was as busy as possible in the publishing trade. The huge batches of special Christmas books go to swell the number, but, apart from these, a fairly interesting and important production appeared. In fiction there were new volumes by Dr. Doyle, Mrs. Steel, and Mrs. Craigie; in poetry Mr. Rudyard Kipling's "The Seven Seas" (Methuen); in travel Mr. Selous' "Sunshine and Storm in Rhodesia" (Rowland Ward); and in biography, Mr. Archer's "Nansen," from the Norwegian (Longmans). Mr. Herbert Spencer brought his work on Synthetic Philosophy to a conclusion with the volume entitled "The Principles of Sociology" (Williams and Norgate). It is six and thirty years since this work was commenced, and Mr. Spencer, in a touching retrospect, alludes to his many deterrents and relapses during the labour. Doubtless in earlier years, he says, some exultation would have resulted in finding the end of such a work at length reached, "but as _ on ieeUug* weaken, and now nay T P,r« is in emancipation. Still tW^£ *!• « t&e consciousness that wZ* « aateiaW » d Mattered health W"**> tosmrage^nts, * fulfilling the purpo^*' r^eiM me 1 . A little township . N W vp> JMst been re;cfiri<JVV ^ol^>n&> v* * name gft, ^ ^ ^ oye ## p. 172 (#212) ############################################ 172 THE AUTHOR. to change it, and to call it after the heroine of, as he said, "a story which has lately deeply moved me." A plan of the town has been drawn up with streets and squares and avenues all bearing the familiar names of the characters in the late Mr. Du Maurier's novel. A new sixpenny monthly, which will discuss questions connected with literature, politics, religion, education, sociology, and kindred sub- jects, is announced. The title is the New Century Jierieic, and the first number will appear on the 18th. Lady Halle is about to publish a volume of ■extracts from letters written to her by Sir Charles Halle, in which the musical events of England during the last twenty-six years are discussed. These would have appeared in the work which Sir Charles, had he lived, intended to produce. A correspondent to the Publishers' Circular of Nov. 14 suggests the formation of a society for private librarians. Mark Twain's book, "Tom Sawyer, Detective," will be published in the course of a few days by Messrs. Chatto and Windus. "The Money-Spinner and Other Character Notes," by Henry Seton Merriman and S. G. Tallentyre, will be published shortly by Messrs. Smith, Elder, and Co. In Japan the present rate of exchange has greatly affected scholarship, prices having nearly doubled themselves. Altogether the Japanese scholar's path is a difficult one, and only a man of independent means can carry out a literary career. Study used to he loved for its own sake, and a young man would rather bear the title of student than possess <£iooo. Now, however, education is constantly spoken of as learning how to make a livelihood. It is gratifying to hear, however, that a project is on foot to establish a large public library in Tokyo by amalgamating the three existing institutions, and to purchase foreign works in sufficient number to form an establishment worthy of the nation. In order to do this it is calculated that for many years it will be necessary to spend at least £ 10,000 in foreign works. A book on glass painting, by Mr. Henry Holiday, is in course of publication by Messrs. Macmillan. The volume will contain twelve collotype pictures, and many illustrations in the text, from designs by Sir Edward Burne-Jones, Mr. W. B. Eichmond, Mr. Christopher Whall, and Mr. Holiday. Mr. F. M. Lutyens has written a sporting ■story, "Mr. Spinks and his Hounds," which will be published by Messrs. Vinton and Co. The book is to be embellished with about sixty illus- trations from original drawings by Mr. C. Lutyens. "Backward or Forward '<" the last of the series of Indian problems, by Colonel H. B. Hanna, will be published next month by Messrs. A. Constable and Co. The present volume deals largely with the financial aspect of the Forward Policy, also with the effect of that policy upon the loyalty of the people of India, and the native army. Mr. Leonard Merrick informs us that the novel published by Messrs. Chatto and Windus, under the name of " A Daughter of the Philistines," has unfortunately had to change its name, as Messrs. Tillotson already have a story in the field with that title. It will therefore be called, " Cynthia: a Daughter of the Philistines." Lord Roberts has accepted the invitation of the New Vagabond Club to be its guest on Dec. 9 at the Christmas dinner. To this dinner ladies may be invited. Mr. Rudyard Kipling will also be present. The governing bodies of the Royal Historical Society and the Camden Society have agreed to unite the institutions (subject to ratification by special meetings shortly to be held), the members of the Camden becoming fellows of the Royal Historical after May 1 next. Amongst other advantages anticipated from the union, it is believed that it will be possible to issue every year three volumes of publications in the style of the old Camden series, and a volume of trans- actions. In a lecture on the 19th ult., Mr. Frederic Harrison suggested that the two societies should collaborate in the preparation of a competent bibliography of English History. Messrs. Hurst and Blackett have just brought out, in their well-known three-and-sixpenny series, a new and revised edition of Miss Eleanor Holmes's first novel, "In Time to Come." "Through Another Man's Eyes,'' a story by the same writer, is to be issued shortly in Messrs. Jarrold and Son's Greenback series. A one-volume edition at a popular price of Andrew Tuer's "History of the Horn Book " will shortly be issued. The two volume edition de luxe is stated to be nearly out of print. Miss Helen M. Burnside has written her "Reminiscences " of twenty years of work for fine art publishers in the Christmas number of Hearth and Home, which subject is also dealt with by Mr W. James Wintle in the Christmas number of the Windsor Magazine. The Artistic Litho- graphic Company publishes three illustrated Christmas poems by Miss Burnside, entitled "Our Ancestors," "For Auld Lang Syne," and ## p. 173 (#213) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. 173 "'Neath Christmas Snows." Several highly artistic "black and white" calendars, for which Miss Burnside has written "Story Poems," are issued by Messrs S. Hildesheimer and Company. Perhaps the most interesting publication of the season will be issued this month as a Christmas and New Year book by the Roxburghe Press, entitled "My Father as I Recall Him," by the late Miss Mamie Dickens. It is full of anecdote and information of Charles Dickens's home life. Miss Mamie Dickens was not able to revise the final proofs previous to her death, but this has been kindly undertaken by Mrs. Perugini (Kate Dickens). The work will contain some illustra- tions from photos, &c., never before published, and will by produced in a most dainty style, Mr. Charles F. Rideal being responsible for its " get up," It will also have a specially designed cover. CORRESPONDENCE. I.—The Title. THERE can be no doubt that if the proposal made by " Tyro," anent the above, could be adopted it would be a great boon to writers. But I fear it is unlikely that any private firm or individual will be found willing to undertake what must develop into quite a colossal compila- tion. The British Museum authorities are the proper people to help us, and I hope they may be so disposed, on the lines indicated. Failing this desirable result, " Tyro" should regularly consult the Bookseller and the Publishers' Circular, whose lists are reliable and exhaustive. When I was a young bird I nursed a pet scheme, which I fondly trusted might some day bear good fruit. It was that the title, being a product of the brain equally with the story one contrives to produce, might be registered as the inventor's sole property, say, as soon as the manuscript was completed and lodged with a publisher for judgment. I even had the courage to carry my project into the stern pre- cincts of Stationers' Hall. Strange to say, beyond a tolerant smile, my suggestion met with no encouragement there, and I walked do a n Ludgate-hill feeling very sad after my rebuff. I am still obstinate enough to cling to my notion as one not altogether imbecile. Old Bird. Authors' Club, S.W., Oct. 17. II.—The Fiest Book. 1. I should like to give you, for the ^ benefit of struggling authors, my exp^ hling °* my first book. It was not the first h ^ienCC °* ^\ that I had written by any means, but the first I had succeeded in getting into print and giving to the world. I had just arrived in England after a summer spent in the United States, and I sat down and wrote a novel naturally dealing largely with incidents in that land—in fact I called it on the title page "An Anglo-American Romance." 1 felt very sanguine as to the success of my book (and so indeed did others to whom I showed it). So confident about it did I feel that—knowing the repeated rejections it would probably have to undergo at the bands of publishers—I took the rather rash course of having the work printed at my own expense. The next difficulty was to find a London publisher who would under any circum- stances whatever allow his name to appear on the title page of a book which he had not had printed at his own printers, in his own particular style of " get up," and in his own way. I then gave a printed (but unbound) copy into the hands of a literary agent, who submitted it at once to a young firm of publishers, who directly replied that they should not have hesitated to publish the work entirely at their own expense had they not already undertaken as much risk as they felt justified to incur. They would, however, still be pleased to publish it on a 10 per cent, commission if the author would finance. Having already financed the printing, and there remaining but little more in this way to do, and being anxious to get my book brought out on almost any terms at all, this was agreed to, and the novel appeared. Messrs. Smith and Messrs. Mudie took a con- siderable number of copies, and more were sold besides, but not sufficient to recoup me my outlay, simply from the book being badly introduced, badly published, and insufficiently advertised, and I have hitherto not received a penny of actual profit for all my work. In certiin libraries to which I gave copies I see the book is as popular as a book can well be, and is—solely on its own interest—being constantly read. I have before me in print as 1 write this, a lecture delivered by the editor in April, 1884, on "The Art of Fiction," in which he advises "Never, never, never pay for publishing a novel;" yet in the case of " Ready Money Mortiboy" this distinguished novelist says he managed his own first novel in this way. I admit that in this ease the arrangement seems a good one, because the authors had already netted £,100 for their serial rights. H an author must not undertake the expenses and risk of his first book, and he can find no publisher who will do so, what other course can {,e take i" This is a question which has perplexed f0r some years. ■r ii.ink it would be beneficial if some of our ## p. 174 (#214) ############################################ i74 THE AUTHOR. veteran writers would give us shortly a little of their experience with their first or early works. T. D. L. [" T. D. L." misunderstands the facts. I warn everybody never, on any account, to pay for the publication of his own book; first, because he will be almost certainly overcharged as to the cost; next, because if the book is worth publishing any good publisher will willingly take it; thirdly, because it is very rare for an author who has paid a publisher in advance to get back his money; fourthly, because certain low class publishers live by deluding young writers into tbe belief that they are going to reap great fortunes out of a worthless MS. The management of "Ready Money Mortiboy" was a very different thing. The authors had it printed and bound economically; they gave it to a publisher on commission; they kept an eye— one of the eyes was experienced—on its manage- ment; they made the printer's bill payable after the publisher's first returns; and they never had to pay anything out of pocket at all. Moreover, they knew very well, from its success as a serial, that it would " go."—Ed.] ii. The editor is too ardent a champion of authors' rights to suggest any course which might play into the hands of grasping or so-called " timid" publishers. Yet does it not seem as if the very breath of such a proposal as printing one's first book at one's own expense (especially coming from such an authority) may be pointed to with triumph by the publisher as a justification of his invariable talk of " risk "? In this matter of the issue of a first work, there is one thing, perhaps, not undeserving of inquiry. In these days a considerable number of publishers absolutely decline to take up any books other than those from the pens of authors whose name is established. The latter-day pub- lisher sees that an author has made a stupendous hit with one book, and he and his colleagues instantly enter into frenzied competition for the same writer's next work—perhaps a hopeless MS. of long standing, already rejected by every publisher in turn. The question arises, what is the use of a " taster" to the majority of present publishing firms? On the whole, though I speak as one who lays himself open to facetious comment, as one not having yet touched the goal of acceptance, while modestly disclaiming the title of an " un- appreciated genius," I read with pleasure " Alan Oscar's" lesson of manly patience to new authors —" to write on and submit their stories till success comes." J. Q. III.—A Plea for Signed Criticisms. The trenchant remarks of " Behind the Scenes," in the October issue of The Author, should be well considered by all who recognise the import- ance of a subject which must appeal forcibly to writers of every grade. In particular his con- cluding paragraphs deserve to be writ large indeed, as they indicate the very pivot upon which turns the whole latter-day method of reviewing. I, for one, most cordially agree with "Behind the Scenes" that until our critics are made respon- sible by signature, or at any rate by genuine initials, as a means of identification, for the opinions they express, the hatchet of discord between us will never be buried. "Nor is it just that it should be when circumstances are dispas- sionately considered. If a writer send forth his title-page inscribed with his name, surely he has a right to expect equal frankness from those who sit in judgment upon his work, and who wield no inconsiderable power to make or mar his fortunes. It does seem a crying shame that there should only too often be no redress for the maligned fictionmonger, smarting perchance under censure provoked by some notice, slovenly, in- accurate, and, above all, anonymous. It is easy enough for authors who have reached the top of the tree to ignore, from its summit, the shafts which fail to hurt them. But most of us are only swarming up a trunk the foothold on which is slippery and insecure. Hence these tears. Cecil Clarke. Authors* Club, S.W. IV.—Educational Criticism. I fully agree with the remarks of "An Edu- cational Author," in the current number of your journal, that "editors of journals should be on their guard when they receive from educational authors carping criticisms, mingled with personal insults, on the works of their colleagues." In no branch of literature is there so much abuse of criticism as in that of education. I have no personal grievance in the matter, never having published an educational work, but I have been connected with the "profession," and I know what an injustice is frequently done to educa- tional authors. Unfortunately, most people do not read between the lines, and so they do not discover the venom hidden under the cover of what is conventionally called "fair criticism." One of the most distinguished headmistresses in this country, whose death was a great loss to the profession, once told me, "When- ever I read an exhaustive virulent criticism on an educational work, I immediately procure the book, as I assume that, if it were not an ## p. 175 (#215) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. •75 important publication, the critic would never have taken so much pains to revile it at full length; and, as a rule, I find tbat the severely censured book is a good one." The fact is that the educational Zoilus reigns supreme in this country. He will often extol to the skies trashy publications, but let him hit upon a meritorious work, and he will be sure to tear it, critically, to pieces. All friends of education must therefore be grateful to you for having given publicity to the remarks of " An Educational Author," which may open the eyes of many an editor to the abuse of criticism as far as educational works are concerned. Fair Plat. V.—Thirteen as Twelve. Since discovering, some years ago, that in the majority of cases booksellers do not order books in dozens, and have them delivered according to bakers' measure, I have felt inclined to resent somewhat strongly the custom which prevails amo>ng publishers of paying no royalty to the author on one out of every thirteen copies they sell of his book. I went so far as to argue the point, when arranging the terms of a profit-sharing agreement (the publisher taking all risks) with a member of one of the largest firms of publishers we have. It was even possible, as I pointed out, if he neg- lected to account for every thirteenth book he sold, for his firm to make a small profit, while I, the author, who had been offered "half profits," might receive nothing. He admitted that I was correct, but said that the difficulty of distin- guishing in the accounts between books sold by the dozen and books sold in less numbers was so considerable that if he were to account for the actual sales he would have to increase his staff' of clerks. I marvelled at this, but the end of it was he refused point blank to alter his usual custom, and I had the choice of taking the book out of his firm's hands, and probably losing that publishing season, or agreeing to his terms in this particular. But there was another firm, and it gives me great pleasure to mention it by name—Messrs. Hutchinson and Co.—which this spring published a novel of mine called " Lady Val's Elopement." An offer of a certain royalty was made. "How do you account for your sales?" I asked, " actual copies sold, or the thirteen as twelve plan?" I hope it is no breach of confidence for me to give the reply, which is greatly to Mr. Hutchinson's credit. "On the actual sales, of course," jje . "the thirteen as twelve business is a mer^ ■ ,1. » "But the usual custom," I found aiiv, "lt pelled to add. "We do not carry onodj. M COffl" in that way," he remarked, drily, and jiyw Musiu?sS hf«otl' fidence at once. Perhaps I have not quoted the exact words, but our conversation was much to the effect given. Here we have a precedent, and a precedent is a great step forward. If the thirteen as twelve method were not the custom of the trade, it might be called strong and unpleasant names. It is a bad and unfair custom, and that an important firm of London publishers will have nothing to do with it is gratifying and en- couraging Of course, the only result of the older firms insisting on unfair and inaccurate, but customary, methods of accounting for books sold is that, while they are the richer by a few pounds over any particular book, they most certainly lose the best of the younger writers without whom, in a few years' time, their businesses cannot be carried on. Authors will naturally take their MSS. to the younger, more enterprising, and, I may say, more fair-dealing firms. John Bickerdyke. VI.—"A Falling Off." I am a novelist and a woman. From time to time I have a story to offer. It is never a very pleasant thing to submit your own wares, especially when you are conscious that the person who is to buy them is always thinking for how little he can get them. I wish to publish a little experience connected with these dealings. I am told, not once, but always, not by one man but by many, the same story. "Dear me!" he sighs, "if this story had been as good as your last, I should have given you twice as much as I gave you then. But there is a sad falling off— very sad. I cannot, really, offer you more than so much"—naming a greatly reduced figure. I have to take it, or go elsewhere, to be told the same thing. The sham and pretence are shown by the fact that they forget on each occasion that they said exactly the same thing before. So that it is clearly a stock excuse for running down a helpless woman. Clio. VII.—" Publication." What is the exact meaning of the word " publi- cation "? The legal sense is known, but what is the meaning generally understood as between author and publisher f I will give three instances of different values being attached to the word. Book A.—I as author contract to deliver the complete MS. by March 31, 1896; the publisher contract* to produce—" publish" is the word used in the "Memorandum of Agreement"—the book , later than May 15. No advance is to be n . -vvith respect to royalties. I do not receive ## p. 176 (#216) ############################################ 176 THE AUTHOR. the usual complimentary copies until October; even up to date of writing no copies have been sent out for review, nor to my knowledge have any been sold, or offered for sale; but the pub- lisher writes me, "The act of publication takes place the moment a complete copy is produced." Book B.—The publishers contract with me to issue the book in the autumn of 1896, and to pay me on publication a specified sum on account of royalties. This book is issued to the libraries and booksellers in September, and in the same month I receive complimentary copies, but when I apply for the money payable on publication I am informed that the directors will fix a date for settlement. Book C.—This was issued to booksellers in 1894, was duly advertised, reviewed, and sold. It has not been entered at Stationers' Hall, nor is it to be found at the British Museum; in short, the provisions of the Copyright Acts have not been complied with, and, as the copyright of this book rests with the author, I regard it as a matter of some importance that it should be so published as to enable me to maintain those rights. Can it be maintained that anyone of these three books has been published? T. C. B. VIII.—An Inquiry. Can any of the readers of The Author kindly inform me where I can find an article on "Famous and Curious Bets"? I have seen such an article, but cannot remember where. Harold R. Wintle. IX.—Copyrights. In last issue you refer to the "lifting" of a short story entitled " A Ghostly Smoker." The idiot who stole it seems to think that because the word "reserved "—he may mean "copyright"— was not printed at the beginning or end, the story is unprotected, and becomes the property of any gutter-prowler who may choose to annex it. But according to English law, the mere art of publication gives copyright, and this applies to all original matter, including stories, short and long. Andrew W. Tuer. The Leadenhall Press, E.C. X. — The Completion of Mr. Spencer's Philosophy. [From The Times, Tuesday, Nov. 17, 1896.] To the Editor of The Times. Sir,—All students of Mr. Spencer's writings will desire to join in the words of your leader of Saturday last, that " We heartily congratulate Mr. Herbert Spencer on having at length completed the great work of his life. . . . Our present concern is with the fact that the system of synthetic philosophy has at length received its last touch, and that this stupendous undertaking has^ in spite of all difficulties, been launched on the world. It is with no empty form of words that we congratulate the author on his success, and on the pleasure he can now feel in his well-earned emancipation." My object in addressing you is to ask if it may not be possible to form a sufficiently strong com- mittee, representative of all philosophy and science in the United Kingdom, to induce Mr. Spencer to allow, as a mark of congratulation, some repre- sentation of himself to be made and placed in one of the permanent and officially recognised galleries or museums of Loudon, such as the National Portrait Gallery, the rooms of the Boyal Society, or one of the halls of the South Kensington Museum. What form the representation should take, and to whom the commission should be intrusted, would, of course, have to be decided by the com- mittee in consultation with Mr. Spencer himself. When the preliminaries had been discussed and settled, and it was known that Mr. Spencer would consent to sit—the most difficult matter apparently that the committee would have to arrange—I feel sure that the necessary funds would be forth- coming to carry out the project to a successful conclusion, as the names of several are known to me who would be only too delighted to partici- pate in the formation of a memento of the greatest philosopher that our country has produced, and whose equal has not appeared in the present century, for, as you truly say, "As a writer he has attained a reputation not only in his own country, and has exercised an influence not only on English thought. In Germany and Russia he stands even higher than he does here, and has been more thoroughly studied in the most abstruse and least popularly attractive of his books." Will any of those who would like to be con- nected with this movement kindly communicate with me? They will, of course, understand that I am writing entirely upon my own responsibility, and without Mr. Spencer's knowledge. I would it were possible to add that his permission for a portrait or statue had been obtained.—I am, Sir, your obedient servant, F. Howard Collins. Churchfield, Edgbaston. ## p. 176 (#217) ############################################ A D VER TISEMENTS. in ELLIOT STOCK'S NEW VOLUMES OF VERSE. In crown 8vo., cloth, price 3a. 6d. LEAVES IN THE WIND. Bv ANTHONY C. UEANE. In crown 8to., oloth, price 5s. A TRIP TO FAIRYLAND; or, Happy Wedlock. With other Poetical Pieces. By the Rev. JOHN MORGAN, Rector of Llanilid and Llanharan, Glamorganshire. In crown 8vo., cloth, price 5a. POEMS OF LOVE AND NATURE. By CHARLES W. CAYZER, B.A. ConTBNT8Spring Idylls—Songs and Lyrics—Love Sonnets- Amy Robsart—Miscellaneous Poems—Sonnets—Epigrams. "Verse through which breaths the true spirit of poetry.***—(Jlnsyoir Evening Timet. 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RUSTON. » Our highest ambition we fancy attained, the poor man has riches galore, We think that the haven of rest has been gained, though round us the breakers may roar." "'Rattling' good pieces of the 'rattling' kind. It goes with a swinff that is very pleasant.''—Literary World. 41 Brimful of rich, poetic sentiment, and revealing the true soul of the poet."—Western Morning Nctc*. "Attractive little volume. Many of the pieces admirably adapted for reci ta i ion."—Xoiihampton Herald. ELLIOT STOCK, 62, PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON, E.C. RECENT VERSE. By Dr. J. A. GOODCHILD. Cloth lettered, By HENRY TODD, Cloth LYRICS, price 5s. NORTH COUNTRY BALLADS. Price 6s. TALES IN VERSE. By Dr. J. A. GOODCHILD. lettered, price SONGS OF THE CASCADES. By ERL VIKING. Fcap. Svo., cloth boards, 8s. 6d. SONGS OF THE PINEWOODS. By ARTHUR CAMP- BELL. Price 3s. M. THE FAIREST OF THE ANGELS, and Other Verse. By MARY COLBOENE-VEEL. Fcap. 8vo., cloth boards, 3s. 6d. "Some of the shorter lyrics are much above the average, being clear in thought and musical in expression. The merits of the collec- tion are considerable."— The Bookman. THE WANDERER IN THE LAND OF CYBI, and other Poems (1886-93). By OLIFFOED BROOKS. Fcap. 8vo., cloth boards, 8s. 6d. POEMS. By THOMAS BARLOW. Crown 8vo., bevelled boards, gilt edges, price 5s. POEMS. By LEWIS BROCKMAN. Crown 8vo., oloth boards, 5s. "The ballads are full of the spirit and directness of style proper to the ballad."—Saturday Renew. "Mr. Brockman is a writer of good pootic mettle, and no doubt the reading world will hear more of him yet."—Glasgow Herald. "The graceful smoothness of Mr. Lewis Brockman's poems" ■ Daily Telegraph. "He is decidedly inventive, and often highly imaginative The element of originality pervades the book. . . . Hisi' • Ronald's Cross,' is well sustained . . . it is like the m1"' poem, 'Mariner,' and it holds us."—Queen. Plaint of 'Be 41 A reader who values cultnred sentiments and Hai,;. tion will find much to admire."—Scotsman. rersiflC*" London: Horace Cox, Windsor House, Breaaj's Now ready, price 2s. Gd., cloth. A FLYINQ VISIT TO THE AMERICAN CONTINENT. WITH NOTES BY THE WAY. By F. DALE PAWLE. London: Horace Co: or House, Bream's-buildlngs, E C. Now ready, demy 8vo., cloth boards, price 10s. 6d. IN NEW SOUTH AFRICA. Travels in the Transvaal and Rhodesia. With Hap and Twenty-six Illustrations. By H. LINCOLN TANGYE. CONTENTS. Introductory. PART I. Chapter I.—The Land or Gold and the Way there. ,, II.—Across Desert and Veldt. ,, III.—Johannesburg the Golden. „ IV.—A Transvaal Coach Journey. ., V.—Natal: the South African Garden. ,, VI.—Ostracised in Africa. Home with the Swallows. PART II —RAMBLES IS RHODESIA. CBAPTIR I —Eendragt Maakt Magt. II.—Into the Countrv of Lobengula. ,, III.—The Trnll of War. IV.—Goldmining, Ancient and Modern. "V.—Sic Transit Gloria Mundi. "VI —To Northern Mashonaland. "\'II.—Primitive Art. The Misadventures of a Wagon. Index- nd°n: : Horace Cox. Windsor House, Bream s-buildings, E U. ## p. 176 (#218) ############################################ IV AD VER TISEMENTS. LOWEST PRICES IN LONDON. Authors* MS8. correctly and neatly copied at lOcl. per lOOO word Carbon Duplicates at 2d. ,, LEGAL AND GENERAL COPYING at Id. per folio. ♦ ♦ We hate a stilled and irell educated staff nf operators. dice u.i a trial, and compare our tcork and prices tcit/i those of other offices. LARGE ORDERS ESTIMATED FOR. Note o4tr address— THE ECLIPSE TYPEWRITING AND SHORTHAND OFFICES 28, FENCHURCH STREET. LONDON, E.C. I THE TEMPLE TYPEWRITING OFFICE. TYPEWRITING EXCEPTIONALLY ACCURATE. Moderate prices. Duplicates of Circulars by the latest ^ process. References to the Society of Authors. i OPINIONS 0? 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Telegraphic address: "Patzen, London." 6a&V- 1 PASTE STICKS TVTT=I S . GILL, TYPE-WHITING OFFICE, 35, LUDOATE HILL, E.C. (ESTABLISHED 1883.) Authors' MSS. carefully copied from Is. per 1000 words. Duplicate copies third price. Skilled typists sent out by hour, day. or week. French MSS. accurately ropied, or typewritteu English translations supplied. References kindly permitted to Sir Walter Resant: also to MesBTB. A. P. Watt and Son, Literary Agents, Hastings House, Norfolk-street, Strand, W.C. THE AUTHOR'S HAIRLESS PAPER-PAD. (Thi Leadenhall Press Ltd.), SO, Leaden hull Street, I,ondon, E.C. Contains hairless paper, over which the pen slips with perfect freedom. Sixpence each: 5s. per dozen, ruled or plain. MESDAMES BRETT & BOWSER, TYPISTS, SELBORNE CHAMBERS, BELL YARD, TEMPLE BAR. Authors' MSS. carefully and expeditiously copied, from is. per 1000 words. Extra carbon copies half price. Refer- ences kindly permitted to Augustine Birrell, Esq., M.P., and "Anthony Hope." Cmwn 8vo., cloth boards, price 6s. HATHERSAGE: A Tale of North Derbyshire. BY CHARLES EDMUND HALL, Author of " An Ancient Ancestor," Ac. London: Horace Cox, Windsor House, Bream'a-buildings. E.G. Printed and Published by Horace Cox, Windsor House, Bream's-buildings, London, E.C. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Author, Vol. 07 Issue 07 (December 1896) Subject The topic of the resource The Author, Vol. 07 Issue 07 (December 1896) Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015049239455" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015049239455</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Publication Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 1896-12-01-The-Author-7-7 publications The Author https://historysoa.com/files/original/5/296/1896-11-02-The-Author-7-6.pdf 7cee6eabab141c572db760a737d636b7 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 The Author Description An account of the resource A digitised run of the Society of Authors' monthly periodical, The Author, 1890–1914, made available together for the first time. Currently users can browse issues and <a href="https://historysoa.com/items/browse?search=&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bjoiner%5D=and&advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=51&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Index&collection=&type=&tags=&exhibit=&date_search_term=&submit_search=Search+For+Items&sort_field=Dublin+Core%2CTitle">indices</a> (not available for all volumes). Full text search for all issues, and other additional search functionality, will be added in 2022. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1890–1914 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context The-Author-Issues Publication Date The date of an event (in YYYY, YYYY-MM or YYYY-MM-DD format) 1896-11-02 Volume 7 Issue 6 Pages Page range in volume 117–144 Ngram Date Version of the date in YYYYMMDD format for use by the Ngram plugin 18961102 Ngram Text Version of the text with no HTML formatting for use by the Ngram plugin XL he Hutbot\ (The Organ of the Incorporated Society of Authors. Monthly.) CONDUCTED BY WALTER BESANT. Vol. VII.—No. 6.] NOVEMBER 2, 1896. [Price Sixpence. CONTENTS. General Memoranda Literary Properly— 1. A Book on the Law of Copyright 2. The Average Return Notes from Paris. By R. H. Shorard ... New York Letter. By Norman Hupgood The Church Congress and Fiction PA(!E ... 117 ... 119 ... 119 ... 119 ... 122 ... 124 The Russian Press Bureau Notes and News. By the Editor Book Talk ... • Literature in the Periodicals The Berne International Literary and Artistic Congress Prize Competitions PAOK ... 124 ... 198 ... 127 ... 129 ... 131 ... 144 PUBLICATIONS OF THE SOCIETY. 1. The Annual Report. That for January 1896 can be had on application to the Secretary. 2. The Author. A Monthly Journal devoted especially to the protection and maintenance of Literary Property. Issued to all Members. Back numbers are offered at the following prices: Vol. I., ior. 6(7. (Bound); Vols. II., III., and IV., 8s. 6d. each (Bound); Vol. V., 6s. (>,/. (Unbound). 3. Literature and the Pension List. By W. Morris Colles, Barrister-at-Law. (Henry Glaisher, 95, Strand, W.C.) 3*. 4. The History of the Societe des Sens de Lettres. By S. Squire Sprigge, late Secretary to the Society, i*. 5. The Cost of Production. In this work specimens are given of the most important forms of type, size of page, &c, with estimates showing what it costs to produce the more common kinds of books. Henry Glaisher, 95, Strand, W.C. 2*. 6d. 6. The Various Methods of Publication. By S. Squire Sprigge. In this work, compiled from the papers in the Society's offices, the various forms of agreements proposed by Publishers to Authors are examined, and their meaning carefully explained, with an account of the various kinds of fraud which have been made possible by the different clauses in their agreements. Henry Glaisher, 95, Strand, W.C. 3*. 7. Copyright Law Eeform. An Exposition of Lord Monkswell's Copyright Bill now beiore Parlia- ment. With Extracts from the Report of the Commission of 1878, and 8JV A'PPen4lx containing the Berne Convention and the American Copyright Bill. By J. a* -tMt. ^>'re and Spottiswoode. is. 6d. A> 8. The Society of Authors. A Record of its Action from its Foundation. By (Chairman of Committee, 1888—1892). 1*. * NV 9' ^ Lun?e° J.U-^M011 in Qerman?' Austria< Hungary, and Switzer.\ \^ ## p. 116 (#152) ############################################ 11 AD VER TISEMENTS. g>ociefp of Jluf^ors (gncorporateb). 8ir Edwin Arnold, K.C.I.E., C.S.I. Alfred Austin. J. M. Barrie A. W. 1 Beckett. P. E. Beddard, P.E.S. Robert Bateman. Sir Henry Bebgne, K.C.M.G. Sir Walter Besant. augubtine blrrell, m.p. Rev. Prof. Bonnet, P.E.S. Right Hon. James Bryce, M.P. Right Hon. Lord Burghclere, P.C. Hall Caine. Egerton Castle, F.S.A. P. W. Clatden. Edward Clodd. W. Morris Colles. Hon. John Collier. Sir W. Martin Conway. P. Marion Crawford. A. W. 1 Beckett. Sir Walter Besant. Egerton Castle. W. Morris Colles. ( Messrs. Field Solicitors— PRESIDENT. GEOBGE M33EETJITH COUNCIL. The Earl of Desart. Austin Dobson. A. Conan Doyle, M.D A. W. Dubourg. Sir J. Eric Erichsen, Bart., F.R.S. Prof. Michael Foster, F.R.S. Richard Garnett, C.B., LL.D. Edmund Gosse. H. Rider Haggard. Thomas Hardy. Anthony Hope Hawkins. Jerome K. Jerome. Rudyard Kipling. Prof. E. Ray Lankester, F.R.S. W. E. H. Lecky. J. M. Lely. Mrs. E. Lynn Linton. Rev. W. J. Loftie, F.S.A. Sir A. C Mackenzie, Mus.D. Prof. J. M. D. Meiklejohn. Counsel — E. M. Underdown, COMMITTEE OF MANAGEMENT. Chairman—H. Rider Haggard. Hon. John Collier. Sir W. Martin Conway. Anthony Hope Hawkins. J. M. Lely. Roscoe, and Co., Lincoln's Inn Fields. Herman C. Merivale. Rev. C. H. Middleton-Wake. Sir Lewis Morris. Henry Norman. Miss E. A. Ormerod. J. C. Parkinson. Right Hon. Lord Pirbright. Sir Frederick Pollock, Bart., LL.D. Walter Herries Pollock. W. Baptists Scoones. Miss Flora L. Shaw. G. R. Sims. S. Squire Sprigge. J. J. Stevenson. Prof. Jas. Sully. William Moy Thomas. H. D. Traill, D.C.L. Mrs. Humphry Ward. Miss Charlotte M. Yonge. Hon. Q.C. Sir A. C. Mackenzie, Mus.D. Henry Norman. S. Squire Sprigge. ( G. Herbert Thbing, B.A., 4, Portugal-street, W.C. Secretary—G. Herbert Thring, B.A. OFFICES: 4, Portugal Street, Lincoln's Inn Fields, W.C. J±. IP. WATT &c SOILST, LITERARY AGENTS, Formerly of 2, PATERNOSTER SdUARE, Have now removed to HASTINGS HOUSE, NORFOLK STREET, STRAND, LONDON. W.C. WINDSOR HOUSE PRINTING WORKS, BBBAM'S BXJIJ_,IDI2SrC3-S, ZE.C. Offiees of "The Field," "The Queen," "The Law Times," &e. Mr. HORACE COX, Printer to the Authors' Society, takes the opportunity of informing Authors that, having a very large Office, and an extensive Plant of Type of every description, he is in a position to EXECUTE any PRINTING they may entrust to his care. ESTIMATES FORWARDED, AND REASONABLE CHARGES WILL BE FOUND. ## p. 117 (#153) ############################################ Zhc Hutbor* (Hie Organ of the Incorporated Society of Authors. Monthly.) CONDUCTED BY WALTER BESANT. Vol. VII.—No. 6.] NOVEMBER 2, 1896. [Price Sixpence. For the Opinions expressed in papers that are signed or initialled the Authors alone are responsible. None of the papers or para- graphs must be taken as expressing the collective opinions of the committee unless they are officially signed by G. Herbert Thring, Sec. THE Secretary of the Society begs to give notice that all remittances are acknowledged by return of post, and requests that all members not receiving an answer to important communications within two days will write to him without delay. All remittances should be crossed Union Bank of London, Chancery-lane, or be sent by registered letter only. | Communications and letters are invited by the Editor on all subjects connected with literature, but on no other sub- jects whatever. Articles which cannot be accepted are returned if stamps for the purpose accompany the MSS. GENERAL MEMORANDA. FOB some years it has been the praotioe to insert, in every number of the Author, certain " General Con- siderations," Warnings, Notices, Ac, for the guidance of the reader. It has been objected as regards these warnings that the tricks or frauds against which they are directed cannot all be guarded against, for obvious reasons. It is, however, well that they should be borne in mind, and if any publisher refuses a clause of precaution he simply reveals his true character, and should be left to carry on his business in his own way. Let us, however, draw up a fow of the rules to be observed in an agreement. There are three methods of dealing with literary property:— I. That of selling it outright. This is in some respects the most satisfactory, if a proper price can be obtained. But the transaction should be managed by a competent agent. II. A profit-sharing agreement. In this case the following rules should be attended to: (1.) Not to sign any agreement in which the cost of pro- duction forms a part. (2.) Not to give the publisher the power of putting the profits into his own pocket by charging for advertisements VOL. VII. in his own organs: or by charging exchange advertise- ments. (3.) Not to allow a special charge for " office expenses," unless the same allowance is made to the author. (4.) Not to give up American, Colonial, or Continental rights. (5.) Not to give up serial or translation rights. . (6.) Not to bind yourself for future work to any publisher. As well bind yourself for the future to any one solicitor or doctor! (7.) To stamp the agreement. HI. The royalty system. In thiB system, which has opened the door to, a most amazing amount of overreaching and trading on the author's ignorance, it is above all things necessary to know what the proposed royalty means to both sides. It is now possible for an author to ascertain approximately and very nearly the truth. From time to time the very important figures connected with royalties are published in the Author. Readers can also work out the figures themselves from tho "Coat of Production." Let no one, not even the youngest writer, sign a royalty agreement without finding out what it gives the publisher as well as himself. It has been objected that these precautions presuppose a great success for the book, and that very few books indeed attain to this great succeSB. That is quite true: but there is always this uncertainty of literary property that, although the works of a great many authors carry with them no risk at all, and although of a great many it is known within a few copies what will be their minimum circulation, it is not known what will be their maximum. Therefore every author, for every book, should arrange on the chance of a success which will not, probably, come at all; but which may come. The four points which the Society has always demanded from the outset are:— (1.) That both Bides shall know what an agreement means. (2.) The inspection of those account books which belong to the author. We are advised that this is a right, in the nature of a common law right, which cannot be denied or withheld. (3.) That there shall be no secret profits. (4.) That nothing shall be charged which has not been actually paid—for instance, that there 8haU he no charge f or advertisements in the publisher's own oTSfM1* 9114 ""v 11vL exchanged advertisements; and that ^ AKbco^6 duly entered, If these points are carefully look;e^ rest pretty well assured that he ia jJj ^JiV" ^je* ^ \» samo time he will do well to sscretary before he signs it. ,1 ## p. 118 (#154) ############################################ 118 THE AUTHOR. SOW TO USE THE SOCIETY. I. Ij^ VERY member has a right to ask for and to receive |U advice upon his agreements, his choice of a pub- lisher, or any dispute arising in the conduct of his business or the administration of his property. If the advice sought is such as can be given best by a solicitor, the member has a right to an opinion from the Society's solicitors. If the case is such that Counsel's opinion is desirable, the Com- mittee will obtain for him Counsel's opinion. All this without any cost to the member. 2. Remember that questions connected with copyright and publisher's agreements do not generally fall within the experience of ordinary solicitors. Therefore, do not scruple to use the Society " first—our solicitors are continually engaged upon such questions for us. 3. Send to the office copies of past agreements and past accounts with the loan of the books represented. This is in order to ascertain what has been the nature of your agree- ments, and the results to author and publisher respectively so far. The Secretary will always be glad to have any agreements, new or old, for inspection and noto. The infor- mation thus obtained may prove invaluable. 4. If the examination of your previous business trans- actions by the Secretary proves unfavourable, you should take advice as to a change of publishers. 5. Before signing any agreement whatever, send the pro- posed document to the Society for examination. 6. The Society is acquainted with the methods, and—in the case of fraudulent houses—the tricks of every publish- ing firm in the country. 7. Remember always that in belonging to the Society you are fighting the battles of other writers, even if you are reaping no benefit to yourself, and that you are advancing the best interests of literature in promoting the indepen- dence of the writer. 8. Send to the Editor of the Author notes of everything important to literature that you may hear or meet with. 9. The committee have now arranged for the reception of members' agreements and their preservation in a fireproof Bafe. The agreements will, of course, be regarded as con- fidential documents to be read only by the Secretary, who will keep the key of the safe. The Society now offers :—(1) To read and advise upon agreements and publishers. (2) To stamp agreements in readiness for a possible action upon them. (3) To keep agreements. (4) To enforce payments due according to agreements. THE AUTHORS' SYNDICATE. MEMBERS are informed: 1. That the Authors' Syndicate takes charge of the business of members of the Society. That it submits MSS. to publishers and editors, concludes agree- ments, examines, passes, and collects accounts, and, gene- rally, relieves members of the trouble of managing business details. 2. That the terms upon which its services can be secured will be forwarded upon detailed application. 3. That the Authors' Syndicate works only for those members of the Society whose work possesses a market value. 4. That the Syndicate can only undertake any negotiations whatever on the distinct understanding that those negotia- tions are placed exclusively in its hands, and that all communications relating thereto are referred to it. 5. That clients can only be seen by the Director by appointment, and that, when possible, at least two days' notice should be given. 6. That every attempt is made to deal with all communi- cations promptly. That stamps should, in all cases, be sent to defray postage. 7. That the Authors' Syndicate does not invite MSS. without previous correspondence; does not hold itself responsible for MSS. forwarded without notice; and that in all cases MSS. must be accompanied by stamps to defray postage. 8. That the Syndicate undertakes arrangements for lectures by some of the leading members of the Society; that it has a "Transfer Department" for the sale and purchase of journals and periodicals; and that a " Register of Wants and Wanted" is open. Members are invited to communicate their requirements to the Manager. There is an Honorary Advisory Committee, whose services will be called upon in any case of dispute or difficulty. It is perhaps neoesBary to state that the members of the Advisory Committee have no pecuniary interest whatever in the Syndicate. NOTICES. THE Editor of the Author begs to remind members of the Society that, although the paper is sent to them free of charge, the cost of producing it would be a very heavy charge on the resources of the Society if a great many members did not forward to the Secretary the modest 6s. 6d. subscription for the year. The Editor is always glad to receive short papers and communications on all subjects connected with literature from members and others. Nothing can do more good to the Socioty than to make the Author complete, attractive, and interesting. Will those who are willing to aid in this work send their names and the special subjects on which they are willing to write P Communications for the Author should reach the Editor not later than the 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. Members and others who wish their MSS. read are requested not to send them to the Office without previously communicating with the Secretary. The utmost practicable despatch is aimed at, and MSS. are read in the order in which they are received. It must also be distinctly under- stood that the Society does not, under any circumstances, undertake the publication of MSS. The Authors' Club is now open in its new premises, at 3, Whitehall-court, Charing Cross. Address the Secretary for information, rules of admission, &c. Will members take the trouble to ascertain whether they have paid their subscriptions for the year? If they will do this, and remit tho amount, if still unpaid, or a banker's order, it will greatly assist the Secretary, and save him the trouble of sending out a reminder. Members are most earnestly entreated to attend to the following warning. It is a most foolish and may be a most disastrous thing to enter into an agreement binding for a term of years. Let them ask themselves if they would give a solicitor the collection of their rents for five years to come, whatever his conduct, whethor he was honest ## p. 119 (#155) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. 119 or dishonest? Of course they would not. Why then hesitate for a moment when they are asked to sign them- selves into literary bondage for three or five years? Those who possess the "Cost of Production" are requested to note that the cost of binding has advanced 15 per cent. This means, for those who do not like the trouble of "doing Bums," the addition of three shillings in the pound on this head. In other words, if the cost of binding is set down in our book at eight pounds, to this must now be added twenty-four shillings more, so that it now standB at £g 4s. The figures in our book are as near the exact truth as can be procured; but a printer's, or a binder's, bill is so elastic a thing that nothing more exact can be arrived at. Some remarks have been made npon the amount charged in the " Cost of Production" for advertising. Of course, we have not included any sums which may be charged for inserting advertisements in the publisher's own magazines, or in other magazines by exchange. As agreements too often go, there is nothing to prevent the publisher from sweeping the whole profits of a book into his own pocket, by inserting any number of advertisements in his own magazines, and by exchanging with others. Some there are who call this a form of fraud; it is not known what those who practise this method of swelling their own profits call it. M FROM THE COMMITTEE. T the meeting of committee, Wednesday, Oct. 14, sixty-two new members were At the same meeting a resolution was passed "that the deep regret of the committee 011 the death of Mr. George Du Maurier should be communi- cated to the widow and family. It was ordered that the translation of the report of the International Congress of Berne, made for the committee by the Eev. F. Cresswell, should be published in the Author, with such omissions as might be found advisable. (By order) G. Herbert Thring. contains ten chapters—on history of literary copyright, unpublished works, literary copyright by statute, dramatic copyright, musical copy- right, engravings, paintings, drawings and photo- graphs, sculpture, international copyright, and colonial copyright. Though these are contained all within a hundred pages, the arrangement of the book, and the references to the 260 or so cases cited in the course of the author's com- ments, are as convenient as they could possibly be made. The rest of the volume is taken up with a reprint of the statutes from 1734 onwards. Mr. Cohen has made no attempt to discuss what the law ought, to be, "although its present con- dition is generally admitted to be unsatisfactory." "But, as there seems no immediate pi'ospect of reform," he hopes that his book may be of use to the profession as well as to those interested In this branch of the law. The book is published at 7s. 6d. net. n.—The Average Return. I have been favoured by a firm of publishers with an accurate return of the circulation of a certain book. It has enjoyed a large cir- culation, and it was issued in the customary manner, viz., with large discounts to wholesale buyers and exporters. The returns are extremely instructive. One notes that, while we have been recently informed that the "bulk" of books go to the wholesale distributors, these figures show that the retailers take very nearly 50 per cent, of the whole. They also show that 3.V. 6d. is very properly assumed as a very fair average. Now publishers differ one with another: but their little differences are mostly known. Perhaps booksellers will be good enough to send a few accounts, so that the practice of every firm of any importance may be ascertained, and, if neces- sary, published. W. B. TO CORRESPONDENTS. A LL the correspondence of the mouth is held over till the next number in consequence of pressure on our space.—Ed. LITERARY PROPERTY. I.—A Book on the Law of Copyright. "TT^HE Law of Copyright, with an Appendix I of Statutes," is the title of a work by Mr. B. A. Cohen, Barrister-at-law, which has just been published by Messrs. Jordan and Sons, 120, Chancery-lane, London. The work > .NOTES FROM PARIS. always envied those fortunate pen- men who are able, undisturbed by any event, to perform their reuular and daily IrHAVE men who are ' able, event, to perform their reguiai ^ tasks with the promptitude and V«ncUWl lately machine. It is a faculty which, YdcVi « for myself, I never possess^ footM * a this is my firm belief cannot W is the opinion of M b eV often ha! to Ag**** Wf J inertia, willingV** UttOto^ ^ uc...^ ## p. 120 (#156) ############################################ 120 THE AUTHOR. out any hope that one could school oneself into a practice so remunerative. Alas! the misery that one feels, as day after day goes by and never the mind wakes up, with that awakening which man feels in every fibre. It is a temporary paralysis— one knows this, yet one is always haunted by the dread that it will last for ever; that the field is not merely lying fallow in the sun, but is, from exhaustion, barren and shall never bear harvest again. I have just passed through such a period. Enfin, here we are again. I have been told that inquiries have been made at the Home Office about the uniform, or Court dress, which the Poet Laureate, by virtue of his ofrue, is entitled or expected to wear. Was there ever any such uniform r One has not heard of it in this century at any rate. Neither Southey nor Wordsworth had one, nor Lord Tennyson. Yet that is no reason why there should not be one, especially when the Laureate is supposed and expected to perform functions at Court. This reminds me that it was on one sohtary occasion only that Wordsworth wrote to the order of the Court. When he accepted the Laureate- ship it was with the express stipulation that he should perform none of its irksome duties. In u aking this stipulation, or rather in refusing the post until it was made, he had poor Southey in mind. Southey grinding out his odes with tears in his eyes and the perspiration on his brow, com- forted only by the thought that the salary attached to this post was sufficient to pay the premium of the life insurance policy which he had taken out for the benefit of his family. The only occasion on which Wordsworth was com- manded to perform the duty of his office was when the Prince Consort was to be installed as Chancellor of the University of Cambridge, and there was wanted an ode for the festival. Seeing how strongly Bishop Wordsworth, the poet's cousin, had opposed the Prince Consort's election to this office, it strikes one that high irony overhung the order that was dispatched to Eydal Mount. It came at a most unpropitious time, just at the time, indeed, when the poet's daughter was dying, and one who was present has described to me with what distress it was received. From his table to the sickroom, from the bedside of his dying daughter back to his table, the unhappy poet walked, and never was poetry on a less inspiriting subject written under more dispiriting circumstances. As a matter of fact it was not written, at least Wordsworth did not himself alone write more than a few lines of it. Just when, in utter despair at the hopelessness of the task, he was about to give in, Quillinau offered to help him. The two poets sat up most of the night "poeting." Quillinau wrote most of the ode, which was put to music, and was printed on white vellum. The correspondent of the Time* at Chris- tiania during the Nansen festivities was Mr. Benham, a brother of the Benham of the Author's Club, whose loss we all so much regret. Poor young Benham, who had written some excellent plays, used to say that the troubles of the drama- tist only began when he had finished writing his play. He referred, of course, to the difficulties of placing the work, of satisfying managers and actors, and so on. I could not help remembering his words, when the other day I heard of the difficulties which were met with by Alexandre Dumas Jih, when he was trying to get his " Dame Aux Camelias" acted, a piece which has since been played in Paris alone more than one thousand times. It was first read to Dumas pi-re, who accepted it enthusiastically for the Theatre His- torique, which he was then managing. Unfor- tunately, a fortnight later the direction Dumas failed for want of capital. It was next read by Hostein, who returned it to the author, sans reflexions. It was next offered to the directors of the Gymnase, but they refused it on the ground that they were playing "Manon Lescaut," and could not produce, as its successor, a play of similar character. Dennery read it next, for the Theatre Historique, but did not see his way, &c. Paul Ernest, next, accepted it for the Vaudeville, but went bankrupt before he could produce it. Then Dcjazet read it, but declined it because she did not like the part of Marguerite. Dumas then took it to Lecourt, the new lessee of the Vaudeville. A week later he found it lying in his concierge's lodge. It had been re- turned without a word. Finally, H. Worms induced Bouffc, Lecourt's successor at the Vaudeville, to accept it. Dumas' difficulties were, however, by no means over. The censor, M. de Beaufort, refused to licence it, and adding insult to injury said to the expostulating young dramatist, " And we are rendering you a service iu refusing our permission; the public would not stand more than the first act." However, after a year had passed, Dumas pvre was able to interest M. de Moray on his son's behalf; Moray saw the censor, and the veto was withdrawn. The piece was finally produced for the first time on Feb. 2, 1852. One knows with what success. I com- mend this true story to those whom disappoint- ment discourages. Why will English people insist on abbreviating Monsieur into "Mons."? I see "Mons. This" or " Mons. That" every day. It is a barbarism. No Frenchman writes Mons. He either writes Monsieur or M., occasionally Mr. When people write to me as " Mons." I always answer them ## p. 121 (#157) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. I 2 I as " Mist." It is just as usual an abbreviation. And in the same way a good means of stopping people from misspelling one's name is to give them tit for tat, to misspell their names in exactly the same way as they have done, either by doubling a letter or omitting one. If per- sisted in as long as one's correspondent persists in his carelessness, it points a moral. I once had a correspondent named Murray, who used to bestow an extra " r" on my name. I cured him of this spendthrift habit by similar liberality. Three or four letters addressed " Murrray" effected the cure. Whenever I am in Berlin, I go and put a few flowers on Chainisso's grave. I was much dis- tressed last month when in Berlin to find this grave in a terrible state of neglect, overgrown with weeds, the stone fallen down; so changed from when I had seen it last, that I had difficulty in recognising it. One cannot understand such neglect, for Chamisso is still a favourite poet in Germany, and it is right he should be. There are exquisite lines in his "Frauen-Leben," and many of his other lyi ics are part and parcel of one's mental pleasure-house. So a fuss was made in the papers. I hope it has done good. Chamisso must not be forgotten. Chamisso was a Frenchman by birth, but educated in Germany, lived there and wrote in German. I have in idle moments speculated on the questions which are raised by this circum- stance. Would Chamisso have been a poet if he had remained in France? What poetry would he have written? How far does language stimulate poetry!' We all know Schiller's lines:— Weil ein Vera dir gelingt in eino gebildeten Sprache Die fur Dich dichtet mid denkt, glaub'st Da sohon Dichter zu sein. But what / want to know is how far a lan- guage thinks and poetises for one. I do not think I ever could have rhymed in Norwegian, which is also an "educated language" (eine gebildete Sprache), and I am quite certain as to my certain failure in Polish. But leaving such small beer out of the question, will you wonder with me what would have happened if Madame Shakespeare mere, before the birth of William, had migrated to the Hague or Amsterdam—say, for better prospects in the glove trade—if William had been bom there, had been educated there, had learned to speak, to write, to think in the fat, sluggish language of the Netherlands? What would have come of it? Or if Poe instead of turning Westwards had gone to E.S.E. and become a Hungarian. So I wonder, and puzzle, and think. Another fraternal partnership has been arranged in the republic of letters, to wit, between Paul Marguerite and his brother. No more literary work is to appear signed " Paul Marguerite." A "collective" signature has been registered. I regret to say that I do not remember it, if indeed I ever knew it. Then why talk of the matter at all, being so ignorant? Well, people like Paul Marguerite and all his works. He appeals to the middle classes; his books sell; he makes so many thousand francs a year, and so, and so, one ought to appear, at least, to know something. And what I know is that Mr. Paul Marguerite has taken his brother into literary partnership, and that the firm will sign . I am so sorry that a cracked inventor, hungry for publicity, is annoying poor old Jules Verne. You must have read all about it. The inventor imagines that Verne pourtrayed him in a recent novel, and is now suing the old gentleman for libel. There are no libel laws, pour ainsi dire, in France, and the inventor in question knows very well that he can obtain nothing but the adver- tisement. On the other hand, it seems cruel that so old a man as Jules Verne, who is a cripple, should be disturbed in his laborious life for such purposes. Did I ever tell you, by the way, that Jules Verne has never earned more than =£800 a year in his life? I began this letter by writing about people of the pen who have the faculty of working every day with the regularity and promptitude of a machine. Did you know that Saint-Beuve, of the Lundis fame, used to work every day from 6 a.m. to noon, year in, year out, with a cup of milk and a croissant for all sustenance in the meanwhile. Afternoons he used to meander, and was a p.m. Hyde to his a.m. Jekyll. It was a curious contrast. One notorious afternoon, he, who had been a sage and a gentleman in the morning, became an ass and a cad. I refer to that Good Friday on which he asked Prince Bonaparte to dinner at a fashionable restaurant, and had roast j>ork, and so on, at table; such bad taste. But in the mornings he was steadfast and regular, although his work shews no sign of inspired steadfastness and regularity. It reai8 as inspired. is totally unknown \ l°U ^ ^ d%0^aKT is as well known * 5°*Hj, ***** fe^l about it. NoK \***tj\&*> JgrJT them. \me*. .» so i0^K^° ## p. 122 (#158) ############################################ 122 THE AUTHOR. NEW YORE LETTER. New York, Oct. 12. THE Harpers have already sold the first edition of the number of the magazine con- taining the first part of "The Martian," a very unusual thing, and the issue was an extra- ordinarily large one. The second edition is now out. They are naturally proud of Du Maurier's success in America, which they think has been greater in every way than it has been in England. Mr. J. Henry Harper said, in conversation last week, that he believed it would be the last great success of a three-volume novel in England. He believes the success due much more to real literary merit than to novelty, and cites Du Maurier's remark to him, that he was not a new- writer, but one who, in his dialogues in Punch, had all his life been writing stories in which chapters were condensed into paragraphs. Mr. Harper said in the same conversation that Du Maurier was particularly fortunate in having no early inferior works on hand to throw on to the market after his sudden success. He men- tioned Stephen Crane, the young American novelist, now on a short vacation in England, whose fame was made by the "Bed Badge of Courage," and immediately dimmed by the pub- lication of all his earlier efforts. Mr. Harper also spoke of certain English novelists as possible examples of the same error. The habits of Mr. Alden, the editor of Harper's Magazine, throw some light on the question of large circulations. The Harpers believe, as do the editors of our other leading magazines, that the postal laws have much to do with making their success possible, even in England indirectly, because they need to be established here in order to publish there more costly magazines than they could on circulations no larger than those they have abroad. But Mr. Harper said, in the same conversation, that the most general explanation that could be given of the success of any one magazine in this country was its keeping in close contact with various classes of people in all parts of the country. Mr. Alden not only reads the letters written to the firm and to all of his friends about the contents of the magazine, but he looks over the enormous mass of manuscripts rejected by his subordinates, in order to find out what subjects people write about, what ones are attracting them. He finds this one of the most effective ways of watching those waves of interest in special branches of literature which sweep over the whole country, or part of the country, at various times. The mass of the people who submit contributions are poor writers, but intelli- gent readers, typical of the class to which the magazine appeals. Mr. Harper said that, in choosing fiction, the only question considered was the general goodness of the story, but that, in choosing general articles, the amount of space given to subjects of local interest and the amount given to things of more interest abroad were care- fully fixed. The sub-committee of the Committee on Patents, which has the Treloar Bill in charge— Mr. Treloar, of Missouri, B. L. Fairchild, of New- York, and H. C. Kerr, of Ohio—will meet in this city immediately after the election, and will report to Congress soon after it gets together. George Haven Putnam believes that in the Committee on Patents there is a small majority in favour of the Treloar Bill, but no efforts are being spared by the various societies interested in defeating this obstruction to international copyright to do what they can to get the Morrill and Bankhead Bills passed instead. W. D. Howells, who has a habit of discovering a new writer every few months, has brought into prominence Paul Lawrence Dunbar, a young negro poet; the discovery of the past month. Some time ago he published on his own account, with the help of a friend, a volume of poems called "Majors and Minors," and after Mr. Howell's article on him Dodd, Mead, and Co. accepted a volume called " Lyrics of Lowly Life," which appears this month. The young writer, who is but twenty-three, is the son of a slave and a freed woman, and is now in charge of an elevator, writing in his spare moments. The poems have originality and a certain freshness, but no qualities that promise importance. The writer is now becoming known to tho country on a lecturing tour conducted by Major Pond. Mr. Howell's discoveries during the last ten years have made famous many young men and women who have sunk back into obscurity again. At one time, for instance, everybody talked about Ironquill, the Kansas poet, now forgotten, who also was fresh and local and sincere, but no writer of verse. "The Negro in America," by Fred. L. Hoffman, published by the Macmillan Company recently, is an elaborate attempt to show that the black race has such bad moral qualities that it is doomed to extinction on this continent. Mr. Howells writes a good deal too much. There are few of his readers who do not prefer his earlier works. Besides his books he writes much for the newspapers without discrimination. A few weeks ago he had a long illustrated article on current literary topics in the New York World, one of the worst sensational papers in the country. This example from the leading novelist caused a certain amount of hostile comment. ## p. 123 (#159) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. 123 The future of the essay in this country is a subject about which there has lately been an ■uncommon rush of discussion. Mr. Charles Dudley Warner began with a protest against the too lenient tone of newspaper reviewers, and since then a number of the periodicals have treated the subject of criticism from various points of view. The Chap-Book has been making a speciality of it through several issues, giving in its notes its own opinion that literary criticism has been killed here by the lack of demand for it, and now, when an editor invites it, be is unable to get it, especially the kind in which attention is given to form. Several writers have answered this statement in the Chap-Book and elsewhere, among those writing in the magazine itself being Maurice Thompson and Brander Matthews. Mr. Matthews takes the view that criticism has never been good anywhere, but that it is better in America now than it was in the days of Poe, or at any other time, although by the custom of reviewing all the leading books of leading publishers the conditions are made harder than they are in Prance. H. S. Stone and Co. will publish shortly a volume of essays "taken from the Chap-Booh, and thus test their theory that there is a larger demand now for the essay than the conventional publishers believe. It is noticeable, however, from the announcements of the leading houses, that more essays than ever before are to appear during the coming year, th-ere being hardly a house that does not have at least one volume of them. Stone and Co. are making a special attempt in building up their new business to bring new writers to light. Their last discovery is George Ade's "Artie," which is full of more or less accurate Chicago slang, already somewhat known there through the newspapers. Another Chicago house, Way and Williams, also brings to notice a new writer, I. K. Friedman, with "A Lucky Number." Mr. Matthews, by the way, who is one of the most ardent believers in national spirit in our litera- ture, begins the book which the Harpers issued last week, "Aspects of Fiction," with an essay on " American Literature." The volume contains some of his best work, notably an essay called "The Penalty of Humour," in which a very high place is given to Mark Twain. George Santayana's "Sense of Beauty" was published last week by the Scribners. Its value as a philosophical treatise on aesthetics, with less bias and a better combination of philosophic aud artistic interests than has often been given before, is exceptional, but from a literary point of view the greatest attraction of the book is in the style, which for smoothness and delicacy without pre- cociousness probably has not its equal among ▼OL. VII. recent American books. One interest of the writer's attitude towards life is the mixture of classical training and taste with a thorough belief in the artistic possibilities of our contemporaries' conditions. A passing reference to that one among the American poets who in his appeal to the more intelligent of his countrymen has to-day no rival, unless it be Emerson, thus sums up the secret of Whitman's power: "But occasionally the beauties of Democracy are presented to us undisguised. The writings of Walt Whitman are a notable example. Never, perhaps, has the charm of uniformity in multiplicity been felt so completely and so exclusively. Everywhere it greets us with a passionate preference; not flowers but leaves of grass, not music but" drum-taps, not composition but aggregation, not the hero but the ave/age man, not the crisis but the vulgarest moment; and by this resolute marshalling of nullities, by this effort to show us everything as a momentary pulsation of a liquid and structureless whole, he profoundly stirs the imagination." The annual meeting of the National Conven- tion of the American Association of News- dealers, Book-dealers, and Stationers, held last week in Boston, called attention again to the inroads made by the great department stores on the business of those news-dealers who sell not only periodicals, but novels, political pamphlets, and other lines of books. The department stores often sell them much under the ordinary market rate. Various efforts have been made to prevent this, and an attempt was made to induce the pub- lishers to refuse to sell to these stores, or to sell at the same price as they asked for small orders. Nothing has come of it, however. The complaint is the same that is being made by retailers in all branches against this new system of immense shops, which seems to be steadily absorbing the whole field. Still another volume of Emily Dickenson's poems is just out, by Roberts Brothers, resulting from a new discovery of posthumous poems. The demand is steadier and larger for these poems than for those of any other American, even Longfellow. As was especially emphasised by the English critics, her form ig most remark- able for its defects, and xtufortft* ifc *° t be hard for a foreigner F boW *°UC delicate local Bavour * XI to see in be* abstract thought, WV,: , ,er ITeri^nf S5>PfV illustrates ag^*V\Y. \WT» »tt ft ## p. 124 (#160) ############################################ 124 THE AUTHOR. English branch-Louses are very rapidly extending their American publications. Kipling, who has been shared by four pub- lishers, is now to be issued in uniform editions by the Scribners, by subscription, in the "Thistle" edition; also containing Stevenson and Barrie. Norman Hapoood. ?»•««■ THE CHURCH CONGRESS AND FICTION. THE Church Congress, as usual, devoted some of its time to the discussion of the modern novel. The Dean of Rochester led off with the conventional joke about not being thrilled by the hero's hairbreadth escapes, because we know that he has got to live till the end of the volume, at least. The novel of adventure is not the only kind of novel, to begin with. But the real answer to such talk is, that if the writer is a good story-teller and knows how to hold his reader, no such consideration can enter the mind, which is entirely absorbed in the story. If it is not, then the reader is defective on the side of imagina- tion, or the writer is no true story-teller. This concession once made to the gallery, the Dean addressed himself to the subject of books immoral and indecent. On the topic he spoke with force, but with some exaggeration. One might argue that certain books which he would call immoral were not advanced by the author with the design of teaching immorality, but that of exposing evils. Then would arise the greater question as to the limitations of art meant to be exhibited. Or one might point out with perfect truth, first, that the really popular authors of the day are not immoral at all; and that books which must be admitted to be immoral have had for the most part a limited sale. Canon Ainger spoke with greater originality and much greater weight. The evil of such books was generally not in their grossness or in the deliberate " making the worse appear the better reason." The danger too often of the book was in ostentatious pre- tensions to morality; only that it sets itself to teach a new morality of the author's own, an invention, an advance and refinement on the ethics of the Gospel. But there was another class, not so distinctly mischievous, but scarcely less so indirectly—viz., the novel which parades itself as the champion of religion and morality against a Godless age, and attracts its readers by spurious sentiment, spurious eloquence, spurious philosophy, and, it must be added, a total absence of humour. This kind of book sold by the hundred thousand. The >nly remedy for a taste of this sort was improvement of education and/ the old-fashioned method of the cultivation of the true religious sense. Great thoughts come from the heart, and true cultivation of the heart quite apart from book learning would teach men to- distinguish the real from the spurious even in the domain of literature. He would recommend his clerical friends never to recommend "shoddy romances" simply on the ground that they are ostensibly on the side of faith and morals; Non tali mtxilio. He sometimes felt tempted to reply to some lady champion of our creed as Sir Peter Teazle replied to Mrs. Candour—" Madam, when I tell you the lady they are attacking is a par- ticular friend of mine, I hope you will not take her part." .».«: THE RUSSIAN PRESS BUREAU. OFFICIALDOM in Russia grinds slowly, and! likewise grinds exceedingly small. Nothing could well surpass the minuteness with which every detail relating to the special corre- spondents at the Coronation was arranged and supervised by the Russian Press authorities. To begin with, every journalist and artist had to- forward his five photographs to the Press Bureau last March. These were stamped and counter- signed and deposited in various archives, one being eventually returned to the owner on his arrival in Moscow. This was inclosed in a neat little leather portfolio, and bore a label with the correspondent's name and paper, granting him permission to pass without let or hindrance, and generally to obtain information. It was supposed to be shown on demand, but in addition more- obvious means were taken to ensure the recog- nition of pressmenandartists. Thosewhowereduly accredited were given a gilt and enamel badge to be worn in the button-hole, and a yellow ticket for insertion in the low-crowned top-hat of the droshky driver for the time being. Armed with these credentials the brethren of the brush and pen were free to come and go where they liked, into the Kremlin, the Imperial Palaces, and else- where behind the scenes. The festivities and ceremonies were concluded in Moscow about the beginning of June, and now, at the end of September, the various newspaper representatives have been pleasantly reminded that the Russian Government has not forgotten them. With the characteristic thoroughness which marks the proceedings of the Muscovite bureaucracy, a packet has been forwarded to each pressman and presswoman, containing a silver medal, a silver token, two diplomas or certificates in Russian, a pamphlet in French giving ## p. 125 (#161) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. 125 the names of all the writers, artists, and photo- graphers carefully classified, and a list, also in French, of these foregoing five items. The medal is not quite as large as a florin, and bears on the obverse the Emperor's head with his titles, and on the reverse the Imperial crown with the legend "Koronovan v Moskvye (crowned in Moscow), 14 Maya 1896." Attached is a piece of blue ribbon of the St. Andrew order. The silver token is somewhat smaller, and bears on one side the Imperial Crown and cyphers of Nicolas and Alexandra, wit h the motto " V nami Bogh" (God with us). The other side is similar to the medal. The diplomas set out at some length the occasion of the presentation of the medal and token, and authorise the donee, whose name is spelt in his own language and in phonetic Russian, to wear these decorations. La3tly, the catalogue gives elaborate particulars as to the 250 correspondents. Of these 97 were Russian, with 47 artists, 15 of whom were members of the Academy of Fine Arts, the famous Repin being one of the number. Of the foreign Press representatives, France headed the list with 24, England and Germany came next with 18 a-piece, and America sent 7. The other nation- alities contributed 2 7 altogether. E ven Japan was represented by Mr. Asahina Ohisen, editor of the Tokio Nichi-Nichi Shimbun, and by another pressman. The list concludes with the names of 57 Russian and foreign photographers authorised to take views. The whole affair is a marvel of elaboration, as indeed were the arrangements at the Press Bureau in the Rakhmsinovski Pereulok at Moscow at the time of the Coronation. These final souvenirs, the despatch of which had been care- fully timed to take place during the Tsar's visit to Great Britain, will long be treasured by those who were fortunate enough to be present at one of the greatest spectacles of the century. Arthur A. Sykks, Special Correspondent at the Tsar's Coronation. NOTES AND NEWS. AT the last—the fortieth—annual meeting of the Birmingham Literary Association, the President, Mr. J. J. Moffatt, seized the opportunity to advance a few plain truths on the position and the work of the society. We gather from his remarks: first, that the society numbers 250 members: that they hold debates VOL. VII. and fortnightly meetings: that these meetings have not been, of late, numerously attended: that the society gives every year two prizes to the Midland Institute: and that, in his opinion, the society should do something more tangible and definite for literature. He proposed, for instance, the foundation of a lectureship on English Literature. The question raised by this address is not whether Birmingham has, or has not, done any- thing for the "encouragement" of literature, but what literary societies as a rule might, or could, do. It seems to me that they could do a very great deal for the creation and the mainte- nance of sound and wholesome taste: for the cultivation of the poetic side of a time too prac- tical: for the suppression of the froth and frivolity that is now read in such vast quantities and bought up so eagerly. This kind of work could be carried out in many ways: by lectures: by discussions: by courses of reading: by ex- aminations: by scholarships and prizes. Young people want that kind of direction in their reading which will lead them up to the levels where it becomes impossible to read a book badly written, creeping, vulgar. Such work carried on in a great city like Birmingham might in a short time revolutionise the reading of the people. Another function of the Literary Society might be very useful, and so far it has never been attempted. It is this: the reviews of books which appear in many provincial papers are mere worth- less notes, written hurriedly by some young reporter who simply has no time to read the books. It is well if he does not carry off his ignorance of the book by some ill-bred and spite- ful snarl. Of course there are many exceptions to this apparently sweeping statement; and there are many provincial papers where the literary department is as well looked after as the political or the local. The proposal, however, is that the Literary Society should take over the literary department of local papers, and should furnish them with reviews of selected books, carefully written, by members who would undertake to read the books and to chat pleasantly over tne"" contents. A bad, vulgar, or immoral book-would be passed over in silence unless it became occur. The Liter'* J*^ ™uld f>?«- pay the reviewer Rt!I ™% 8u0^4' V tP ^ ordinary pay of Q****^ \ the scheme, W £0- paper would ^ ^ ^ ^ ^"Ltat* V^5 duction to wlx ^ ^\k te^ ^ ,£P Q% would order t^^V^ >^ ot 60, » 0, ## p. 126 (#162) ############################################ 126 THE AUTHOR. ask for them at their libraries. To increase and spread abroad the demand for good books is surely an object worthy the attention of every Literary Society. A Literary Society, especially in a huge city like Birmingham, should be missionary in its character, and aggressive. It should stretch out its arms in every direction: it should endeavour to reach with its lectures and its courses of reading every class—the shop boy and the shop girl: the working man and the working woman: it should have centres and branches and local secretaries: it should teach history and social economics: it should take poetry to the people: it should encourage the young people to read good books by examination and prizes: it should teach them what good writing means: it should encourage them to attempt, themselves, the expression of their thoughts. Would it not, further, be possible for such a society to affiliate itself with the Society of Authors? It could do much for our Society in its own centre; we could do much for that society "by our own organisation and the help of our members. . The number of members elected on Wednes- day, Oct. 14th, was, as has been announced elsewhere, sixty-two, which is extremely satis- factory. It is always found thai after one of the usual series of letters in the papers abusing and misrepresenting the Society, an increased list of candidates appears at the next meeting of committee. Meantime, how are these new members consti- tuted? Out of the sixty-two new members there were twenty-one novelists; the rest represented various other branches of literature. The weakest branch so far as our meml>ers are concerned is that of education. Yet it ought to be the strongest, because there is no kind of literary property more real and more valuable than that of education. At the same time there is none which wants more light and more exposure. The deferred royalties: the miserable royalties: the wretched sums advanced: call aloud to be dragged into the light. Of course, there are other reasons, in educational books, why an author desires publication. Yet in this, as in every other branch, every man who has property to be administered should take care that his estate is administered, or sold, on business principles. Tor this reason let the educational writer come to the Society, When the educational sub-committee, now sitting, has sent in its report we shall perhaps be in a better position to command the confidence of these writers. A most amazing letter appears in a paper which, it appears, advertises for stories. We learn from the editor's note that the writer of the letter has "conveyed" a story from another paper, changed the title, put his own name at the end, and sent it in to the editor. Apparently, either before or after publication, the editor dis- covered the thing, and, very naturally, complained. The conveyancer writes a letter in which he explains his methods. The claim that he might crib a story which was not "reserved"—what- ever that may mean—is really delightful: "You do not actually advertise for original stories, and the source from which 'A Ghostly Smoker' was derived, namely, 'A Ghost that Smoked,' was taken from the halfpenny novelette 'The Mayflower,' and as it had no mention of being a reserved story, I cannot altogether understand why you are holding me up to public ridicule, especially in view of the fact that some journals accept short stories non-original if no reserve rights exists, and it is difficult to draw the line where no reserve rights are mentioned. With reference to the short stories I sent you in, for example, 'Nora,' &c, the plots resemble those they were taken from, but the reading is altered, and in this respect tales which appear, and con- tinue to appear occasionally, have their origin in the same way: in a love story, for instance, the beginning and ending is generally practically the same." We shall probably hear a good deal more of this kind of thing. The journals which advertise for short stories can now be reckoned by the hundred. Many of them pay fairly well for their MSS. There are a great many ladies who live and make reasonably good incomes by writing short stories. Some of the papers have a large staff of ladies upon whom they mainly depend; from all quarters we hear of clerks, working girls of all kinds, young and old, driving the pen in the attempt to make an addition to their incomes in this way. In fact, story-telling must be recognised as one of the professions of the day. There is so great an abundance of short stories buried in the past and present pages of magazines and journals: there is so great a temptation to disj in these mines for plots and characters and situations, that we must not be surprised to hear of wholesale pilfering. Fortu- nately, the greater the success of this subter- ranean work, the more it is published in papers of wide circulation, the more likely it is to be detected; some one or other is sure to find it out and to proclaim it. Meantime, one would suggest a simple means of dealing with such a case, pro- vided that the editor did not prosecute. It is to ## p. 127 (#163) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. 127 send the name and address of the offender to the secretary of this Society, to be by him sent to every editor in London. Sir Walter Beaut will be interested to learn that Mrs. Cowden-Clarke's experience of publishers has been "most agreeable. Contrary," she says, " to the prejudiced opinion sometimes expressed that authors and publishers are often antagonistic in their transactions, I hare invariably met with courtesy and kindliness. Ever since an interview I once had with Lord Byron's John Murray, another that I had with Mr. Colburn, I have been treated with consideration, and even with amiability." The above is a cutting from an evening paper. I cut it out and reproduce it here because it is a model of muddleheadedness from beginning to end. This good lady, Mrs. Cowden-Clarke, says that though there is a "prejudiced opinion " that authors and publishers are " often antagonistic" in their transactions, yet she has been always treated with courtesy. Who denies the courtesy? "What has that got to do with the unsettled questions between author and publisher? It is the very essence of business that it must be con- ducted with courtesy. And why should I be interested to learn that this lady has been treated with courtesy? What has the critic got into his head? My friends have been bringing to light and publishing, so that all may read, the whole business of producing a book. This has roused th.e wrath of certain persons who prefer the works of darkness. But they may still remain deeply, be-autifully courteous. They may be as courteous as Castilians, even when they present an agreement based on an assumption of the author's absolute ignorance. oi_ The following sums have been received by Miss Ellen T. Masters, of Mount-avenue, Ealing, in response to her appeal on behalf of Mrs. Eliza Warren, since the publication of the last list. The total amount now reaches ,£57 4*. yd. £. *. d. Forrester, Mrs. .. o 10 6 Turing, Herbert, Esq. (per) o 7 6 £. s. Parr, Miss (per)... o 1 West, Miss 1 o d. 0 o Walter Besant. BOOK TALE. AN interesting announcement is made by Messrs. Bell of a book on the late William Morris as an industrial and decorative artist, which they hope to have out by Christmas. The writer is Mr. Aymer Vallance, a disciple of Mr. Morris, and he will give thirty to forty full-page plates and other illustrations, for which all branches of Mr. Morris's work—in tapestries, carpets, wall-papers, stained glass, &c. —have been requisitioned. The volume will be entitled "The Art of William Morris: An Illus- trated Record," and, in addition to other features, Mr. Temple Scott is preparing for it a bibliography of practically everything which Mr. Morris wrote. The title of Mr. Justin Huntly McCarthy's new novel is "The Royal Christopher." It is announced by Messrs. Chatto and Windus for next week. Mr. Gilbert Parker has completed a new story, which will be called "The Pomp of the Lavilettes." Dr. Conan Doyle's new work, " Rodney Stone," will appear this month. Mr. Kipling's volume of poems, "The Seven Seas," is almost due from the publishers, Messrs. Methuen. A story by Mrs. Aylmer Gowing, entitled "Goods of Gold," will be published in a few days by Messrs. White. Mr. Hardy is revising his story " The Pursuit of the Well-Beloved." It will not come out until the spring, and will then be the last volume in the collected edition of his Wessex Novels pub- lished by Messrs. Osgood. "A Pyschic Vigil," the work of an anonymous hand, is among the books announced by Messrs. W. H. Allen and Co. A novel of Yorkshire village life, by "Mary- Beaumont," the author of '• A Ringby Lass," will be published this autumn by Messrs. Dent. Miss Violet Hunt has completed a story entitled "The Way of Marriage," and Miss Winifred Graham one called " A Strange Solu- tion," both of which will be published by Messrs. Chapman and Hall. Mr. J. S. Fletcher has written a historical romance of the Civil Wars, entitled "Mistress Spitfire," which will be published bv Messrs. Dent, Messrs. Chapman and Hall are publishing soon a volume of travel through Sa\tb.alien and the remoter parts of Sihpria ~ a "The New Siberia," by Mr. Har^f Lr of " ^ Pekin to Calais by lLaMt'aut lorks- Mr. Israel ZaL^ *** & t stories dealing » on » *V *J East, and ont ^Mfc <M S^C^ mas number o£ v»*fcttt Tf\\A ;« &e by Mr. Arth^ ^ ««." a fpj* ElkinMathe^ ^ > V* ## p. 128 (#164) ############################################ 128 THE AUTHOR. Mr. William Koberts is writing upon the art sales which have taken place at Christie's well- known auction rooms. The work will be in two volumes, with many illustrations, and one of its chief purposes is to indicate the various ups and downs of the numerous English and foreign schools of paintings for the past century and a and quarter. It is to appeal to the general reader, and Messrs. Bell hope to publish it in December. Lord Roberts' volume of Indian reminiscences will appear this month. It will contain portraits of Lord Clyde, Lord Napier, Sir James Outram. and others. Gen. Sir Evelyn Wood is publishing, through Messrs. Bell, a work on "Achievements of Cavalry." A book about the Indian Mutiny is being published soon by Messrs. Kegan, Paul, and Co., edited from Gen. Alexander's MS. by Mr. F. W. Pitt. The title is "Incidents in India and Memories of the Mutiny ; with some Account of Alexander's Horse and the ist Bengal Calvary." A history of the Monastic Orders has been written for English readers by the Rev. F. C. Woodhouse. and will shortly appear from the house of Wells Gardner, Darton, and Co., entitled " Monasticism, Ancient and Modern." "On Southern EngUsh Roads," by Mr. J. J. Hissey, will be published this season by Messrs. Bentley. There will be a route map, and nume- rous illustrations from the author's sketches. A new uniform edition of the novels by Mr. James Baker, author of "John Westacott," is being prepared for issue by Messrs. Chapman and Hall. This author also will appear with a novel of the fifteenth century during the present season. Mr. Sidney Pickering has written a novel which will be published shortly by Messrs. Lawrence and Bullen, entitled "Margot." Great activity prevailed in the book world during October. From Sept. 22 to Oct. 21 there were published (according to the lists in the London papers) 455 books, exclusive of annual volumes of periodicals or books in foreign lan- guages. The number is distributed sectionally as follows:—Fiction, 162; Theology and Philo- sophy, 49; Poetry, 23; Biography and Auto- biography, 22; History and Politics, 20; Edu- bation, 17; Art and Belles Lettres, 17; Science and Natural History, 10; Travel, 10; Medical, 2; Reprints, new editions, and translations, 86; Miscellaneous, 37. Dr. Richard Garnett is editing the Public Library Series, which is one of Mr. George Allen's enterprises. The following volumes have been arranged for: "Library Construction and Archi- tecture," by Mr. J. J. Burgoyne; "The Free Library," by Mr. J. J. Ogle; "Library Adminis- tration," by Mr. A. W. Robertson; "The Prices of Books,"* by Mr. H. B. Wheatley. Mrs. Warren Clouston is the writer of a volume on " Early English Furniture," which Mr. Edward Arnold will publish. It will have a number of illustrations of work done by the English cabinet- makers of olden days. "Prehistoric Man and Beast" is the title of a new work by the Rev. H. N. Hutchinson, the author of " Extinct Monsters." It will be pub- lished by Messrs. Smith, Elder, and Co., with a preface by Sir Henry H. Howorth, M.P., and drawings by Mr. Cecil Alden. The Glasgow Newsagents' and Booksellers' Union has resolved to allow discounts on magazines no longer. Henceforth the full publishing prices will be charged. Mr. Edward Pennington, a Scottish journalist, is writing a book on Sam Bough, who was a well-known figure in Edinburgh art circles of his day. The work will deal entirely with the artistic side of the painter's life. Dean Farrar's new book, "The Bible: Its Meaning and Supremacy," will be published immediately by Messrs. Longmans. Authors who observe the remarkable cheapness of paper will be interested in the following note from the New York correspondent of the Daily Mail: "One of our leading paper experts has organised a mammoth stock company for starting paper-making on American lines near London. The capital is all subscribed, and important developments will follow. Attention will be chiefly devoted to paper for newspapers, but calendered papers will be a speciality. The stock is held by leading paper men here. Experts have been reporting on the situation in England ever since the World's Fair, where the scheme had its inception. It is claimed that the American mills will be able to undersell English manufacturers, and to supply a superior article. I will cable details in a few weeks." The second volome of "Literary Anecdotes of the Nineteenth Century," by Dr. Robertson Nicoll and Mr. T. J. Wise, will be published shortly. Among the contents will be a hitherto unpublished tale by Charlotte Bronte; a review of Mr. Meredith's "The Shaving of Shagpat," written by George Eliot in the Leader; and a number of letters by Elizabeth Barrett Browning which have not previously been published. A volume of verse by the late distinguished scientist, Mr. G. J. Romanes, is to appear from ## p. 129 (#165) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. 129 Messrs. Longmans on an early date, with an intro- duction by Mr. Herbert Warren, the President of Magdalen College, Oxford. The same firm have also a collection of essays by Mr. Romanes on their list of forthcoming books. Mr. William C. Hazlitt promises some new material concerning Charles Lamb and his sister in his volume to be published shortly by Mr. Elkin Mathews, entitled, "The Lambs; Their Lives, their Friends, and their Correspondents." Messrs. Smith, Elder, and Co. will publish in the course of November a one-volume novel (price 6*.) entitled " Drifting," by Archie Arm- strong. Mr. Henry Charles Moore has been awarded the £200 prize offered by Messrs. Partridge and Co. for the best story sent into them. It is a story of adventure in Burraah, and will be pub- lished as a serial in the Osborne. George Moore. Cosmo- Pi.. T. Q. C. Speaker for F. Reginald Statham. I. Bookman LITERATURE IN THE PERIODICALS. Copyright Reforms. The New Saturday for Oct. 24. A Question in Copyright. "Nullum Tempos Occurrat Honestati." Letter in the Spectator for Oot. 10. American Criticism To-Day. Brander Matthews. Chap-Book for Oot 1. Criticism. I. Zangwill. Inter alia in "Without Pre- judice." Pall Mall Magazine for November. Sensation Novels. World for Oct. 24. The Legitimate Uses of Fiction. Ingrad Harting-. Girl*' Own Paper for November. The Moral Idea in Fiction. polie for October. The Moral Idea in Fiction. Oct. 17 and 24. The Real Robert Elsmere. New Review for October. Copyright At Home. W. Morris Colles. for October. What to Read. Addresses by Sir Arthur Arnold and ■Sir Theodore Martin. The Daily Chronicle for Oct. 19 and 21. Journalism as a Profession. Fred Wilson. West- minster Review for October. The Photographic Copyrioht Union : Its Position and IProspeots. The Photographers' Record for October. Books as Comforters of the Soul. Spectator for Sept. 26, and ensuing correspondence on Oct. 3, 10, and 17. Browning's Theism. Josiah Boyce. The New IForld for September. Love-Lore from Abbotsford. Two hitherto unpub- lished letters of Sir Walter Scott's. Girls' Own Paper for November. The Sir Walter Scott Memorial. Lord Lothian. Letter in the Times for Oct. 7. The Decline of the Political Novel. Glasgow Herald for Oot. 10. Re-reading. Spectator for Oot. 24. Fashionable Life in Fiction. British Review for <Oct. 24. Penny Dreadfuls. Correspondent to the Daily Telegraph for Oct. 23; leading article Oct. 24. The BOOKSELLING Question. Letter by "Ex-Pub- lisher " in the Publishers' Circular for Sept. 25; by " Good- will " in Oot. 3. William Morris. Walter Crane. The Progressive Review for November. George du Maurier. R. C. Lehmann. Speaker for Oct. 10. Humour in Poetry. National Observer for Oot. 24. The Boy in Fiction. The New Saturday for Oct. 3. The Sale Dinner. The Daily Chronicle for Oct. 24. Revelations of an Album. (Containing reminiscences of Charles Beade and other writers.) Joseph Hatton. The Idler for October. Notable Reviews. Of L. R. Farnell's "The Cult of the Greek States." Franklin T. Richards. Academy for Oct. 17. Of Walter Pater's " Gaston de Latour." Athtnieum for Oct. 17. Of '• Ian Maclaren's" "Kate Carnegie and Those Ministers." Professor Marcos Dods. British Weekly for Oot. 22. Of the Carrow Library Catalogue (" Bibliotheca Norfol- ciensis "). Eastern Daily Press for Oot. 22. Of B. A. M. Stevenson's "The Art of Velasquez." Athenicum for Oct. 24. The law of Copyright, says the New Saturday, is at present in a condition of muddle; and the task of clearing it up, so that no author would be left in doubt as to his rights, would be worthy the best efforts of a great statesman. The presump- tion is strong, says our contemporary, that the new Copyright Bill drafted by the Society of Authors, the Publishers' Association, and the Copyright Association, while useful in its way, "will not be found to provide for that final settlement of all vexed questions which commends itself to the thorough-going advocates of reform." Although it is a step on the right road: Idealists would like to see a large measure, arranging, among other things, to make copyright perpetnal, so that the writer of a popular book might have as good a chance of founding a family as the compounder of a popular patent medicine. This same question of the perpetuity of copyright is raised by "Nullum Tempus Occurrat Honestati " in the Spectator. The correspondent believes that if a writer leaves his copyright to a college on trust for the charitable and educational purposes of the institution, the copyright is thereby made perpetual. But suppose a writer, wishing to provide f or his Vidcm or children by leaving them his copyright ilk »nd *3 thereupon keep the ffl *?* before its time to WW tffl, 81* hcu, M making a presejXTj J^re ■ Can M >K college, prevent U<* ^rk\^ n <fe from expiring 'J* foe uv" 0 tf> should WvS*. «f*J?- ^ « & ## p. 130 (#166) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. it for nineteen years to his widow, and then in perpetuity to a college? The need of competent criticism is felt more sharply in America to-day than ever before, says Mr. Brander Matthews. But there has been no falling off; on the contrary, there are more honest and capable critics in the United States now than there were in any period of the past. Really great critics, he observes, have always been very scarce everywhere ; far scarcer than great novelists or great dramatists. The important point of his article is its emphasis of the desirability, and observance of the growing popularity, of the signed criticism. One of the chief reasons, he says, why criticism is finer and more influential in France than it is in either Great Britain or the United States, is that the critic in France warrants his opinions with his signature, saying boldly what he has to say about another man's work, with no mask of skulking disguise. Authors of experience know the immense superi- ority of the signed to the unsigned book review, and so does the general public. The practice is spreading, and in time may become general:— It will have the disadvantage, of course, of putting an increased premium ou the work of the writers who have well-known names; but, after all, the writers with the well- known names are probably those who best deserve to be *^»own. And, on the other hand, it will have the advantage, I think, of increasing the class of writers who are not multifarious as the ordinary newspaper reviewer is now forced to pretend to be, but who have educated themselves in one or more specialties. It will aid in developing critics who may fairly be called experts in poetry and in fiction. Mr. Zangwill also touches on the subject of criticism, which may be, he says, an inductive science. With this distinction, however—that the critic must be a judge as well as an analyst. The power of recognising colours or of counting legs is common to mankind; the power of recognising fine humour and true poetry belongs only to the few; and criticism can only be made scientific by the hypothesis of a great critio, whose palate is accurately sensitive, who sums up the taste of the highest spirits of his day much as a great poet sums up their emotion or intellect But the critic can at any rate judge by genres, tasting every book by the standard of its own aim. He has a right to demand form, but no right to object to any form the author may choose. Passing on to define the naturalistic novel, Mr. Zangwill says that from the artistic standpoint, naturalistic novels must be primarily gauged not by the truth in them, but by the art in them. There is only one test. Do they stimulate? Then they are art despite all their science! Do they depress > Then, whatever else they are, they are not art. In short: Every novel that deals truly with life is naturalistic—in fact, the word novel should mean the " naturalistic novel" —any other kind of story should be classified as romance. Mr. Zangwill, finally, might be replying to^some of the criticism made in the Church Congress discussion on literature, when he say that " a book is not a thing that has a definite self-existence ;. it needs the co-operation of the reader's mind." While the World is extolling the virtues of the sensation novel, and saying that at the present moment in the largest and best sense it holds a popularity which has never been greater, Mr. George Moore writes in Cosmopulis that the English novel has never stood up to the great moral questions as Shakespeare stood up to them, in " Lear," "Macbeth," and "Othello," and that by consequence it has never produced a novel of the first order. For the test of an essentially, great novel is that it deals with primary moral ideas, and judged by this test prose fiction began with Balzac, and has been continued by Flaubert, Tourgueneff, and Tolstoi:— If the reader will turn from Balzac to his favourite Saxon novelist, Fielding or Thackeray, he will find there men and women admirably observed in their superficial appearanoes; he will find men and women depicted as we see them; each will be Btamped with his or her age, and with the habits and customs of his or her class. But the emotions which move them will be always secondary emotions. . . . That we do not express ourselves as openly as Fielding is- an unimportant literary accident. The essential is that the Saxon discovered the materialist novel in " Tom Jones," and liked it so much that he has gone on producing it ever since. "Ex-Publisher," writing on the congested con- ditions of retail bookselling, which is "not really abnormal," says the time seems to have arrived when the publishers should seriously consider as- to the adoption of the "sale or return" system in some modified form. The two new letters by Sir Walter Scott concern his son's love affairs, principally asking an exten- sion of Christmas leave from the lad's regiment in order that these might be arranged. Journalism, if it is to be judged by the salaries paid its members, must take rank with the- unskilled trades, says Mr. Fred. Wilson. So he would have the profession form a mutual and protective society, the Institute of Journalists not being, in his opinion, an effective body. A writer of penny dreadfuls champions the cause of the fraternity, which it appears possesses a small Association. This literature he calls a "really high-principled form of amusement."' The highwaymen and harum scarum lads depicted therein are never found triumphant in the end: on the contrary, they are all either stabbed or otherwise disposed of in a proper manner." The Daily Telegraph, in whose columns the letter appears, advises the Association to keep pegging away in the cause of virtue, and, if possible, to let their high moral aim appear even more conspicu- ously than at present. ## p. 131 (#167) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. l3' THE BERNE INTERNATIONAL LITERARY AND ARTISTIC CONGRESS. REPORT OF THE BERNE INTERNA- TIONAL LITERARY AND ARTISTIC CONGRESS, held from the 22nd to the 29th August, 1896. * Translated from Le Droit d'Auteur, organe offioiel da Bnrean de 1'Union internationale pour la protection des oeuTres litt<5raires et artistiques. Neuvii-me anni;e. No. 9, page 118. I.—General Survey. THE annual congresses of the International Literary and Artistic Association follow, but do not resemble one another. This assertion may appear trivial, but the fact is of profound significance. It is, in reality, a con- sequence of circumstances of some importance— the condition of the international protection of copyright (a condition which is ceaselessly alter- ing), the nature and origin of the works laid before the Congress, and finally the choice of the place of meeting. The previous congresses, especially those of Milan, Antwerp, and Dresden, have resembled a preliminary general review of forces. They were organised with a view of drawing together im- pressive assemblies of authors, and artists, and also in order that the authors and artists might for-mulate their claims in a satisfactory manner; because the revision of the Berne Convention seemed to be imminent. All their reports bore evidence to one solid central aim, which was to bring the compact of union to a state of perfec- tion as quickly as possible. The Dresden Con- gress, the first held in the German Empire, was especially important, both on account of the large attendance of German authors and pub- lishers, and also on account of the general pro- clamation of the "desiderata" of authors of every language and of various shades of opinion. This year the situation was changed. The diplomatic conference at Paris had, in the spring, undertaken the difficult task of bringing forward, necessary changes in the constitution of the union, and, until its decisions should be definitely sanctioned, an interval of rest seemed indis- pensable. Berne enjoys the honour of being the seat of the International Bureau of the Union, and Berne, which one of the speakers at the Congress was kind enough to designate the citadel and sanctuary of international protection of intel- lectual works, showed itself deserving of the choice by exactly hitting, as it seems to us, the * Compare the Author, August, 1896, page 56. (Trans- lator's note.) happy mean of a welcome exempt from display, but full of cordiality, and of a friendly hospi- tality without ostentation. II.—The Work of the Congress. The business sittings of the Congress were held in the " Salle du Conseil des Etats." These sittings, of the usual number of eight, were of a very laborious character, so that it was found possible to complete, under the firm and able guidance of M. Pouillet, almost the whole programme, although it was a very long one. In this sketch of the labours of the Congress we shall follow the order of the connected subjects as they appear in the arrangement of resolutions adopted, rather than the order of the sittings. We place first the reports, which consisted simply of records, and were of the nature of minutes. Report upon the Labours of the Paris Confcrence. The Conference having at its first sitting appointed its officers,* and having listened with interest to the addresses of welcome of a number of delegates, commenced its agenda with the study of a subject of the highest moment, the revision of the Berne Convention by the Paris Diplomat it- Conference. M. Georges Maillard, who had been one of the secretaries of the Conference, succeeded in laying open judiciously, but perfectly clearly, the particular situation iu which the Conference found itself placed, the nature of the arrange- ments which it adopted, the legal and practical results obtained, and finally the moral effect of the gathering upon the countries outside the Union. Basing his remarks on the last chapter of his printed report, the speaker gave an analysis both of the proposals and of the amendments presented to the Conference. This resume was the occasion of the adoption of a resolution t in which an expression of the satisfaction caused by the marked improvements obtained is skilfully con- nected with an express k 11 of regret that other reforms had been postponed. As the Paris Conference itself expressed a hope that the Berlin Conference might issue a standard form of the term of convention, the Association also declared its intention of devoting itself next year t0 ^e preparation of new directions which nnS^J^L tea «f followB :—Presidents of Jj( dent of the Confedeti ■-Ouour the Confederation. Dieroks dents bOTg Appeal >V>^5 t See . ## p. 132 (#168) ############################################ 132 THE AUTHOR. taken into consideration by diplomatists when the date of the reunion of the second Conference arrived. Legislative action in the Countries belonging to the Union. The successive ratification of the decisions of the Paris Conference by all the contracting countries, as well as the preparation of ulterior progressive revisions of the Berne Convention, are intimately connected with the legislative evolution which is taking place in the different States. The Association accordingly at every Congress directed its attention to the new de- velopments in the legal world. This subject was treated at Berne in the following manner. M. Osterrieth reported first of all upon the movement which is at the present time in Germany preceding a revision of the internal laws of the Empire respecting copyright. The Government intends to undertake this revision at an early date. The report contained useful infor- mation respecting the divergent views of German authors and publishers who are asking for a more satisfactory or more profitable legislation. On the other hand M. Poinsard explained the effect of the new ordinance on the Principality of Monaco respecting copyright, dated June 3, 1896. This ordinance set an example to be followed, as it was the first to realise some of the reforms adopted this spring at Paris.* M. Poiusard's statements were particulary interesting, as the author of the revised text, M. H. de Roiland, Attorney-General of the Superior Tribunal of Monaco, was present at the sitting, and was able to add some additional explanations, particularly respecting the complete protection of serials (romans-feuilletons) and of novels. During the sitting M. de Rolland also presented to the Congress the Prince of Monaco's invitation to hold the next reunion in his Principality. This invitation was accepted with thanks, and the nineteenth Congress of the Association has been fixed for next April. This is the place to add that the Hellenic Government had charged Dr. Kebedgy to repre- sent it officially at the Berne Congress. This was an evidence of the importance which the Greek Government attached to being directly informed of labours in which the Association is at present engaged, for which there is a parti- cular reason. A new law respecting copyright in intellectual works is under consideration in Greece, and Dr. Kebedgy, who took an active part in the discussions on several occasions, * For the text of this ordinance, and some remarks sug- gested by it, see Droit d'Auteur, 1896, pp. 89 and 93. entered into the question of how far, in his opinion, his compatriots would be able to go in the way of protecting copyright. Finally, M. Porumbaro, delegate of the Athenaeum of Bucharest, briefly explained the situation in Roumania. In his opinion a revision of the national legislation ought to precede the accession of his country to the Union. In his capacity of member of the Roumanian Parliament it is his intention to urge parliamen- tary measures for the removal of difficulties. We have thus insensibly approached another point in the programme. The means of obtaining new adherents to the Berne Conference. M. Maurice Maunoury having been prevented from attending the Congress, the conclusions of the report which he had prepared on this subject, and especially with reference to the European States, were presented by M. Maillard. These conclusions, completed by some useful additions from M. Poinsard, speak for themselves.* The local organisation of centres from which infor- mation may be diffused, and of an efficient propaganda, is a matter for private or united energy. At the same time, if it is desired to persuade the diplomatic authorities of certain countries to labour principally to bring new States into the Union, and not to conclude private treaties bearing on literary questions (except in such cases as make accession to the Union temporarily impossible), the result must, to a very great extent, depend upon personal relations with the authorities or with their representatives, and upon private influence. However, as the report observes, there is something which the Association itself can, as a corporate body, satis- factorily carry into effect. That is an investiga- tion of the causes which in each country stand in the way of an accession to the Union, an examina- tion of the situations of the publishing trade, and of the methods of piracy. It will be necessary to draw up nothing short of monographs respecting the state of the law in the several countries respecting the cause and origin of various restrictive enactments; respecting the local needs in the way of translation; of dramatic represen- tation; of musical performance, &c; in a word, to individualise the knowledge of the actual state of things in the different countries so as to make all action in the interests of the Union more practical. For several years past M. Darras has, with the assistance of M. Eisenmann, drawn up very accurate reports "on legislative action with regard * See below A, II. ## p. 133 (#169) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. '33 to copyright in the three Americas." M. Darras was not this year able to come to Berne, nor to draw up his report; and M. Ernest Rothlisberger was therefore entrusted, with the delivery of an oral report upon the same subject. He reviewed all the events of importance in this department which have taken place since the last Congress at .Dresden, whether in English America (the Canadian law—suggestion of Mr. Hall Caine), in the United States (suggested legal projects of Messrs. Cummings, Hills, and Treloar), or in Latin America, Mexico, Guatemala, Costa-Rica, Columbia, Venezuela, Brazil, the countries which have signed the convention of Montevideo, and the Argentine Republic. It was at the conclusion ■of this report that the Congress adopted a resolution amounting to a vote of encouragement and symjmthy for the valiant champions of international copyright in the United States.* The Congress heard with particular satisfaction of the progress which our cause has made in Mexico, in Costa-Rica, and lastly in the Argentine Republic, where it was eloquently defended by M. Cane, minister of that country at Paris.f ifeans of assuring compliance with the terms of the Berne Convention in countries belonging to the Union. The Association perseveringly pursues a double aim ; on the one hand, the territorial extension of the Union; on the other, a constantly more perfect and easier compliance with the provisions of the Berne Convention. Concerning the second of these two aims not less than six reports were prepared. Literary works. — Respecting the protection accorded these works in the countries which have signed the Convention, M. Ollendorf, the Paris publisher, showed in his report that the various stipulations of the Convention are, on the whole, very scrupulously observed in the States in ques- tion. But in cases when difficulties arise abroad, or when it is necessary to apply to the tribunals, there is always some hesitation about the means which it may be best to employ. For this reason M. Ollendorf proposed the establishment in every country of a legal office "composed of lawyers belonging to all nationalities, and entrusted with the duty of enlightening and guiding their com- patriots in cases of external lawsuits, as well as with that of staving off litigation." After a full discussion the Congress agreed to this, in this sense, that the Association will exert itself to find in each State competent and trustworthy lawyers * See below B, IV. + It is the intention of Le Droit d'Auteur to publish shortly the very instructive report on the Paris Conference, Addressed by M. Cane to his government. who will, in their own country, take up the causes of foreign authors whose interests may be in- fringed.* M. Ollendorf pleaded also for the suppression of the guaranty judicalum solrif in cases relating to literary and artistic property. The Congress was unanimous in regarding this guaranty as an anti-liberal measure, contrary to the spirit of the Convention. But as the matter is connected with the question of obtaining in one country guarantees for the execution of judicial sentences in another, it was decided to make the point the subject of further investigations.]; Dramatic icorks. — The report presented by M. Beaume, which was full of accurate data respecting the treatment of rights of dramatic representation, proved much less optimistic than that of M. Ollendorf. According to M. Beaume the protection accorded to dramatic works leaves much to be desired. This is not only in conse- quence of the omissions and restrictions of the Convention (Article 9), nor only in cousequence of the unfavourable provisions of the laws of certain nations (for example those of Switzer- land), but also owing to the practices of dramatic managements, conducted on purely commercial lines, and also in part owing to the absence of organization amongst authors. M. Beaume considered that the best means of securing general protection, at least in the countries belonging to the Union, was that the dramatic authors should follow the example of the French dramatic authors, who, united in a society (the prosperity of which is astonishing), have suc- ceeded in protecting perfectly even the interests of their foreign confreres who pay the same percentages. In the course of the discussion, M. Hildebrandt, the delegate of the German Literary Society, § remarked that the French dramatic authors, instead of applying to his society to watch over the rights of representation and translation in Germany, sold their rights out and out to the directors of German theatres who came to Paris, and so lost all further control over their work. He therefore warmly advo- * See Resolution A, III. t Caution judicatum solvi. Caution in Trench 1»* 00"f" sponds with Caution in SWtfoYi 1 , «iuivalenl <» Guaranty in English law. G^*' W one person binds hhnaeYf ,Uuara,% is a conW* ^ act in the case of the failuj* J? W * * *° J** it is to do the thine. „! ot Bom« otw r,ets<>»*_ xfr*** it is to do the thing „„ ot BomO otW xfl*#>* „ himself is generally8 ^^anteed, P° 0Tl person who is Prim*-^ the *Hr*K . v„At»^ -flit1- tt* the form of judio^^ WwB J lU m W^iV^i tfi surety becomes g*£ » i Seriftstelle^.^ ^ / ## p. 134 (#170) ############################################ 134 THE AUTHOR. rated the international federation of societies founded for the mutual protection of the rights of authors. An investigation respecting the foundation of such societies was accordingly declared desirable. Painting, Sculpture, and Engraving.—M. Yauuois, who defended the theses of the report of M. Fleury (who was absent), made similar remarks respecting painting, sculpture, and engraving. The slightly modified conclusions drawn from this report expressly enunciate the ideas of a coalition of authors, and of the fouudat ion of a syndicate of the different national associations with a view to maintaining (before the tribunals) the rights of reproduction, and more particularly those belonging to members, and declared to be intrusted to their society.* Musical tcorhs.—The report promised by M. Souchon was not presented, as he had not been able to come to Berne. His absence was unfortunate, as it was much to be desired that some authorised voice should proclaim the incontestable rights of composers, and at the same time should furnish information concerning the possibilities of the reoeptiou of percentages, and the constitution of the society of authors, composers, and publishers of music. An open discussion ou this subject, to which the Swiss Press was especially looking forward, would certainly have dissipated a great many misunder- standings. Architectural works.—M. Ch. Lucas was able to interest all his hearers by his speech in favour of the cause which he has defended for years—the legal protection of architectural works. His brief statement bristled with facts. He pointed out why the legal protection of designs was insufficient, why the architect ought to be guaranteed against rebuilding and reconstruction, and where certain decisions of the French tribunals were open to criticism. Whilst making some remarks in explanation of the unfavourable attitude of German legislation as regards the claims of architects, M. Lucas declared categori- cally that there could be no question about the protection of such work as was, in the places where it existed, absolutely without originality. After this the resolution in favour of the protection of architectural works which were really indivi- dual, new, and in effect artistic creations, met with no opposition.f Photographic works.—The report of M. Taillefer was read and supplemented by M. Davanne. After a brief allusion to the somewhat different views of the German photographers, M. Davanne concluded with a repetition of the wish that photographs should be placed in the same rank with other works of art. Complete protection was still claimed for them, because the measure of protection assured by the Paris Conference (protection to the extent secured respectively by the laws of the different States belonging to the Union), though large, still left a scandalous disparity.* The Compliance tcith Conditions and Formalities in the Countries belonging to the Union. M. Ernest Rothlisberger had prepared a detailed report upon this complicated subject. The report was a little dry, but of great assistance towards a just and easy realisation of what an author's rights, in the conventional and legal sense, are. The exercise of these rights depends, in the Union, only upon the accomplishment of the conditions and formalities prescribed by the internal legislation of the country in which the work is published. Compliance with this simple rule proves, in practice, difficult, on account of the difference of the laws of various nations. M. Rothlisberger, after having drawn a distinction between conditions and formalities, first of all enumerated the former. They turned out to be more numerous than is generally supposed. After this he explained the formalities, that is to say, registration, and legal deposit of copies of the work, so far as these are connected with protec- tion of copyright. For this purpose he classed the States belonging to the Union into four groups: 1. Countries in which there are no formalities. 2. Countries in which formalities are the excep- tion. 3. Countries in which formalities are the rule, but neglect of them does not affect the author's rights. 4. Countries in which they are obligatory, under the penalty of loss of copyright. The working of the formalities (delay, place, authority, fee, certificate, legal consequences) was rendered clear by comparative tables. Starting from this base M. Rothlisberger claimed for authors of the countries belonging to the Union a number of facilities for the accomplishment of these formalities within the jurisdiction of the Union. In his opinion these facilities should not be sanctioned de lege ferenda by new enactments, but should logically result from a liberal interpre- tation of the Convention. We cannot here enter into the grounds of the speaker's demands. But the resolutions passed on the subject are suffi- ciently explicit.! We shall mention only two * Resolutions B, III., b. f See Resolutions B, a. * Resolutions B, b. t Resolutions A, III. ## p. 135 (#171) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. i35 modifications which the Congress made in the propositions laid before it. M. Rothlisberger desired that it should be remembered that the Berne International Bureau could take the steps necessary to procure for the persons interested the certificate sanctioned in Article 11, paragraph 3, of the Convention. This certificate shows that the formalities required by law have been com- plied with. This privilege of the Berne Bureau was recognised by the Diplomatic Conference of 1885: (Actes, p. 37). But the Congress, going still further, decided to express a formal desire to the effect that the Bureau should be itself charged to deliver the certificates in question. Further, M. Rothlisberger had proposed to request, by a desire of the Congress, that the authorities of those countries in which the legis- lation does not make the copyright of any works, or the copyright of certain classes of works, depend upon special conditions or formalities, should have the goodness to make special official declarations to this effect, so that the International Bureau may transmit these declarations to the persons whom they may concern. The Congress adopted a resolution in accordance with which it is the province of the Berne Bureau to take the steps necessary to procure the declarations in question. Finally M. Rothlisberger declared himself, on principle, in favour of the complete suppres- sion of all formalities if they in any way tend to obstruct either the genesis of the author's rights or their protection. Because, on every occasion when registration, or legal deposit of the work, is prescribed by a law respecting intellectual property, the legislator, in search of something to ensure the regular accomplishment of these formalities, yields to the temptation to deprive the author, who does not comply with the legal requirements, of the power of taking legal action, or even, in many countries belonging to the Union, deprives him of all rights in his work. It will be only in the case of this rule of the loss of rights disappearing from the Statute-books of the countries in question, in consequence of a revision of their internal laws, that it will be possible logically to renew the request adopted at the last Dresden Congress in favour of the suppression of all conditions and formalities a? necessary for international protection. According to M. Rothlisberger, whose arguments we cannot lere produce, the establishment of good national bibliographies would amply suffice to give civil rights to^literary works. As for artistic works, they are almost everywhere dispensed from the formalities; a fact which proves that the desired reform (the disappearance of formalities from the domain of copyright) is perfectly realisable. An entirely different opinion was upheld by M. Lucien Layus, who presented a report entitled "On Legal Deposit" (" Du depot legal"), in which he gave, in a concise form, much interesting information concerning the origin of this formality. The deposit of copies was instituted for reasons of the most different kinds: with the aim of enriching national collections; in order to furnish a proof of date, that might determine the duration of the copy- right; as an assistance to the police ; and for the protection of public order. However, in the countries where the law of legal deposit exists, but where compliance with it is incumbent on the printer, a number of inconveniences arise, incon- veniences affecting both the copyright and the national collections. The necessity of a reform is manifest, and with a view to obtaining this reform M. Layus recommended the adoption of three resolutions. In his opinion the legal deposit thus reformed, and reformed first of all in France, represented a measure which should be recom- mended to all States. In conclusion, his report contained the following passage: "It is to be desired that the obligations of registration and of legal deposit by the publisher should be at an early date adopted by all the countries in which this is not at present the rule." The Association had adopted contradictory reso- lutions on this subject. At one time it had voted in favour of the extension of the obligation of legal deposit to all countries of the Union, adding a resolution that this deposit ought to be independent of the author's copyright. (Barce- lona. Antwerp.) At another time it had been in favour of the suppression of all formalities in the international administration. (Dresden.) It was necessary to decide frankly by a resolution in favour of the formalities or against them. Several votings which took place in the course of the sittings proved that the partisans of the abolition of formalities, whose opinious were confirmed by criticisms of the defectiveness of the present system of legal deposit, had at their com- mand a considerable majority. The only solution of the situation, possible appeared to be a division condemning one or tne other of the two systems. This extremity. ^ow" ever, was avoided, thanks to the rit °^ con" ciliation which animated hruV. *.i *P ,.fpiS8 and .ich animated both U A .rress the authors of the reports. at ^ C° utoP°8ed, to add to the resolutions VfV- < V ^M118 *riipra' the one adopted at the l^J/\ctl met*1 of Publishers. influence *f ^opy^^^ %^ ^ $r ^ other hand, he was T^^Vfc , „»* • movements in the ^\<$ / ## p. 136 (#172) ############################################ 136 THE AUTHOR. might be desirable in the countries where the deposit is statutory, and to vote for the resolutions under discussion, limiting their effect to these countries. The whole Congress seemed at last to be agreed to admit that the formalities might be local or national measures of internal order, but that it would be best to put an end to the entanglement of such measures with the recogni- tion and administration of the author's copyright. Should any State desire, for whatsoever reasons, to prescribe registration or legal deposit of literary works, or of certain artistic works, let it determine all these details by special enactment, but not in the law concerning intellectual pro- perty. Copyright ought to be respected without the authors being obliged to comply with any formalities whatsoever. These important decisions were arrived at without opposition. It may, therefore, be hoped that this question will not again appear amongst the agenda of a literary or artistic Congress. Newspaper Copyright. (*) The brief but precise report of M. Paul Gave laid down as a principle that no literary compo- sition, inasmuch as it is an intellectual product, ought to be reproduced without authorisation, even though it may first have appeared in a newspaper. It miglit be quoted, provided always that the quotations did not degenerate into dis- guised piracy. What, however, was to be said about the protection of news? These were the facts: "Certain newspapers put themselves to a great expense in order to secure interesting tele- grams, and to have correspondents in every locality (often in localities at a great distance) where remarkable events were taking place. The news which they thus procured was openly, shamelessly pillaged. Such things were to be found as periodicals created for this very purpose, periodicals appearing a few hours after their eon- temporaries, and borrowing from them the whole of their telegrams and news, obtained at a great expense, and thus offering a recapitulation of everything useful and interesting published on the same day. Such things were to be found as pro- vincial papers whose editors, living in the capital, telegraphed or telephoned complete articles pub- lished in the leading journals, and did not scruple to reproduce these same articles twelve or eighteen hours before the other journals, those that had been pillaged, could reach the towns where the piracies appeared." It was, however, important to distinguish between mere news (information brutale) based upon a simple fact, and given without any intel- * De la propriety littt'raire en mativre de presse. lectual labour (which might be reproduced freely), and news in which some personal element appeared, the result of labour and of literary composition, and so capable of being protected like any other writing. An animated and brilliant discussion followed the reading of this report. M. Albert Bataille, delegate of the International Union of Journalists' Societies * founded at Buda-Pest in last July.f unfolded, in an erudite speech, listened to with the greatest attention, the transformation through which modern journalism is passing—the dis- appearance of learned articles, and of didactic elements, and the predominance of news, of "impressions," new, rapid, well-written and well- balanced. It was against the pilfering of this sort of intelligence that journalists demanded protection without the necessity of asserting that their copyright was reserved. Hitherto, by means of the present Convention at Berne, and its revised Article 7, protection had been afforded for "what was least journalistic, the literary portion ;" % for the future every individual article ought to be protected by formal declarations— with a solitary exception. In the interests of the influence which the newspaper ought to exert, it was desirable that political articles, as well as speeches, should be freely reproduced and left to public discussion, unless this was expressly forbidden. With respect to mere news, especially that communicated by telegraphic agencies, it would be perhaps right to ask for an " industrial" protection, on the ground of illegal competition, or, perhaps, a protection for twenty-four hours might be instituted, as at the Cape. There was here no question of the protection of intellectual property, but only of the protection of priority of information. All the subsequent speakers declared that the Association was disposed to continue its investiga- tions of these questions (investigations which had been commenced in Paris and London), and to support the journalists in their claims. M. Wauwermans, at the same time, called attention to the fact that the legal protection is often very wide, but the journalists never make use of it against the abuses of which they are the victims. At least in Belgium the French journals whose articles are reproduced imhesitatingly, and even with the signatures removed, never institute legal proceedings, and never even ask for a mention of the source from which the borrowed matter may come. Other speakers opposed the free repro- duction of political articles, without exception, and demanded that they should be treated as * Union Internationale des Associations de presse. t See Droit d'Auteur, 1896, pag-e 97. X " Ce qu'il y a de moins journal, la partie litteraire." ## p. 137 (#173) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. 137 any other articles. The journalist ought to be the master of his own work. Finally, as it was shown that different usages respecting news- paper publication prevailed in different countries, it was resolved to set aside the two points under discussion for further consideration.* The assembly was unanimous in declaring the neces- sity of protecting all written matter appearing in a newspaper. The Rights of Collaborateurs. This question, introduced by M. Georges Harmand, also called forth ample discussion. In general, his report, carefully studied and supported by evidence, was warmly approved. This report treated in succession of the definition of collaboration, a definition which the Congress decided to reject; the rights of collaborateurs, equal in the absence of any agreement to the contrary; principles established for the publica- tion of the completed work, in case of refusal to publish on the part of one of the collaborateurs; the cession of collaborateurs' rights; the funda- mental principle of the indivisibility of the work; the distinction between works produced by collaboration and collective works; the duration of the collaboration. A strong opposition was raised against a view which M. Harmand wished to see adopted respecting the expiration of the rights of collabo- rateurs. It was admitted that so long as one of them lived he ought to exercise all rights in com- bination with the heirs of deceased coilaborateurs. But, further than this, M. Harmand supposed that, in the case of a work produced by collabo- ration, there might be several periods of duration of copyright, each one dating from the decease of one of the collaborateurs. The heirs or assigns of each of these deceased collaborateurs would thus lose their rights at the expiration of a certain time reckoned from the decease of their particular collaborateur. To whom then would the totality of the rights revert? M. Harmand was of opinion that, as by degrees the rights of the other collaborateurs, or of their assigns, lapsed, the survivor ought to acquire all the rights, and that his share of the emoluments should be augmented by those belonging to the collaborateurs who predeceased him. He took no notice of the heirs or assigns of the survivor. The opposition, taking their stand upon the ground that a work written in collaboration is indivisible, and that all rights in it are equal, carried a resolution to the effect, that the rights of all heirs of such collaborateurs as have pre- deceased others, subsist together jointly until the one limit of copyright calculated from the death * BeBolution C, in. of the collaborateur who last remains alive shall have been reached. Only in the case when there are no heirs of a deceased collaborateur, the share belonging to this collaborateur should be distri- buted amongst the other collaborateurs or their assigns. Thus no part would be without an owner, nor could be pocketed by theatrical direc- tors, S)-c., who were making payments to the collaborateurs. Thus amended, the principles adopted respect- ing collaboration were considered by the Congress deserving of being incorporated in the laws of the various nations as being the expression of the wishes of authors of all kinds of works.* The Rights of Creditors over Intellectual Works. According to M. Albert Vaunois the author has a double right over his creation. He has a pecuniary right, which is a commercial matter. And he has a moral right attaching to his own persou. So long as the author lives his moral right is indisputable, and precludes any inter- ference 011 the part of others. If he has not alienated his right no one can put himself in his place or deprive him of his property by a forced execution. The creditors have no claim except upon the profits resulting from agreements freely made by the author. After the death of the author, measures taken for a forced execution of claims upon his rights should be pleaded before the tribunals in the presence of his heirs, or of his executors. These ideas of M. Vaunois's, extremely bold ones regarding a subject to which very little attention has been hitherto paid, a subject also very insufficiently investigated by legis- latures and judges, met with a somewhat vigorous resistance. That manuscripts could not be seized by creditors, nor, in general, unpublished works (even after a man's death), and that, therefore, much more uKiinished works could not be seized, was universally ad- mitted. The creditors ought not to be able to obtain possession of these works with a view to publishing them against the will of the author or his heirs. But after the work had been pub- lished, there was not, in the opinion °^ manv speakers, any particular reason for mtilctin8 *ue creditor, who might also deserve coBsl^erati°n' nor for giving the autbor the Uei4 o£ exceptional privilege, likeW \n , n, teaewtt1 against him. As a Ker^J^™*5 *L —o — r< ■ \ v.. a rtJP between the moral right » a w&6 ojV , seemed not very clearly ^ ^ ytf^J^leL the preliminary labou^ ^fovfe^ £ \ \ * Besolutions B, II. f See hia draft of a 7 ## p. 138 (#174) ############################################ '33 THE AUTHOR. 'Congress accordingly voted that this question .should be referred to its next meeting.* The Type for Reproduction. M. A. Davanne devoted himself to several problems, which have at present been but little examined, " with the wish of seeing them studied and solved." His tiactate was entitled, "The Ownership of the Type, and more particularly of the Phototype, or Photographic Negative: an Attempt at some Definitions." According to M. Davanne the term "type" ought to be applied to every work, and to every mechanical instrument which serves for obtaining from an original manifold reproductions resem- bling it. The original constitutes the definite realisation of the author's conceptions, and the reproduction, distinct from the copy, is a repre- sentation of the original by various means. Often the " type" is itself the original (as in the case of etchings or photographic negatives); at other times it is formed in imitation of the original (composition of type, die, mould). When the copies are to be numerous the instru- ment for reproducing them is multiplied by the fabrication of counter-types (stereotype, electro- type, transfer from engraved plates to litho- graphic stones, and casts of casts). Who is the owner of the type? Basing his views upon the example of letterpress printing, M. Davanne replies to this question thus: The owner of the material type is the person who has made it. The right to use it, or the right to allow it to lje used, belongs to the person who has -ordered it. The right to destroy it belongs equally to both persons. M. Davanne next ■■applied these principles to the ownership of a photographic negative, making an exception of those cases where there are express or tacit understandings to the contrary, cases which are numerous. Kegarding portraits, M. Davanne maintains that the customer has no right to demand the surrender of the negative, and that the photographer has the right to refuse to sur- render his negative, because he has the right to -destroy it. At the same time this right equally belongs to his customer. In certain cases the customer tacitly agrees to surrender the right to make use of the negative, especially if he is paid to be photographed. Finally, M. Davanne examined the case of a tacit agreement permitting the customer to demand the surrender to himself -of the negative. Of the Lapse of Copyright.^ In his report devoted to the lapse of copyright, * Resolutions C, II. + " Do domains pnbii-," i.e., cf the palli: ownership of •terary property. M. Ed. Mack, (a specialist in all that concerns the duration of copyright*) first of all established a delicate distinction between the rights of the public, a right to the enjoyment of an intellectual work, and the lapse of copyright, which he characterised as an expropriation of the heirs or assigns of the author, for the benefit of any one who chose to turn the author's works to his own profit, so long as this person simply conformed with the rules of the open competition of the market, a state of things which sometimes led to a diminution of the price the public pay for the work. Having reviewed the enactments of various Legislatures on this subject, M. Mack examined the provisions of the Italian law, which sanctions a second period of protection, during which, after the lapse of the author's right, the public pay the author a certain sum. This system appeared to him to present great advantages. If the practical aim of a unification of the various laws respecting the duration of copyright after death were pursued, M. Mack was in favour of Jifty years after death; at the same time his own preferences were in favour of an absolute copyright of eighty years dating from the publication of the work. But—and herein lay the originality of his pro- position—after the lapse of this first period of of eighty years, the author's copyright ought to be extended to a hundred years, or even to perpetuity on condition that the previous exclusive right to reproduce should be transformed into a right to a royalty, a kind of payment on the part of the public. This plan is already partly followed by the Society of French Dramatic Authors, who receive per- centages even for works of which the copyright has lapsed. The public right to become possessed of works after the lapse of copyright could not bo too much curtailed. Its consequences were bene- ficial neither to the public nor to contemporary literature. As M. Mack had declined to ask for a vote upon the conclusions at which he had arrived, the debate upon the best period for the duration of copyright took place at the time of the con- sideration of the draft of a normal law prepared by M. Maillard. Draft of a Normal Laic. To avoid misunderstanding, it was, in the opinion of the author of this draft, necessary to explain exactly both the origin and the aim of his proposal. At the Dresden Congress M. Maillard presented a work in which he had, in accordance with previous votes of the Association, formulated the principles on which a unification of the various national laws ought to proceed. The "principles of legislative uniformity" were to constitute a "See Droit d'Auteur, 1894, p. 11. ## p. 139 (#175) ############################################ THE A UTHOR. i39 sort of programme for the champions of copy- right, the " platform" of a propaganda destined to lead popular opinion in countries where the reform of the local legislation is contemplated, and to give the efforts of authors and artists the unity of aim indispensable in their struggle for their aims. In conformity with the resolution adopted at Dresden, these principles have been transformed by M. Maillard into a draft of a law w-hich might serve as a base for the work of unification. The suggested draft is essentially perfectible, and it will be easy to modify it from year to year, in accordance with the results of further investigations, or in accordance with the march of ideas. The draft thus gives the mini- mum protection respecting which agreement is at present possible amongst the nations who have signed the Convention; and it embodies the ideal whole of what it is possible to hope to see before long in international dealings. "It must be understood," M. Maillard adds, "that we do not pretend to offer this document as the only legisla- tion acceptable in each country. Where a suffi- cient legislation or jurisprudence already exists we do not ask for any immediate change. . . . But wheresoever the desirability of a new law is admitted by the national representatives, we should like to see all the new laws based upon some common norm. Given the same funda- mental ]>rinciples, similar enactments would be passed, whilst the details might be left to be settled in such a manner as not to be distaseful to the feelings of the individual nationalities." This draft drawn up to serve as a "norm for legislative reforms" was discussed at several sittings, whensoever an occasion presented itself during the debates on various reports, and more particularly at the last two sittings. We give below the text as it appeared at the close of the deliberations. This will make it unnecessary for ua to enter into a detailed account of the debates, and we shall mention only some of the leading tendencies of these discussions. The draft speaks of "literary and artistic" works, an expression which some wished to see altered into "intellectual" works, whilst others desired that it should be complemented by the express addition of " scientific works." It would be right to inquire how far it might be possible to protect even the scientific ideas of learned men. Respecting Article 1 of the draft, M. Hilde- brandt demanded a more precise wording, some more exact fixture of the limits of rights, such as would not interfere with the liberty to hiss a melody in the streets, nor hamper the rights of circulating libraries. There would be a risk of endangering the revision of the German law if, in determining the author's rights, the criterion of financial advantage * was not adopted. Re- speetingtheperformance of musical works,it would be desirable, in order to avoid specific difficulties in Alsace-Lorraine, and in Switzerland, to take percentages only from societies receiving pecu- niary advantage from the performance. To this M. Maillard replied that this was interpreting his words in an exaggerated manner; but that at the same time it was light to protect not only the pecuniary interests but also the moral rights of the author; to protect not his work only but also his person, so that he could if he chose completely forbid the reproduction of his work. He insisted that it was above everything necessary to sanction a principle, making allowance for the restrictions which might have to be introduced in various countries, on account of local and temporary needs; for example, in such cases as workmen's choral societies, &c. At present it was necessary to find some wording which took account on the one hand of the pecuniary interests, and on the other hand of the moral right of the author. Respecting the duration of copyright, the Con- gress, after a long debate, voted for that of eighty years after death. Those in favour of fifty or thirty years after death were in a minority. However, some members handed in a declaration that in their opinion the period of eighty years was too long. Only a few votes were given in favour of an equal recommendation of one hundred years after publication. In fact it seemed undesirable to propose at the same time t wo solutions of this question. Besides, the second plan presupposed the legal deposit of the copy to prove the date of publication, and, when it applied to several corrected editions of the same work, would lead to inconveniences. The calcu- lation of the period of copyright from the death of the author, though not altogether free from objection, seemed to present a better foundation for legal uniformity. Accordingly the Congress resolutely suppressed all the provisions of the draft relative to the necessity of "legal deposit" preceding civil or penal proceedings, as well as those concerning the legal deposit of posthumous works, whose copyright is to last eighty years. date oi the publication of these works co\x\A \>e e*8^ established by proofs in accordance w*Vi cO1*11001-1 law, in the same manner as tW rW ^ , t>u^ cation of artistic works ia ^ oi &c, U, a present established. '111 P^t, 0t * After the above modifi.c^., ^ the draft was substantiaV^^WS VaA w^-u in which th^Hv ft^^V^ resolution $ SI s Wirthschaftliche JTutrun^ ^^^PS&fc ## p. 140 (#176) ############################################ 140 THE AUTHOR. gratitude to M. Maillard for the work which he had laid before it.* The following is the text which will be recon- sidered at Monaco: Article 1.—The author of an intellectual work f has the exclusive right to publish it, and to reproduce it by whatsoever process, in what- soever form, and for whatsoever purpose. Under the term literary or artistic works are understood all enunciations of written or spoken thought, dramatic, musical, and chorographic works, and all the works of the graphic and plastic arts. These works remain subject to the present law whatsoever may be their merit, the use to which they are put, or their object. The official acts of public authorities, and judicial decisions, cannot be made the subjects of a cojjyright. Article 2.—Copyright exists during the whole of the life of the author, and extends to eighty years after his death for the advantage of his heirs and assigns. Article 8.—The copyright of anonymous works lasts for eighty years from the date of the first publication of the work. This right is exercised by the publisher so long as the real author does not make himself known. If the author should make himself known before the expiration of eighty years the work ceases to be anonymous, and the duration of the copyright is prolonged in accordance with the terms of Article 2. Works which appear under the name of an ideal person will be treated as anonymous works. Article 4.—A work produced by collaboration is indivisible. In case of disagreement amongst the eollabora- teurs the tribunals are competent to determine the time and manner of publication. The rights of the assigns of a collaborateur who has predeceased another exist until the expi- ration of the period of eighty years after the death of the last surviving collaborateur. In the absence of heirs or grantees of one of the collaborateurs his share falls to the other eollabo- rateurs or to their heirs or assigns. Article 5.—The legitimate editor of a posthu- mous work has the exclusive right of reproduction for a period of eighty years from the date of the day of the first publication of the work. By posthumous works are meant intellectual works which have never been published during the life of the author with his consent. * Resolutions C, I. f (Euvre d'exprit. Article 6. — Every reproduction, whole or partial, made without the author's consent is illegal. Translation, dramatic representation,* and musical performance^ without the author's con- sent, are similarly illegal. Equally illegal are also, without the author's cofsent, reproductions which exhibit abridge- ments, enlargements, or modifications, such as adaptations, dramatisations, transformations of dramatic works into novels, musical arrange- ments, reproductions by another art, &c. Article 7.—The author is presumed to have authorised analyses and partial citations of his work made for critical, polemical, or educational purposes, the name of the author and the source being indicated. In addition, speeches made at the public debates of deliberative assemblies, or at public assemblies, may be reproduced for the purpose of conveying information. Article 8.—Writings which have appeared in the newspapers or in periodical miscellanies are protected in the same manner as all other intellec- tual works. Article 9.—The right of reproduction is inde- pendent of the ownership of the original (manu- script or work of art) the transfer of the original does not therefore of itself convey a transfer of the rights of reproduction, and vice versa. The cession of the author's rights (right of publication, dramatic representation, musical per- formance, translation) is always to be interpreted restrictively. The author who has ceded bis rights of repro- duction retains, so long as he has not abandoned his quality of author, the right to prosecute pirates, § to watch over the reproduction of his work, and to oppose all alterations made without his consent. The author who has ceded the material object which constitutes his work has the right to oppose all public exhibition of the work if it has been modified without his consent. Article 10.—Every reproduction which is illegal according to the terms of Article 10,|| whether reproduction of a published or of an unpublished work, constitutes the crime of piracy. Those who knowingly sell, expose for sale, or introduce into foreign countries for commercial * Representation. t Execution. X L'objet mate'riel (mannicrit on ceuvre d'art). § (Jontrefacteurs. || Sic. Query, Article 6. (Si.r read as dir). Translatoi's note. ## p. 141 (#177) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. 141 purposes pirated objects, are guilty of the same crime. Article ii.—The author or his assigns can require the police to seize objects alleged to be pirated, as well as to seize the plates, moulds, or matrices, and other utensils which have served, or are intended to serve specially for the fabrica- tion of such objects. In the case of a representation or performance the authors can proceed in the same manner to the seizure of the whole of the receipts. Article 12.—The manager or director of public entertainments must be furnished with the previous consent in writing of the author or of his assigns. Article 13.—The sale of pirated objects, as well as that of plates, moulds, or matrices, and of other utensils having served, or being intended to serve specially for the fabrication of such objects, shall be declared to be for the profit of the author. In the case of illicit performances or represen- tations, the receipts seized shall be granted to the plaintiff in the proportion of the part of the representation or performance which his work formed. The whole to be without prejudice of the fullest damages. Article 14.—The present law applies to all authors, whatsoever their nationality, and in whatsoever place the work may for the first time have appeared. Agreement with Publisher* M. E. Pouillet had elaborated twelve "Prin- ciples of legislation respecting the agreement with publisher," which, in his opinion, are of a nature to meet with the approval of all, inasmuch as they take all interests into consideration. In accordance with his own proposal, this subject was postponed. It is at present being studied in several quarters, and in France in particular atten- tion must be turned to the law pro^josed by M. Vigne d'Octon, against which also two speakers declared themselves emphatically during the sitting. The Congress concluded its labours by voting its thanks to the Swiss Press, and especially to the Berne Press, for the attention paid to its labours, and for the perfect exactitude of the reports pub- lished. Appendix I.—Resolutions voted by the Berne Congress. A.—Administration of the Union. I.—Present and future revision of the Berne Conveution. • Contract d'editioii. 1. The Congress while registering with grati- tude the resolutions adopted by the Paris Conference, expresses its desire that they may be as soon as possible confirmed by the Governments. 2. At the same time regretting that the interests of composers and publishers of musical works, of journalists, of architects, and of photo- graphic artists* have not obtained all the satisfac- tion which they might legitimately have hoped, the Congress expresses its desire that the prepara- tion of new provisions respecting these questions may be placed upon the agenda of the next Congress. II. —Preliminary steps towards the extension of the Union by the accession of other States. The Congress expresses its desire—■ 1. That the literary and artistic societies of every country within the Union would do their utmost to pave the way for the accession of other non-unionist countries, by organising in these countries centres from which information may be diffused, efficient propagandas, and active com- mittees charged with the task of creating a move- ment of popular opinion in favour of the Conven- tion of 1886. 2. That the Association should prepare careful statistics respecting both the present situation in these countries, and the me;ins by which they could Ihj pursuaded to improve the position of foreigners by protecting their intellectual labours. 3. That at each Congress a report should be presented giving an account of the efforts made, and of the results obtained in each country, and indicating what the Association might do to attain the aim pursued by the local committees. 4. That unionist countries, whilst pursuing as their principal aim the extension of the Borne Union, should do their utmost to multiply parti- cular treaties between themselves and non- unionist countries. 5. That in all these treaties, whatsoever they be, made between unionist and non-unionist countries, it should be stipulated that the latter undertake to join the Berne Union within a given time, and that as short as possible. III. —Formalities. A. Respecting the countries in which the formality of legal deposit is prescribed by the national laws, the Congress expresses the follow- ing desires :—■ 1. Immediately upon the publication of any printed work, two copies ought to be deposited for the national collections. In the case of prints, music, and other productions, except printed matter in the strictest sense, and published sepa- rately, three copies should be deposited. * A.uteur$ de Photographie. ## p. 142 (#178) ############################################ I 42 THE AUTHOR. The deposit should be accompanied by a detailed description, made in the form at present in use in each country. A certificate of deposit should be given to the depositor free of charge. 2. It will be incumbent on the publisher of the work to make the deposit, or, failing the pub- lisher, ou the author. The printer shall not be required to deposit excepting in the case of works appearing without name of either author or publisher. 3. The copies so deposited ought to be perfect, and in the condition in which they are ordinarily sold; or, if they are not intended for sale, an intimation of that particular circumstance should be made. 4. The neglect of the formalities ought to have no influence upon the copyright of the work, and should in no case involve the loss of the author's rights, nor the loss of the right to proceed in a court of law in the case of the infringement of these rights. H. With a view to increasing the facility of the accomplishment of the formalities within the actual area of the Union the Congress is of opinion— I. That evidence of compliance with the requi- site formalities in the case of the original work, in the country in which the work has its origin, is sufficient to secure in the rest of the Union protection for other forms of publication or of reproduction in which the work may appear. 2. That the fact of having complied with the formalities required of an assign in the country in which the work originated should constitute sufficient proof of the status of an assign. 3. That the copyright cannot lapse in other countries within the Union until after the longest limit of time allowed for the performance of formalities in the country in which the work originated shall have expired. 4. That the author's exemption from formali- ties in the country in which the work originated ought to be respected in other countries. 5. That the production of a certificate, proving that the prescribed legal formalities have been complied with, ought to be limited to the case when this compliance has lx;en disputed by the opposite side, and that the words, "the case occurring," * employed in Article 11, paragraph 3, of the Convention ought to be interpreted in this sense. In addition the Congress expresses its desire— 1. That the Berne International Bureau may be intrusted with the delivery of the certificates required by Article 11, paragraph 3, of the Convention. * he cas e'ehvant. 2. That for the countries where the Legislature does not make the enjoyment of the author's rights dependent upon conditions or sj>ecial for- malities, whether in the case of all intellectual works or in the case of certain kinds of intel- lectual works, the International Bureau may obtain official declarations to that effect. C. With a view to the future revision of the Berne Convention and as a matter of principle the Congress declares it to be desirable— 1. That the regulations respecting the formali- ties of registration and of legal deposit should no longer appear in laws respecting the copyright of literary and artistic works, but should be the subjects of special enactments. 2. That paragraph 2 of Article 2, and para- graph 3 of Article 11 of the Berne Convention should be suppressed, and that in the future no formality should be requisite for the international protection of the author's rights. B.— Various Jiesolutions. I. (a) Architectural works. The Congress expresses its desire that architec- tural works should be protected by all the legis- lations and by all the international Conventions in the same way as all other artistic works. (b) Photographic works. The Congress renews the expression of the desire already expressed at previous Congresses that, as regards protection, photographic works may be put upon the same footing as all the other graphic arts. II. Rights of Collaborateurs. (a) The Congress is of opinion— 1. That collaborateurs have equal rights in the completed work, both regarding publication and regarding the division of the profits resulting therefrom. 2. That in the case of a refusal to authorise publication "on the part of one of the collabo- rateurs, hi; can, at the demand of the others, be compelled by a legal decision to allow the publica- tion of the completed work. Nevertheless, he may require the publication to take place without his name appearing, or without his being required to participate either in the expenses or the profits of the said publication. 3. That the surviving coUaboratour has the right to exercise, for the whole period during which the law extends the copyright, all the rights of publication, in union with the heirs of deceased collaborateurs. 4. That the rights of the assigns of a colla- borated who has predeceased his fellows extend to the expiration of the period of copyright deter- ## p. 143 (#179) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. H3 mined by the decease of the last surviving collaborateur. In the case of one of the collaborateurs having neither heirs nor grantees, his share passes to the other collaborateurs or to their assigns. (b) The Congress expresses its desire that all legislation respecting collaboration should embody these principles, and that a unification of the legislations on these bases should be effected at an early date. III. Organisation of Protection. Foundation of societies and of legal offices. (a) The Congress entrusts to the Association the task of considering the formation in every country of societies which may render the same services as the French societies of authors and composers. (b) The Congress expresses its desire—■ 1. That a society of painters, sculptors, and engravers, entrusted with the protection of the rights of its members, should be founded in every country of the Union. 2. That the members belonging to such societies should bind themselves not to cede the right of reproduction of their works except through the agency of the Society. 3. That these societies should reciprocally support one another in resisting infringements of the rights of their members. (c) The Congress entrusts to the Association the task of taking the measures necessary to establish legal offices in every country, with a view to studying, and, if necessary, watching the diversities affecting intellectual property. IV. Amelioration of the laws of the United States. The Congress with pleasure takes official cog- nisance of the efforts made by the Copyright Leagues of the United States to combat the attempts which are at present being made to restrict the law of 1891; and it applauds the promises which the Leagues make to continue their struggle to obtain amelioration of this law. C. Future Labours. I. Draft of Normal Law. The Congress, approving in principle the pro- ject of the unification of copyright laws, intrusts the standing committee of the Association with the task of preparing, against the next Congress, a final revision of a normal law. At the same time the Congress tenders its warmest thanks to M. Georges Maillard, the author of the draft, and expresses the hope that he will undertake the report upon the final scheme. II. Definition of the Author's moral and mate- rial Rights. The Congress being of the opinion that the question of the rights of creditors cannot be settled until a clear distinction has been drawn between the moral rights of the author and his rights to material profits resulting from the sale of his work, expresses its desire that the Association should, against the next Congress, make an investigation of the definition of the moral and pecuniary rights of the author, and should draw from the distinction between the two any logical consequences that may ensue. III. Newspaper Articles. The Congress reserves for the consideration of the Committee of Works of the Association the question of the protection of political articles. Also the Congress expresses its desh-e that the protection of news, independently of its form,, should be set down amongst the agenda of the next Congress. rV. "Caution Judicatum solvi." * The Congress, being resolutely in favour of the suppression of the Caution "Judicatum solvi," accompanied by measures fitted to secure the execution of sentences from one country to another, expresses its desire tha this question may be reconsidered, and placed among the agenda of the next Congress. V. Type for Reproduction. The Congress expresses its desh-e that the Association shoidd consider the general definition of the type for reproduction and investigate the rights connected with it. Appendix II.—Bibliography of the Berne Conference. 1. The "Bulletin de l'Association litteraire et artistique internationale. Juillet, 1896" (Official Report of the International Literary and Artistic Association. July, 1896), contains the following works: (a.) "Principes d'uue legislation sur le contrat d'edition" (Principles of Legislation respecting the agreement with publisher), by Eug. Pouillet. (Two pages.) (6.) "Essai d'un projet de loi international" (Draft of a normal law) respecting international copyright, by Georges Maillard. (Four pages.) 2. The following Reports, which will be sub- sequently collected into a volume, have been presented in accordance with the programme of the Congress. (a.) "Examen des travaux de la Conference * See above, '< Literary Works," page 133 (note). ## p. 144 (#180) ############################################ i44 THE AUTHOR. Paris" (Report upon the labours of the Paris Conference), by Georges Maillard. (Fourteen pages.) (b.) "Des moyens d'assurer l'application de la Convention de Berne dans les pays adherents" (Means of assuring compliance with the terms of the Berne Convention in countries belonging to the Union) in the case of— I. Literary works, by Paul Ollendorf. (Three pages.) II. The right of representation of dramatic works, by A. Beaume. (Eight pages.) III. Painting, sculpture, and engraving, by Georges Fleury. (Three pages.) IV. Photographic works, by Andre Taillefer. (Three pages.) V. Compliance with conditions and formalities in the countries belonging to the Union, by Ernest Rothlisberger. (Twenty-eight pages.) (c.) "Mouvement legislatif dans les pays de l'union" (Legislative Action in the countries belonging to the Union)— I. Germany, by Albert Osterrieth. (Three pages.) II. Monaco, by Leon Poinsard. (Four pages.) (d.) "Des moyens d'obtenir de nouvelles adhesions a l'Union de Berne" (The means of obtaining new adherents to the Berne Conven- tion), by Maurice Maunoury. (Four pages.) (e.) "De la propriete litteraire en matiere de presse" (Newspaper copyright), by Paul Gaye. (Three pages.) (/.) "Etudes sur les droits des eollaborateurs dans les ceuvres de la pensee" (The rights of eollaborateurs in intellectual works), by Georges Harman. (Eleven pages.) (</.) "Du droit des ercanciers sur l'oeuvre intellectuelle" (Tlie rights of creditors over intel- lectual work), by Albert Vaunois. (Three pages.) (h.) "Du depot legal" (On legal deposit), suggestion for the reform of the present law, by Lucien Layus. (Five pages.) (».) "Du domaine public pour les ceuvres littt:raires et artistiques" (Lapse of copyright of literary and artistic works), by Edouard Mack. (Eleven pages.) (//.) "De la propriete du type, particulierement du phototype ou cliche photographique" (On the ownership of the type, and more particularly of the phototype or photographic negative), an attempt at some definitions, by A. Davanne. (Eight pages.) 3. Pamphlet distributed at the Congress, " Die Frage nach dem Eigentum am Negative" (The question of the ownership of the photographic negative), by Bruno Meyer (nineteen pages), a reprint from Deutsche Photoyraphen-Ze'duuy (German Photographic Journal). 1896. PRIZE COMPETITIONS. IT has been suggested by a correspondent that a great many people—men and women—for whom the higher flights of literature are impossible, or for whom an opening and a begin- ning are ardently desired, would be greatly helped by information as to the prize competitions con- tinually offered by magazines and country papers. These competitions are sometimes for stories, and sometimes for essays, biographical sketches, verse, or papers on some practical subject. Since the Society of Authors, and therefore its organ, exists for workmen in every branch of letters, the sug- gestion has been adopted, and it is proposed to publish, month by month, a list of prize compe- titions. Since, again, there are so many writers of stories for magazines and journals as to constitute a profession by itself, it is hoped that readers of the Author will put this list into the hands of those to whom the information will prove useful. £10 10*. each for original stories accepted, to cover five weeks, about 2500 words for each instalment.—Editor of the Weekly Herald, Glasgow. £1 is. each for original stories accepted, complete in one instalment of about 2500 words. — Editor of the IVeehly Herald, Glasgow. £5 5«. for best original short story; minimum 2000 words, maximum 3000. Not later than Dec. 31.—Editor of the Osborne Magazine, 9, Paternoster-row, London. .£5 5*. for best original biographical article; dealing with famous living English men or women; minimum 2500, maximum 3500. Preference if accompanied by material for illustration. Not later than Dee. 31.—Editor of the Osborne Magazine, as above. £10 10s. for practical essay on " How to form a School Library with Penny Books." Competition open to teachers only. Not later than Nov. 15.—Editor of the Review of Reviews, Norfolk - street, London. (See Review of Reviews for October.) ^5 5*-> ^3 3a > an<l "£2 2S- f°r l'sts °f best hundred books as an ideal home library for the average man. Not later than Nov. 15.—Editor of the Review of Reviews, &c, as above. ## p. 144 (#181) ############################################ AD VER TISEMENTS. in Crown 8vo., cloth boards, price 6s. HATHERSAGE: A Tale of North Derbyshire. BY CHARLES EDMUND HALL, Author of " An Ancient Ancestor," &a. London: Horace Cox. Windsor House. Bream's-buildings. E.C. In demy 8vo., price 12s. net, by poet 12s. 6d. Six Months in a Syrian Monastery, Being the Record of a Tiait to the Headquarters of the Syrian Church in Mesopotamia, with some account of the Yazidis, or Devil Worshippers of Mosul, and £1 Jilwah, their Sacred Book. By OSWALD H. PARRY, B.A. (Of Magdalen College, Oxford.) Illustrated by the Author. With a Prefatory Note by the - Right Reverend the Lord Bishop of Durham. "The author of this handsome volume presents 'a detailed study of a relic of history pursued off the track of general research;'he has sought to give, and has succeeded in giving, * a picture of quiet life in a country much abused, and among a people that command less than their share of ordinary interest.1 1 Westward the tide of Empire takes its way,' Bang a prophetic divine of the olden dayB, ana no less certainly, as Mr. Parry points out, does the ebb of travel return towards the East . . . As a volume descriptive of life and travel among a distant people, his work is well worth reading, but for those persons who are more particularly concerned with the old Syrian Church, or in the solution of the problem indicated above, it is one of quite unique attraction. A pathetic interest attaches to the account of the Yazidis included in this volume, for it contains part of their sacred writings, the original manuscript of which was in the hands of Professor Robertson Smith for translation at the time of his death."—PublWitrS Circular. London: Horack Cox. Windsor House. Bream's-buildings. E.C. Now ready, price 2s. 6d., cloth. A FLYING VISIT TO THB AMERICAN CONTINENT. WITH NOTES BY THE WAY. By F. DALE PAWLE. London: HOBACB Cox, Windsor House. Bream's-buiMingn, E.C. Now ready. Second Edition, Revised and Enlarged. Crown 8vo., limp cloth, 2s. Cd. net; postage, 3d. extra. THE PRINCIPLES OF CHESS IN THEORY AND PRACTICE. jambs "v:m:.a.sonsr. CONTENTS. — 1. Elements of Chess. 2. General Principles. 8. Combination. 4. Exposition of Master Play Complete. London: Horace Cox, Windsor House, Bream's-buildings, E.C. THE ART of CHESS. By James Mason. Price Ss. net, by post 5s. 4d. THE KNIGHTS and KINGS of CHESS. By the Rev. O. A. MACDONNELL, B.A. With Portrait and 17 Illustra- tions. Crown 8to., cloth boards, price 2s. 6d. net. London: Horace Cox, Windsor House, Bream's-buildings, E.C. Now ready, demy 8vo., cloth boards, price 10s. 6d. IN NEW SOUTH AFRICA. Travels in the Transvaal and Rhodesia. With Map aud Twenty-six Illustrations. By 11. LINCOLN TANG-YE, CONTENTS. Introductory. PAET I. Chapter I — The Land of Gold and the Way there. ,, 11.—Across Desert and Veldt. ,, IIL—Johannesburg the Golden. ,, IV.—A Transvaal Coach Journey. V.—Natal: the South African Garden. ,, VI.—Ostracised In Africa. Home with the Swallows. PAET II —BAMBLES IN RHODESIA. Chapter I.—Eeniiragt Maakt Magt. of Lo III.—The Trail of War. II.—Into the Country ( bongula. IV.—Goldmining, Ancient and Modern. V.—Sic Transit Gloria Mundi. VI —To Northern Mashonaland. V1L—Primitive Art. The Misadventures of a Wagon. Index. London: Horace Cox. Windsor House, Bream's-buildings, E.C. Crown 8vo., cloth boards, 3s. 6d. Crimean & other Short Stories. BY WILLIAM ADDISOlsT. CONTENTS. — An Adjutant's Adventure: an Episode of the Crimean Campaign—From an Uuseen World—Characteristic Stories of Royal Personages—The Tsar's Axe—An Indian Legend Modernised —A Love Test—Atta; or. The Circassian's Daughter—Father Con- fessor—His Word of Honour (from the German)—Dearer than Life— A Polish Princess—The Evil Eye: a Story of Superstition—The Parson'a Daughter—Old Love Never Rusts. London: Uoracb Cox, Windsor House, Bream's-buildings, E.C. RECENT VERSE. Cloth lettered, By HENRY TODD, GOODCHILD. Cloth By EEL VIKING. By ARTHUR CAMP- LYRICS. By Dr. J. A. GOODCHILD. price 5s. NOBTH COUNTRY BALLADS. Price 6s. TALES IN VERSE. By Dr. J. A. lettered, price 5s. SONGS OP THE CASCADES. Fcap. 8vo., cloth boards, Ss. 6d. SONGS OF THE PINEWOODS. BELL. Price 8s. 6d. THE FAIREST OF THE ANGELS, and Other Verse. By MABY COLBOBNE-VEEL. Fcap. 8vo., cloth boards, 8s. 6d. "Some of the shorter lyrics are much above the average, being clear in thought and musical in expression. The merits of the collec- tion are considerable."—The Bookman. THE WANDERER IN THE LAND OF CYBI, and other Poems (1886-93). By CLIFFOBD BBOOKS. Fcap. 8vo., cloth boards, 3s. 6d. POEMS. By THOMAS BARLOW. Crown 8vo., bevelled boards, gilt edges, price 5b. POEMS. By LEWIS BROCKMAN. Crown 8vo., cloth boards, 5b. "The ballads are full of the spirit and directness of style proper to the ballad."—Saturday Renew. "Mr. Brockman is a writer of good poetic mettle, and no doubt the reading world will hear more of him yet."—Glasgow Herald. "The graceful smoothness of Mr. Lewis Brockman's poems."— Daily Telegraph. "He is decidedly inventive, and often highly imaginative. . . The clement of originality pervades the book. . . . His long poem' * Ronald's Cross,' is well sustained . . . it is like the piaint of tv*1 'Mariner,' and it holds us."—Queen. "A reuder who values cultured sentiments and flawless vert4\«\ tion will find much to admire."—Scotsman. ^**i*A- London: Horack Cox, Windsor House, Bream's Buildings. ## p. 144 (#182) ############################################ 1 V AD VER TlSEMEN TS. LOWEST PRICES IN LONDON. ♦ Authors' MSS. correctly and neatly copied at lOd. per lOOO words. * ♦ Carbon Duplicates at 3d. ,, ♦ X LK&AL AND GEIfKEAIi COPYING at Id. per folio. ♦ ♦ TJV /litre a stilled anil icell educated staff of operators. Gice us a trial, and compare our trorl and prices irith those of other offices. ♦ I LARGE ORDERS ESTIMATED FOR. \ ♦ Note our address— J : THE ECLIPSE TYPEWRITING AND SHORTHAND OFFICES, j j 28, FEWCHURCH ^ STREET. LONDON, B.C. j p the^EMPLE* *^PEW^TINC**OFFICE. I TYPEWBITING EXCEPTIONALLY ACCUEATE. Moderate prices. Duplicates of Circulars by the latest j , process. References to the Society of Authors. < • OPINIONS OP CLIENTS.—Distinguished Author:—" The moat beautiful typing I have ever Been." Lady of Title:—"The* ♦ work was very well and clearly done.'' Provincial Editor :—" Many thanks for the spotless neatness and beautiful accuracy.11! » MISS RENTBY, ELTJOT CHAMBERS, 30, FLEET STREET, E.C.! THE WEST KENSINGTON TYPEWRITING AGENCY. Established 1893. MISS E. JVL. SIKES. 13, Wolverton Gardens, Hammersmith, W. Authors1 MSS. carefully and promptly copied, la. per 1000 words; duplicate copy half price. Legal and General Copying, l$d. per folio: duplicates la. per folio. Typewritten Circulars, Notices, Ac., by special copying process. Terms on application. References kindly permitted to authors. TYIFIE-WIR/ITIILSrG-. RAYNE AND CO., EXPERT LITERARY AND SCIENTIFIC 1, ARUNDEL STREET, STRAND, W.C. Highert References. Established 1892. MISS PATTEN, TYPIST, 44, Oakley Street Flats, Chelsea, S.W. Authors1 MSS. carefully transcribed. References kindly PERMITTED TO MANY WELL-KNOWN AUTHORS. Fire - Proof Safe for MSS. Particulars on application. Telegraphic address: "Patzen, London.1' MXIS. GILL, TYPE-WHITING OFFICE, 35, LUDGATE HILL, E.C. (ESTABLISHED 1883.) —i Authors' MSS. carefully copied from Is. per 1000 words. Duplicate copies third price. Skilled typists sent out by hour, day, or week. French MSS. accurately copied, or typewritten English translations Bupplied. References kindly permitted to Sir Walter Besant: also to Messrs. A. P. Watt and Son, Literary Agents, Hastings Honse, Norfolk-street, Strand, W.C. NORTH LONDON TYPEWRITING OFFICE. Typewriting of all kinds done with the greatest care and accuracy. Moderate charges. Work Bcut for on receipt of letter or telegram. Terms, .fee, on application. GERMAN and FRENCH Translations carefully executed. References to several London Editors kindly permitted—ti, Mouktfobt Crescrnt, Barnsbiry Square. ECLAIR TYPEWRITING COMPANY, GRANVILLE HOUSE, ARUNDEL STREET, STRAND. Typewriting, Copying, and Translating carefully and expeditiously executed. References kindly permitted to Sir Frank Lockwood, Q.C., M.P., T. P. O'Connor, Esq., M.P.r and E. A. Fardon. Esq., Middlesex Hospital. THE AUTHOR'S HAIRLESS PAPER-PAD. (The Leadenhall Press Ltd.), no, Leadenliall Street, London, E.C. Contains hairless paper, over which the pen slips with perfect freedom. Sixpence each: 5s. per dozen, ruled or plain. Printed and Published by Horace Cox, Windsor House, Bream's-buildings, London, E.C. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Author, Vol. 07 Issue 06 (November 1896) Subject The topic of the resource The Author, Vol. 07 Issue 06 (November 1896) Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015049239455" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015049239455</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Publication Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 1896-11-02-The-Author-7-6 publications The Author https://historysoa.com/files/original/5/295/1896-10-01-The-Author-7-5.pdf efb3ca5ade7c8bf9082b1543ab5f01a6 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 The Author Description An account of the resource A digitised run of the Society of Authors' monthly periodical, The Author, 1890–1914, made available together for the first time. Currently users can browse issues and <a href="https://historysoa.com/items/browse?search=&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bjoiner%5D=and&advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=51&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Index&collection=&type=&tags=&exhibit=&date_search_term=&submit_search=Search+For+Items&sort_field=Dublin+Core%2CTitle">indices</a> (not available for all volumes). Full text search for all issues, and other additional search functionality, will be added in 2022. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1890–1914 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context The-Author-Issues Publication Date The date of an event (in YYYY, YYYY-MM or YYYY-MM-DD format) 1896-10-01 Volume 7 Issue 5 Pages Page range in volume 97–116 Ngram Date Version of the date in YYYYMMDD format for use by the Ngram plugin 18961001 Ngram Text Version of the text with no HTML formatting for use by the Ngram plugin TLhc Hutbor* (The Organ of the Incorporated Society of Authors. Monthly.) CONDUCTED BY WALTER BESANT. Vol. VII.—No. 5.] OCTOBER 1, 1896. [Price Sixpence. CONTENTS. General Considerations Literary Property— 1. The Berne Congress 2. Thirteen as Twelve ... 3. Booksellers and Publishers 4. A Photographer's Copyright Onion The Third Point of View New York Letter. By Norman Hapgood Reviewing The Prairie Songs of Hamlin Garland ... NoteB and News. By the Editor PAOi, ... 97 . 99 . 99 . 100 . 100 . 101 . 102 . 104 . 105 . IOC From a Penman's Workshop Loose English. By H. E. Keen* •• When I am Gone." By F. B. Doveton Book Talk Literature in the Periodicals Correspondence—1. The First Book. 2. Royalty on First Books. 3. Onr Brains. 4. Monsters in Fiction. 5 The Title The Publishing Season Sir John Erichsen A Cricket Match PAGB .. 108 .. 109 .. 110 .. 110 .. 112 114 118 116 no PUBLICATIONS OF THE SOCIETY. of 1. The Annual Report. That for January 1896 can be had on application to the Secretary. 2. The Author. A Monthly Journal devoted especially to the protection and maintenance of Literary Property. Issued to all Members. Back numbers are offered at the following prices: Vol. I., ios. 6(2. (Bound); Vols. II., HI., and IV., 8«. 6d. each (Bound) j Vol. V., 6s. 6d. (Unbound). 3. Literature and the Pension List. By W. Morris Colles, Barrister-at-Law. (Henry Glaisher, 95, Strand, W.C.) 3*. 4. The History of the Societe des Gens de Lettres. By S. Squire Sprigge, late Secretary to the Society, i*. 5. The Cost of Production. In this work specimens are given of the most important forms of size of page, &c., with estimates showing what it costs to produce the more common kirn books. Henry Glaisher, 95, Strand, W.C. 2*. 6d. 6. The Various Methods Of Publication. By S. Squire Sprigge. In this work, compiled from the papers in the Society's offices, the various forms of agreements proposed by Publishers to Authors are examined, and their meaning carefully explained, with an account of the various kinds of fraud which have been made possible by the different clauses in their agreements. Henry Glaisher, 95, Strand, W.C. 3*. 7. Copyright Law Reform. An Exposition of Lord Monkswell's Copyright Bill now before Parlia- ment. With Extracts from the Report of the Commission of 1878, and an Appendix containing the Berne Convention and the American Copyright Bill. By J. M. Lely. Eyre and Spottiswoode. is. 6d. 8. The Society of Authors. A Record of its Action from its Foundation By Walter TStoktsi (Chairman of Committee, 1888—1892). 11. 9. The Contract of Publication in Germany, Austria, Hungary, and w .^et^- W Lunge, J.U.D. 2.9. 6d. ## p. 96 (#128) ############################################# 11 AD VERTISEMENTS. ^i)e $octetp of Jluf^ors (gncotporateb). Sir Edwin Arnold, K.C.I.E., C.S.I. Alfred Austin. J. M. Barbie A.. W. X Beckett. C E. Beddard, P.B.S. Robert Bateman. Sir Henry Bergne, K.C.M.G. Sir Walter Besant. Augustine Birrell, M.P. Bev. Prop. Bonnet, P.B.S. Rioht Hon. James Brtce, M.P. Right Hon. Lord Burghclere, P.C Hall Caine. Eoerton Castle, F.S.A. P. W. Clatden. Edward Clodd. W. Morris Colles. Hon. John Collier. Sir W. Martin Conwat. P. Marion Crawford. PRESIDENT. O-IEO IRQ-IE MEREDITH. COUNCIL. The Earl of Desart. Austin Dobson. A. Conan Doyle, M.D A. W. Dubourg. Sir J. Eric Erichsen, Bart., F.B.S. Prof. Michael Foster, P.B.S. Bichard Garnett, C.B., LL.D. Edmund Gosse. H. Bider Haggard. Thomas Hardy. Anthony Hope Hawkins. Jerome K. Jerome. Eudyard Kiplino. Prof. E. Bay Lankkster, F.B.S. W. E. H. Lkcky. J. M. Lely. Mrs. E. Lynn Linton. Bev. W. J. Loftie, F.S.A. Sir A. C. Mackenzie, Mua.D. Prof. J. M. D. Meiklejohn. Hon. Counsel — E. M. Underdown, Herman C. Merivale. Bev. C. H. Middleton-Wakk. Sir Lewis Morris. Henry Norman. Miss E. A. Obmerod. J. C. Parkinson. Bight Hon. Lord Pirbkight. Sir Frederick Pollock, Bart., LL.D. Walter Herries Pollock. W. Baptiste Scoones. Miss Flora L. Shaw. G. B. Sims. S. Squire Sprigge. J. J. Stevenson. Prof. Jas. Sully. William Moy Thomas. H. D. Traill, D.C.L. Mrs. Humphry Ward. Miss Charlotte M. Yonge. Q.C. A. W. a Beckett. Sir Walter Besant. Eoerton Castle. W. Morris Colles. COMMITTEE OF MANAGEMENT. Chairman—H. Bider Haggard. Hon. John Collier. Sir W. Martin Conway. Anthony Hope Hawkins. J. M. Lely. „ .. .. ( Messrs. Field, Eoscoe, and Co., Lincoln's Inn Fields. solicitors ^ Q Herbert Thring, B.A., 4, Portugal-street, W.C. Sir A. C. Mackenzie, Mus.D. Henry Norman. S. Squire Sprigge. Secretary—G. Herbert Thring, B.A. OFFICES: 4, Portugal Street, Lincoln's Inn Fields, W.C. .A.. IP. WJ^TT &c SOIDsT, LITERARY AGENTS, Formerly of 2, PATERNOSTER SQUARE, Have now removed to HASTINGS HOUSE, NORFOLK STREET, STRAND. LONDON-, W.C. WINDSOR HOUSE PRINTING WORKS, BREAM'S BTJIT-jXJIZLSTG-S, E.O. Offices of "The Field," "The Queen," "The Law Times," &e. Mr. HOBACE COX, Printer to the Authors' Society, takes the opportunity of informing Authors that, having a very large Office, and an extensive Plant of Type of every description, he is in a position to EXECUTE any FEINTING they may entrust to his care. ESTIMATES FORWARDED, AND REASONABLE CHARGES WILL BE FOUND. ## p. 97 (#129) ############################################# XIbe Hutbor* (The Organ of the Incorporated Society of Authors. Monthly.) CONDUCTED BY WALTER BESANT. Vol. VII.—No. 5.] OCTOBER 1, 1896. [Price Sixpence. For the Opinions expressed in papers that are signed or initialled the Authors alone are responsible. None of the papers or para- graphs must be taken as expressing the collective opinions of the committee unless they are officially signed by G. Herbert Thring, Sec. THE Secretary of the Society begs to give notice that all remittances are acknowledged by return of post, and requests that all members not receiving an answer to important communications within two days will write to him without delay. All remittances should be crossed Union Bank of London, Chancery-lane, or be sent by registered letter only. ______ Communications and letters are invited by the Editor on all subjects connected with literature, bnt on no other sub- jects whatever. Articles which cannot be accepted are returned if Btamps for the purpose accompany the MSS. GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS. THERE are several methods of publishing by agree- ments. Thus (1) an author may sell his work for a sum of money down: (2) he may take a share of the profits: (3) he may accept a royalty. The first method is the readiest and, where a proper price is paid, perhaps the beBt. It involves a certain amount of risk or doubt as to the result on the part of the buyer, and a certain amount of hesitation on the part of the seller. The author would do well to Bell through an agent. But let him beware as to his choice of agent. At a time when the production of new books involved great riBks and where the possible circle of purchasers was very small, the publishers, joining together, took half the profits as a return for their risk and services. At the present time in many cases, where there are no risks, they often take two-thirds and even more of the profits, and that after setting apart a large sum for "office expenses," allowing the author nothing at all for his office expenses. In other words, it is as if a steward were to charge first for his office and desks and then to take half or two-thirds of the remainder for himself as steward's fee. Therefore the author must in every case ascertain carefully) before Bigning the agreement, what proportion is appropriated under its clauses by the publisher for himself. If the any,or is in doubt, let him submit the agreement to the seorM, 0r to one of the VOL. VII. literary agents recommended by the secretary. Above all things he must remember that in any business transaction the one who accepts an agreement in ignoranoe will quite certainly get the worst of it. The folly of signing in ignorance is the main cause of half the quarrels between anthor and publisher. In the case of profit-sharing.agreements, remember that a very common form of getting the better of an author is the practice of advertising the book in the publisher's own organs, very likely magazines of small circulation. Sometimes, also, he " exchanges " advertisements with other magazines, and charges the author as if he had paid for them. In this way the publisher may put the whole profits of a book in his own pooket. One way to prevent thiB sharp practice is to insert a clause to the effect that advertisements shall only be charged at the actual price paid for them. A better way, however, is to agree beforehand npon the papers in which advertisements may be inserted. As regards the right of inspecting the books, that neeo not be claimed, because it exists as the right of every partner, or joint venturer. You have only to demand the inspection of the books by your solicitor, your accountant, or the secretary of the Society. If the book is a first book, or one that carries risk, it is fair to make an arrangement for the first edition and another for the second, and following, if any. The publisher confers so Bignal a service upon the yonng anthor by producing his work at all—i.e., by giving him the chance he desires above all things—that it seems fair in such a case to yield him the larger share. In a profit-sharing agreement do not let the cost of pro- duction form a part of the agreement, otherwise yon will be unable to contest it afterwards. It will be wisest never to enter into relations with any publisher unless recommended by the Society. There are many other dangers to be avoided. SeriaO rights: stamping the agreement: American rights: future work: cession of copyright—these things cannot possibly be attended to by the young author. Therefore his agree- ment should always be shown to the secretary. It has been objected that these precautions presuppose a great success for the book, and that very few books indeed attain to this great success. That is quite true: but there is always this uncertainty of literary property that, although the works of a great many authors carry with them no risk at all, and although of a great r^v-ny it ibknown witbi—o>£ev< copies what will be their mi ^ ^utn cucu\a,_«nv,\\> S» known what will be their anthor, for every book, shoul^ ^ ^ge success which will not, proVw>. JjX*9, 0« may come. ^"YJ \ The four points which the \& from the outset are:— *4 (1.) That both sides sh^-v ^ means. \>v' V 0 ## p. 98 (#130) ############################################# 98 THE AUTHOR. (2.) The inspection of those account books which belong to the author. We are advised that this is a right, in the nature of a common law right, which cannot be denied or withheld. (3.) That there shall be no secret profits. (4.) That nothing shall be charged which has not been actually paid—for instance, that there shall be no charge for advertisements in the publisher's own organs and none for exchanged advertisements: and that all discounts shall be duly entered. If these points are carefully looked after, the author may rest pretty well assured that he is in right hands. At the same time he will do well to send his agreement to the secretary before he signs it. HOW TO USE THE SOCIETY. 1. 1/1 VERY member has a right to ask for and to receive Pj advioe upon his agreements, his choice of a pub- lisher, or any dispute arising in the oonduct of his business or the administration of his property. If the advice sought is such as can be given best by a solioitor, the member has a right to an opinion from the Society's solicitors. If the case is such that Counsel's opinion is desirable, the Com- mittee will obtain for him Counsel's opinion. All this without any cost to the member. 2. Remember that questions connected with copyright and publisher's agreements do not generally fall within the experience of ordinary solicitors. Therefore, do not scruple to use the Society first—our solicitors are continually engaged upon such questions for us. 3. Send to the office copies of past agreements and past aooounts with the loan of the books represented. This is in order to ascertain what has been the nature of your agree- ments, and the results to author and publisher respectively so far. The Secretary will always be glad to have any agreements, new or old, for inspection and note. The infor- mation thus obtained may prove invaluable. 4. If the examination of your previous business trans- actions by the Secretary proves unfavourable, you should take advice as to a ohange of publishers. 5. Before signing any agreement whatever, send the pro- posed document to the Society for examination. 6. The Society is acquainted with the methods, and—in the oase of fraudulent houses—the tricks of every publish- ing firm in the oountry. 7. Remember always"that in belonging to the Society you are fighting the battles of other writers, even if you are reaping no benefit to yourself, and that you are advancing the best interests of literature in promoting the indepen- dence of the writer. 8. Send to the Editor of the Author notes of everything important to literature that you may hear or meet with. 9. The committee have now arranged for the reception of members' agreements and their preservation in a fireproof safe. The agreements will, of course, be regarded as con- fidential documents to be read only by the Secretary, who will keep the key of the safe. The Society now offers :—(1) To read and advise upon agreements and publishers. (2) To stamp agreements in readiness for a possible action upon them. (3) To keep agreements. (4) To enforce payments due according to agreements. THE AUTHORS' SYNDICATE. MEMBERS are informed: I. That the Authors' Syndicate takes charge of the business of members of the Society. That it submits MSS. to publishers and editors, conoludes agree- ments, examines, passes, and collects accounts, and, gene- rally, relieves members of the trouble of managing business details. 2. That the terms upon which its services can be secured will be forwarded upon detailed application. 3. That the Authors' Syndioate works only for those members of the Society whose work possesses a market value. 4. That the Syndioate can only undertake any negotiations whatever on the distinct understanding that those negotia- tions are placed exclusively in its hands, and that all communications relating thereto are referred to it. 5. That clients can only be seen by the Director by appointment, and that, when possible, at least two days' notice should be given. 6. That every attempt is made to deal with all communi- cations promptly. That stamps should, in all cases, be sent to defray postage. 7. That the Authors' Syndicate does not invite MSS. without previous correspondence j does not hold itself responsible for MSS. forwarded without notice; and that in all cases MSS. must be accompanied by stamps to defray postage. 8. That the Syndicate undertakes arrangements for lectures by Borne of the leading members of the Society; that it has a "Transfer Department" for the sale and purohase of journals and periodicals; and that a " Register of Wants and Wanted" is open. Members are invited to communicate their requirements to the Manager. There is an Honorary Advisory Committee, whose services will be called upon in any oase of dispute or difficulty. It is perhaps necessary to state that the members of the Advisory Committee have no pecuniary interest whatever in the Syndioate. NOTICES. THE Editor of the Author begs to remind members of the Society that, although the paper is sent to them free of charge, the cost of producing it would be a very heavy charge on the resources of the Society if a great many members did not forward to the Secretary the modest 6*. 6d. subscription for the year. The Editor is always glad to receive short papers and communications on all subjects connected with literature from members and others. Nothing can do more good to the Society than to make the Author complete, attractive, and interesting. Will those who are willing to aid in this work send their names and the special subjects on which they are willing to write f Communications for the Author 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. Members and otherB who wish their MSS. read are requested not to send them to the Office without previously ## p. 99 (#131) ############################################# THE AUTHOR. 99 <sommu»icating with the Seoretary. The utmost practicable 'despatch is aimed at, and MSS. are read in the order in which they are received. It must also be distinctly under- stood that the Society does not, under any circumstances, undertake the publication of MSS. The Authors' Club is now open in its new premises, at 3, Whitehall-oourt, Charing Cross. Address the Secretary for information, rules of admission, Ac. Will members take the trouble to ascertain whether they have paid their subscriptions for the year? If they will do this, and remit the amount, if still unpaid, or a banker's ■order, it will greatly assist the Secretary, and save him the trouble of sending out a reminder. Members are most earnestly entreated to attend to the following warning. It is a most foolish and may be a most disastrous thing to enter into an agreement binding for a term of years. Let them ask themselves if they would give a solicitor the collection of their rents for five years to come, whatever his conduct, whether he was honest or dishonest? Of course they would not. Why then hesitate for a moment when they are asked to sign them- selves into literary bondage for three or five years? Those who possess the "Cost of Production" are requested to note that the cost of binding has advanced 15 per cent. This means, for those who do not like the trouble of "doing sums," the addition of three shillings in the pound on this head. In other words, if the cost of binding is set down in our book at eight pounds, to this must now be Added twenty-four shillings more, so that it now stands At £g 4*. The figures in our book are as near the exact truth as can be procured; but a printer's, or a binder's, bill is so elastic a thing that nothing more exact can be Arrived at. Some remarks have been made upon the amount charged in the " Cost of Production" for advertising. Of oourse, we have not included any sums which may be charged for inserting advertisements in the publisher's own magazines, or in other magazines by exchange. As agreements too often go, there is nothing to prevent the publisher from sweeping the whole profits of a book into his own pocket, by inserting any number of advertisements in his own magazines, and by exchanging with others. Some there are who call this a form of fraud; it is not known what those who practise this method of swelling their own profits call it. LITERARY PROPERTY. I. — The Berne Congress. f 11HE eighteenth Congress of the International I Association for the Protection of Literary Property was held iu August last. It is very much to be regretted that the efforts of the ■committee to send a delegate proved fruitless. No one could be found to go, perhaps because the association is not generally considered a very practical body. However, it is a good thing to bring before people in some official manner, at regular intervals, the fact that literary property is a real thing, meaning a great deal more than the world at large understands. England seems to have been represented by one lawyer, and the greater number of members present were French. An account of the proceedings was furnished by the Athenaeum of Sept. 5, from which.the follow- ing is a brief resume: A paper was read on the " Work accomplished by the Diplomatic Conference held at Paris in the Spring of the present year." The period during which works are protected against unauthorised translation was assimilated to that of ordinary copyright, on the condition that an authorised translation is made within ten years The artick of the Convention relating to articles in news- papers and magazines was made "more stringent." And the Conference passed certain resolutions in favour of penal legislation as regards the forgery of authors' names, &c. "The Congress expressed hopes that the reso- lutions of the conference may be ratified, and that the reform of the law of copyright, which is now well started in Germany, may extend to Great Britain also. It is possible, if the Authors' Society, the English Copyright Association, and other bodies could be induced to agree, that some- thing might be done in this direction, though the inefficiency of Parliament as a legislative machine renders the success of any reform to which any of our Parliamentary busybodies might raise an objection more than doubtful." During the discussion following the paper, the Congress pronounced in favour of a Dramatic Authors' Society—presumably international—and of the formation of a bureau in each country to give legal advice on the subject of copyright else- where. Copyright in newspaper articles was advocated. A model copyright law was laid before the Congress. The rights of unpaid creditors to an author's unpublished work was discussed. Certain points of law liable to be raised by collaborateurs were also discussed. A paper was read by a Parisian barrister pro- posing to give the author or his heirs a perpetual royalty to be given after the copyright term expires. Another account of the meeting is given in the Publishers' Circular, which contains a statement that in less than fourteen years the Socie'te des Auteurs Franrais has "netted forty million francs." It would be serviceable to us if we could find out what this meaus. II.—Thirteen as Twelve. The revelations recent made as to the prices exacted of booksellers h^v'e eafted attention te ^e clause frequently prop<w 1 yd tojaltj a^esme^8- that thirteen are to be >». votJ-C^ 88 The just to the ustification of « ^W^LTa trade is <*» ## p. 100 (#132) ############################################ IOO THE AUTHOR. thirteen as twelve. If this were true, it might be considered, at least. But it is not true. The general rule is that when a dozen books at least are ordered—sometimes of the same work, sometimes of other books published by the firm —thirteen are sent as twelve. When a single book is ordered, or two or three only, the general rule is to charge for it, at a eertain fixed price, gene- rally 4*. 2d. on a 6s. book, occasional exceptions and modifications being made by certaiu houses. What is the average proportion of books sent out at thirteen as twelve P As no figures are forth- coming, it lies with the author to demand a modification of the clause. He must absolutely refuse to allow thirteen as twelve, unless the publisher does it also. If the publisher does allow it in every case, the author may, perhaps, do so, but not unless. Hitherto, the meanings of royalties, as published in the Author, have been based on the assumption that thirteen as twelve is the rule. Since we have now discovered that it is not the rule, we must reconsider the meanings, which shall l>e done in the next number. Note, however, that on those meanings, if you grant the clause of thirteen as twelve, you actually give the publisher that allowance twice over! A reasonable way out of the difficulty might lie to allow the publisher thirteen as twelve on a certain number of any edition. Thus on a thousand copies, if all were sent out at thirteen as twelve, there would be a loss, or giving away, of seventy-seven copies. Since the practice is not universal, but only partial, it would, perhaps, be fair to allow the publisher, say, forty copies or 4 per cent, of the edition on this account, taking the full royalty on all the rest. Authors have, surely, never yet realised what they are giving away by this clause. Take, for instance, two loyalties: that of one-sixth or i6f per cent.: and that of 25 per cent.: on the common 6*. book. By this clause the author loses 7r\ per cent. That is to say, in the former he loses nearly .£4, and in the latter he loses nearly =£6 on every thousand copies. The publisher gains therefore this amount less the deduction made in certain cases—not by any means all—as the united testimony of booksellers clearly proves. Since the deduction is only made in certain cases, what justification can be pleaded for charging it upon the author in all cases? And why should the publisher get the allowance twice over? ri III.—Booksellers and Publishers. It is pleasing to note that not all publishers attempt to represent themselves as victims by talking vaguely about awful expenses; by twist- ing figures; or by confidently stating in public things which they have to deny in private. I have received from a firm of publishers the exact figures concerned with the sale of a certain work recently issued by them. The numbers sold amounted to many thousands. The published price of the book was 6s. In the first place, this firm always allowed 5 per cent, on every copy taken at 4*. 2d. or at 4*., except an inconsiderable number sold for cash over the counter, not exceeding twenty-five at the outside. The prices obtained by the publisher varied from 3*. n^d. down to a fraction under 3*. \d. The retail trade was represented by 49 per cent, of the sales—it may be remembered that one of the persons who recently engaged in the "vague talk" spoke of the wholesale trade as forming "the great bulk" of their business. It is not, therefore, "the great bulk" in every house. The average price obtained by the publisher was what has always been assumed in these columns, namely, as nearly as possible, 38. 6d. These figures are supplied by a young and rising firm which enjoys the useful credit of making "easier" terms with the trade than some of the larger and older houses. W. B. IV.—A Photographic Copyright Union. Photographs are not books. But there is a law of copyright in photographs as in books and pictures. This Union is governed by a com- mittee consisting of well-known photographers. The rules show that the members mean busi- ness: they contemplate, especially, legal action. If the society takes a case into court, two-" thirds of the damages go to the member con- cerned, and one-third to the society: if no damages are obtained, the member must pay- half the expenses: where compensation has been obtained without litigation, the society shall take 25 per cent, of the amount. And the union limits the right of allowing a copyright picture to be reproduced to a certain minimum. A reserve fund is to be created. In these rules is there nothing that our Society might follow? We want a large reserve fund: we want some definite plan of action in the case of legal action: there are many cases which cry aloud to be taken into court, but members are unwilling and afraid of the consequences. If we could,- like the photo- graphers, increase our reserve by taking cases into court, surely there would be at least manifested some desire among our members to settle their disputes in this, the only possible, way. ## p. 101 (#133) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. 101 THE THIRD POINT OP VIEW. fT^HE following remarks represent an interview I with one of the trade:— "I am a bookseller. I want to point out to authors whose works I try to sell certain facta which may show them that they ought to be even more interested in the bookseller than in the publisher. There are three persons concerned in the presentation of a book to the public; they are the author who creates the book, and whoso pro- perty it is until he parts with it: the publisher, who sends it to the printer, pays the printer's bill, advertises it; and the bookseller, who orders so many copies and puts them in his window and sells them. If we ask what are the respective shares of the three in the control of the book, we very quickly discover that the second person of the three has not oniy got the whole control of the business into his own hands, but he takes the lion's share of the returns. He has obtained the control by carefully keeping things dark. He does not allow the author to know what he exacts of the bookseller: nor does he let the bookseller know what he allows the author: nor does he suffer either of them to know what he pays the printer: and by exchanges, and by charging for advertisements in his own magazine, he gets, according to the Author, a great part of his advertising done for nothing. And, of course, he keeps this last fact very dark indeed. "Your Society has broken down a part of this ignorance, which I, for one, believe to have been designed. Your Society has shown, first, what it actually costs to produce a book. I have read all the denials, and laughed over the shuffling with which they try to wriggle out of the truth. I daresay that a printer's bill is an elastic thing: but men in business do not pay more than they are obliged, and I am confident that your Society's figures are as nearly right as can be got. Moreover, I observe in all the letters that have appeared from the persons concerned that no one of the writers gives his own figures. Why? Because, if he cooked his accounts printers by the <lozen would offer to do the work for less: and if he told the truth, he would be confessing that the Society is right. Now, by exposing the Cost of Production and the meaning of Royalties, your society has done great service to booksellers, as well as to authors. I hope that every bookseller in the country will make haste to take in the Author and to procure a copy of the "Cost of Production." "The kind of service you have rendered to us is exactly the same as that which you have ren- dered to authors: the disclosure of the truth. It matters very little whether your figures are a penny above or below those of any particular book. Every book, of course, must have its own figures, and I do not suppose that yours are meant for more than the average. "I now ask permission to state the booksellers' case, and to show why authors ought to make common cause with them. "(i) Their risk.—The publisher of current lite- rature, not to speak of great ventures which require capital and carry risks, runs, as you have always said, practically little risk. If he runs any, considering the great number of popular writers, it is his own look out. That is, your Society is quite right in saying that he only publishes for authors for whose works there is some demand — generally enough to see him through by the first run of the book. The exceptions to this rule are few, but we must admit that there are exceptions. But the bookseller must buy on spec. Every book, except the earlier copies of a very popular author, is a risk. You may see on my shelves rows of books which mean failures. They cannot be sold. "(2) The office expenses.—In most publishers' houses these are reckoned at 10 per cent. In my house they are from 16 to 20 per cent. In other words, if a publisher makes 3*. 6d. for a 6*. book, or even only 3s. ^d., he pays about 4<f. for his office expenses, leaving himself, when author and printer are paid, about i*. 2d. or is. The book- seller, however, has to reduce his earnings by i^d., leaving him about b\d. on the volume. The publisher speaks of advertisements. Well, your Society has pointed out that <£io spent on advertising 2000 copies means just over id. a copy. "I would, therefore, with these facts before me, appeal to the authors. I ask them these questions: "(1.) For what reasons, for what services, should the publisher be allowed to take the lion's share? "(2.) Is it fair that the booksellers' office ex- penses and risks should be absolutely ignored? Is it fair that authors' expenses should be also ignored? "(3.) Is it right that the literature of the country should be wholly managed by the class which takes the least share of the work, the risk, and the responsibility, and for their own interests alone? "Next. I put to you authors and readers the following considerations: "V^\iat do you wish to gain by your writings'? jfc fame and name' Is it money? I take it th_» « 'wa,at ^>^V*A'aAae and your own money: but v\\ tneae {^jytf^ be obtained bv means to have a clear understan.^^ N^^Vvea. ^^3^ ## p. 102 (#134) ############################################ 102 THE AUTHOR. your Society rightly calls the administration of your own estate. The value of this estate rests, I would urge you to consider, ultimately with the bookseller and the libraries. The bookseller, especially, can place your books on his shelves. He can give you a fair show: he can offer you to the public: he can recommend you: he can cause you to live on and on for years: most books die almost as soon as they are born, even good and popular books, because the bookseller has no interest to make them live. He can, in a word, do more to advance your reputation than any reviews. He wants nothing more than an encouragement to do so. But it is impossible for him to stock his shelves with your books unless he is properly treated. Remember that he has rent and ordinary expenses to pay: and that he has a wife and family to keep. There must, therefore, be a sufficient margin. Formerly, he was told that the greed of authors caused this margin to grow smaller and smaller. He now under- stands that the authors have no knowledge at all of this diminution; but it is, on the other hand, a desperate clutching at the lion's share which makes the margin grow smaller. If you ask a man to sell your book on a margin of 4</., he will not do so unless he is obliged. "I would ask you, therefore, as authors, to con- sider your position with reference to the book- seller. Do not let your attention be diverted by any false scent: if publishers claim that the figures are wrong—well, then, give them a penny or so if they like, and still ask this question— What has a publisher done for a book which is sure to sell by thousands, that he should take for his own profit as much as author and bookseller together: or that he should take more than the author, or as much as the author: or more than the bookseller, or as much as the bookseller? And if some way can be found out by which this injustice can be set right, will the authors make common cause with the booksellers? As a book- seller I can promise, in the name of the trade, that if they do, they will speedily find out where their true interests lie." NEW YORK LETTER. New York, Sept. 17. HILL AND COMPANY, who have been preparing a large Encyclopedia of Ency- clopedias, have just given notice to those employed on the work that they are dismissed, and the whole venture postponed until after the election. Their other principal undertaking, the "Library of World Literature," conducted by Charles Dudley Warner, continues, but is being kept back as much as possible in order to see what the situation will be after Nov. 3. Mr. Warner, by the way, whuse experience in the magazine business is great, commented yester- day on the paragraph in the last Author about the effect of mailing rates on the prosperity of magazines. The art editor of one of our three principal magazines also expressed his opinion on the same subject, and the business aspect was represented by a member of the publishing department of one of the principal houses. The business manager was especially strong in agreeing with the statement in the Author that the mailing rate was a very important factor in the prosperity of American magazines. He said that his house was making every effort to get as large a part as possible of its circulation on its subscription books, rather tban sell through the American News Company, which does all the distributing here, except that of Munsey's Magazine, which does its own rather than pay the high distributing charge. Scribner's Magazine now has 30,000 names on its subscription list, most of them in America. Harper's and the Century also have a very large subscription list. All possible methods are used, such as offering the magazine with books, or offering two magazines together, and having agents on the road. There is some possibility, probably not very serious, that the present privi- leges will be restricted by the next Legislature. The movement for restriction grows out of the fact that some publishers are taking advantage of the favourable laws to mail what is really onlv advertising under the guise of a regular monthly or weekly periodical. These three representatives, however, of the various departments, while they agreed that this was an important element, laid a great deal of emphasis on other facts. All three of them said that decidedly the leading cause was the illustra- tion, the number and excellence of the pictures, and that all expected to see the illustrations in England grow more numerous and better. Enter- tainment has been the idea on which the circula- tions of our magazines have been built up. As Mr. Warner said: "No where else can a man get so many really good pictures for 25 cents, and the text, although not as well written as in England, is more entertaining to the large mass of people. The English magazine seems more as if it were written by experts, ours by amateurs; but ours are new in subjects, fresh and popular. This is wanted also in England, as shown by the success of Bret Harte there, which is greater than it is here, and by the former circulation there of such papers as the Detroit Free Press, with their local stories." After emphasising this literary ## p. 103 (#135) ############################################ THE AUTHOH. 103 difference, he returned to his former statement that the picture side was the most important cause. The business manager referred to spoke specially of the excellence of the illustrated advertisements as one of the great reasons for the success of our magazines. Bret Harte, by the way, although less popular here than he was some years ago when his vein was new, is still much read, and Houghton, Mifflin, and Co. are to get out a complete edition of his works. It will be interesting to see whether they or the English edition, appearing about the same time, will have the greater sale. Colonel Thomas Wentworth Higginson said recently in Harper's Bazaar: "Henry James speaks contemptuously of Thoreau as parochial; but who can help seeing that Thoreau's parish of thoughtful readers grows and grows, while that of James is long since stationary? Who can doubt that fifty years hence the disproportion will be far greater than now? After all is said and done, the circle of American writers who established our nation's literature nearly half a cycle ago, were great because they were first and chiefly American; and of the Americans who permanently transplanted themselves for literary purposes it is pretty certain that James and Bret Harte and Leland would have developed more staying powers had they remained at home." Severe as the effect of the silver craze is on the publishing business, it has its compensations. Books on financial questions sell in unusual numbers ; almost every house has several of them, and so great is the demand for them that it seems to effect the announcement for some time ahead. On a list of the highest sales made by John Wannamaker, the great dealer in cheap books, the only novel in the first six was the " Damnation of Thereon Ware," sold in England under the title of "Illumination;" all the others were books on finance, ranging upwards from Coin's " Financial School" to several of the most sober arguments on the subject. D. Appleton and Co., who are going in especially for the publication of books on politics and finance, write me: "The political campaign has increased the demand for books upon economic and financial subjects, like Wells's 'Recent Economic Changes,' Laughlin's ' History of Bimetallism in the United States,' McPherson's 'Monetary and Banking Problems,' and Jevens's 'Money and the Mechanism of Exchange.' So far as the present trade in general books is con- cerned business is dull, and the usual quiet of this particular season is doubtless augmented by the effects of the campaign. So far as orders for the future are concerned, however, our business is satisfactory. By this we mean orders from the trade for autumn and holiday books which VOL. VII. will be sold at retail after the election. These orders are larger than last year, indicating a trade belief in a prosperous business after the election." The American News Company has political pamphlets of all kinds sold on its stands all over the country. Macmillan and Co., who are reprinting John Morley's "Life of Richard Cobden," and pub- lishing other. volumes touching more or less on what is the absorbing interest of the day, write: "There is no doubt whatever, we think, that the present political excitement unfavour- ably affects the general business of bookselling, but it would be a little difficult, we think, to explain exactly how this comes about. We also think it probable that the lighter literature would be more affected than that for which for the most part we publish, and hence other firms dealing in light literature to a greater extent might find more difference in their business than we ourselves do. "There has been, we think, a considerable increase in the demand for political literature, and particularly for literature in any way relating to the question of money during the past six or eight weeks." Henry Holt and Co. say: "The sale of books in general literature has not been as good during the spring and summer as last year. "We find that our books on money have sold; one of them nearly three times as many as last year, counting from the beginning of January to date and the same period last year; a work on wages has increased in sale somewhat during the same period, whilst another on currency has increased 50 per cent. Scribner's Sons write: "The demand for the kind of books you mention has been increased, we think, by the political campaign. As a straw and symptom we inclose a catalogue we have recently had prepared by Professor Laughlin." Professor Laughlin is the head of the Political Economy Department at Chicago University, and one of the leading authorities of the country. The fifty books published by the Scribners on the list made by him, include recent works of all kinds, short and long, and also standard books on currency, finance, and banking. A noticeable thing about the list is that the books are intended for the general reader ratber than the student, and that is true in genera\ oi the immense sale that works on these sm ;ect8 816 IK>,W \ffl»,'m?' showing how largely ^ yv&Vttn Yu^d OaSs. Another straw to show X > 0«8 ^s ari^^r3 -eading public, is given V W* etotea. .\«(« n the list report to CV^^WS of F. H. Hill, librari^ ^^^Jj* ## p. 104 (#136) ############################################ io4 THE AUTHOR. to show that the proportion of fiction has been growing less for the past few years. The circula- tion of books and periodicals during the past year was greater according to the report than in any other institution in the world, 2,542,244, an increase of 52,192 over the preceding year. The following is the list of books:—English Prose, Fiction, 489,503; Juvenile Literature, 252,791; History and Biography, 96,703; Geo- graphy and Travels, 52,694; Sciences and Arts, 89,428; Poetry and Drama, 39,901; Miscel- laneous, 28,753; Foreign Languages, 123,813.— Total, 1,173,586. Next in order is the report from Manchester, England ; Boston, Mass.; and Birmingham, Eng- land. Scribners will publish in the fall " Problems of American Democracy," by E. L. Godkin, whose comments and criticisms they already publish. Mr. Godkin is the editor of the Nation, as well as of the Evening jPo**,and as an important and picturesque figure in American journalism he has but one rival, Charles A. Dana of the Sun. The active courses of both men are probable nearly over, and this is likely to be for each the last campaign. Mr. Dana has represented intelligence of a high order without moral sympathy, and has steadily opposed all efforts for political improvement. He has been a staunch defender of Tammany Hall and the spoils system, but his paper has kept its place because it was the best written and keenest of any in the country. Mr. Godkin has been the inno- vator of many of the most important improve- ments made in this country in the last twenty- five years. His new lx>ok, which contains selec- tions from his articles, comes at an opportune time in the present great political interest. It shows the originality and fearlessness of his mind and of his style. Norman Hapgood. REVIEWING. I.—Si stem and Prejudice. THE article in your September number is well chosen. The present system of reviewing leaves much to be desired. To a great extent it is a matter of personalities and of cliqueism. A. has reviewed B.'s book favourably; he meets B. at dinner, congratulates him on his success, and hints that he has contributed to it. A., himself an author, is about to publish a book; B. gets it from one of his oilices to review, and, mindful of his friend's favour, he cannot—that is, he does not wish to—avoid giving a favourable notice in return. It is with him a moral obligation—or, say, a moral politeness. Again, it happens that a man gets a book by his close friend—and he praises it to the skies. Writers who get hard things said about them in a certain paper ferret out the names of its reviewing staff, and take the opportunity of dealing a return blow when they think they have their critic's book—very often a mistaken fancy. We may observe a distinguished critic " saying things " about this or that review, and then see the latter journal discovering absurdities of composition in the reviews of novels in that critic's own organ. Not long since a writer in one of the magazines instanced the case of a prominent reviewer of books whose batch to the second-hand bookseller he had seen. He was surprised, knowing the weighty reviews which appeared from that pen, to notice how exceedingly sparing with the paper- knife the critic had been. Reviewing to-day is monstrously facile. Let me give you a contrast. One London paper devotes a column to a review of a book of travel, finds it a "truly delightful" work, and compliments the writer finally by saying that while some men who have lectured in America have made money, others made para- graphs, and others made silence, this particular man has made a book. Another London paper gives seven lines to a notice of the same work. I reproduce these lines as an instance of the facile and simple method which requires no read- ing of the book: A great deal of talk, very little account of travel, and both equally uninteresting. The two volumes are egotism rampant. Bat what can be expected from one who accepts a lady's hospitality in a foreign country for two days, and then writes complaining that "she got on oar nerves," especially when the lady and her husband are both dead P As for the question of the wholesale extracts from any important book, publishers should get over it, in my opinion, by specifying when they send out such books a limit of space for extracts which they wish to be observed. Editors have no reason to quarrel with publishers, and they would hardly wish to go in the face of such a request as I indicate. In some papers the principle of reviewing has been lost sight of in the obvious desire to make interesting reading by quoting the main contents of a book. Will not some publishers give the Author their views on this subject? Recently I met a gentleman who was pro- posing to translate the works of a popular German writer. But he was fearful of the reception English critics might give the venture. "Nothing's done without palm oil," he remarked, with a significant gesture. I was astounded, and wondered how on earth he could get such an idea. On pressing the question I discovered that he had once been on the selected list of candidates for a librarianship, and had been told how he could ## p. 105 (#137) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. ensure getting the post. From what he said it seemed clear that the man who did get the post descended to the method suggested. But I pointed out that this was not a case of literary criticism, and that no breath of that type of scant1 al tainted the atmosphere of English literary circles. As a matter of fact, we have many fearless, conscientious critics. I have known such to decline reviewing a work by a personal great rival whose work he could say nothing good of, and would not review it on the ground that it might be he was prejudiced. The capable, kindly men who can be severe are wanted; the smart, facile men, to whom the penning of harsh phrases is little else than a form of self-indulgence, our journals would be well rid of. It is for this reason I offer my humble suggestion for signed reviews in all cases. Let everybody know who is criticising them. Then they will know, and the public will know, how much value to place upon that opinion. To-day, on the contrary, the merest novice may do dis- graceful harm to an author, especially to a young author. It is to be hoped that this subject will be fully and patiently discussed. Behind the Scenes. II.—Educational Criticism. In the last number of your journal Mr. M. Boss has pointed out the folly, from a commercial point of view, of critics who " sneer and carp at a widely popular author," because his admirers do not like to see their favourite insulted. Allow me to supplement this remark by calling attention, from an ethical point of view, to the injustice and unfairness so often met with in educational criticisms. Writers of fiction are, on the whole, rarely attacked from sordid motives — from "pro- fessional envy." The appetite for novel reading is insatiable, and there is room for all readable stories. Not so as regards educational books. The field is more limited, and the use of one book may preclude the use of a rival publication on the same subject; hence the great partiality and the virulence so often to be found in educational criticisms. The reign of Zoilus seems to be fairly at an end in all departments of literature, except in that of education. Some educational authors certainly pass just verdicts on the works of their confreres, although they may be rivals; but as this is not done by all writers of educational books, the editors of journals should always be on their guard when they receive from educational authors carping criticism's, mingled with personal insults, on the works of their colleagues. I leave it for another occasion to dilate more fully on this subject, which should be brought under the special notice of conductors of journals, but in the meantime I hope you will find room for these lines, more especially as your Society has begun to pay friendly attention to the welfare of educa- tional writers. An Educational Author. III.—Bevikwino. As a reviewer of books, and one who reads what he reviews, let me enter a protest against the practice of altering novels between their serial and their volume form. When we have read a work month after month in a magazine, we do not expect to have to read it all over again for review. Moreover, when the reader has got in his mind one sequence of events and has connected them with the character, it is most confusing to learn that they behaved quite otherwise, talked differently, and were moved by unexpected and hitherto unexplained motives. And the better the book, the more vexatious is the alteration. One thing, at all events, we might ask as a right: that the author should state in a preface the nature and extent of the changes made. "Critic." "PRAIRIE__SONQS." THE "Prairie Songs " are by Hamlin Garland, and they come from Chicago, where they were published in the year 1893 by Messrs. Stone and Kimball. Have they been published in this country? If so, the present writer has not seen the English edition. Whether they have appeared in English dress or not, the present writer may be pardoned for introducing to his readers a poet of originality and force if with no other quality. The volume is small, containing about a hundred short poems contained in less than two hundred pages. We will let him speak for himself, which is, after all, the readiest introduction of a poet, and, in most cases, better than the finest criticism. The songs are all of the Prairie; one feels the Prairie through and through, in every page. Before the close of the volume the reader is filled with the air, the sunshine, the loneliness, the terror, of the Prairie. O wide dun land, where the fierce Buqg sx&\te, And the wind is a furnace breath, Where the beautiful sky has a sinister \\ And the earth lies dread and dry as <ie» ^ Where the sod lies scorching and wa^ • Jo*1 And the hot red morning has no bir^Jj, O songfless sunset land! I close In sheer despair of thy dim reach— O level waste! so lone thou art, no x>» Can tell, no pictures teaqb. ## p. 106 (#138) ############################################ io6 THE AUTHOR. A presence like a ourse! no insects hum— No chirping crickets' oheery ring— A white mist-wall of bounding space Flecked with the swift gull's fluttering, Alone confronts the asking face! No tree stands green against the sky— The hawk swims in the blazing air, He scarce can find (though keen his eye) A human heart beat anywhere. The Prairie is not always the land of drought and scorching heat:— O the music abroad in the air, With the autumn wind sweeping His hand on the grass, where The tiniest blade is astir, keeping Voice in the dim, wide ohoir, Of the infinite song, the refrain, The wild, sad wail of the plain! And there is spring:— When the hens begin a-squawkin' An' a-rollin' in the dust; When the rooster takes to talkin', An' a-orowin' fit to bust; When the crows are cawin', flockin' And the chickling boom and sing, Then it's spring! When the roads are jest one mnd-hole And the worter trioklin' round, Makes the barn-yard like puddle, A.n' softens np the ground Till y'r ankle-deep in worter, Sayin' words y'r hadn't orter— When the jay-birds swear an' sing, Then it's spring! And here, to conclude this introduction, is the song called " Growing Old," showing the cheerless, joyless life of never-endiDg grinding poverty. We are likely to hear a great deal more—one hopes —from Mr. Hamlin Garland. F'r forty years next Easter day, Him and me in wind and weather Hare been a-gittin' bent V gray Moggin' along together. We're not so very old, of course! Bnt still, we ain t so awful spry As when we went to singin'-school Afoot and 'oross lots, him and I— And walked back home the longest way— An' the moon a-shinin' on the snow. Makin the road as bright as day An' his voice talkin' low. Land sakes! Jest hear me talk— F'r all the world, jest like a girl, Me—nearly sixty !—Well-a-well! I was so tall and strong, the curl In my hair, Sim said, was like The crinkles in a medder brook, So brown and bright! but there! I guess he got it from a book. His talk in them there days was full Of jest sech nonsense—Don't you think I didn't like it, for I did! I walked along there, glad to drink His words in like the breath o' life— Heavens and earth, what fools we women be! And when he asked me for his wife, I answered, " Yes," of course, y' see. An' then come work, and trouble bit— Not mnch time for love talk then! We bought a farm and mortgaged it, And worked and slaved like all possessed To lift that tumble grindin' weight. I washed and churned and sewed— An' childurn come, till we had eight As han'some babes as ever growed To walk beside a mother's knee. They helped me bear it all, y' see. It ain't been nothin' else but scrnb An' rub and bake and stew The hull, hull time, over stove or tub— No time to rest as men folks do.— I tell yeh, sometimes I Bit and think How nice the grave'll be jest One nice, sweet everlastin' rest! 0 don't look scart! I mean Jest what I say. Ain't crazy yet. But it's enough to make me so— Of course it ain't no use to fret— Who said it was P It'6 nacherl, though, But O, if I was only there— In the past, and young once more— An' had the crinkles in my hair— An' arms as round and strong, and side As it was then!—I'd—I'd— I'd do it all over again, like a fool, I s'pose. I'd take the pain An' work an' worry, babes and all. 1 s'pose things go by some big rule Of God's own book, but my ol' brain Can't fix 'um np, so I'll just wait An' do my duty when it's clear, An' trust to Him to make it straight. Goodness! noon is almost here, And there the men come through the gate! NOTES AND NEWS. SIE EDWIN ARNOLD'S case, concerning which everybody feels the greatest sym- pathy for him, should be a warning. When a poet parts with his copyright the purchaser buys—what? The right of printing it wherever he pleases? Certainly. Yet the poet would never dream of such a right. But Sir Edwin parted with the copyright: that is, with all rights. The owner of the property may even use it for adver- tising purposes if he likes. That is, at least, my opinion. The poet must therefore stipulate that the poem is not to be published except in the accepted meaning of the word—that is, in maga- zines, in books, in those columns of papers which contain the news, the reports, the communications. But not with the advertisements. There is another point which we want to clear up. If a man buys the copyright can he alter the work in any way Y That is, as yet, uncertain, the case of Lee v. Gibbings having been left un- decided. Let those, therefore, who part with ## p. 107 (#139) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. copyright stipulate that no change is to be made in the text. I commend general attention to the " New York Letter" of this number, and the expression of opinion on the wide success of American maga- zines compared with our own. The greater facilities of postage, especially, account for a great part of their superior circulation. As was set forth in these columns, if a publisher can send out a shilling magazine for a penny, he is obviously in a far better position than if he has to pay i\d. ■. he is also in a far better position if his magazine costs a shilling than if it costs nine- pence. Cannot something be done with our post- office? It is at all events worth trying. We greatly desire an increased demand for our magazines. Cheaper postage: the abolition of the discount: these two gains would surely bring about a speedy reformation. Whether illustra- tions are necessary or not is another question. Personally, I prefer the unassisted imagination, except with papers which really want illustration. But I believe that there is a large class of readers who cannot have too many pictures. I also recommend the contribution of the book- seller on p. 101 of this number. It should lead us to realise the fact that the bookseller is as impor- tant a factor in the management of a book as the author. He is, in fact, indispensable. The man who creates the book: then the man who distributes the book to the world: and shows the book: and calls attention to the book, these are the two who cannot possibly stand without each other. The man who goes between saves trouble; but he is not indispensable. It is, for instance, quite within the power of authors to create their own machinery to do the publisher's part. It is also equally within the power of the booksellers to do exactly the same thing. There are English writers in all branches by the hundred, who might quite fearlessly resolve on creating such machinery. For instance, in the Athenaeum of Sept. 26 there are eight pag. s of advertisements of new books and reprints, not counting the religious aud scientific books, and among these one can count without hesitation at least 120 announcements of books, concerning which it is perfectly certain that they carry no risk whatever. This is a point which must be repeated over and over again. Nothing dies harder than a bad character, and the general belief about litera- ture, that the presentation of it to the world is always risky and generally disastrous, still lingers and is still encouraged by interested persons. The second point to remark is that, above all things, authors want to be placed on the shelves and offered, at least, to the public. Unless, however, it is made worth their while booksellers simply cannot do this. One or two copies taken and sold, no more are ordercl, and the book dies. Surely it is a foolish policy to expect them to be eager about selling a book for 4.V. 6d. for which they have to pay 4*. 2d. In the correspondence on this subject this fact was never denied. "The policy is, as our bookseller says, a desperate attempt to grab, and to hold, the lion's share. It is sometimes argued that the weak point in the royalty system is that the publisher has to pay the royalties before his liabibties for produc- tion are paid. For instance, if a first edition of 3000 costs him .£150; if in six tuonths he sells only 1200 he has to pay the author—say—/"6o, together with this £150, and he has only received £210, so that he has, so far, made nothing for himself; after that, however, his very large profit begins. Remember, however, that he does not bind the whole edition to begin with. I have sometimes thought that the best plan would be to deduct the actual cost of production and then to divide the selling price — say 4.S. 6d.—into three equal parts, one to author, one to publisher, and one to bookseller; or into five parts, two to author, one to publisher, and two to bookseller. Yet one remembers the half-profit system, and how it has become a thing suspect and accursed on account of the voluminous overcharges and secret profits which disgrace it still in certain quarter-". Since the recent publication of Mr. Thring's articles on the consideration of agreements, one has been brought before the notice of the secre- tary, in which the publisher, instead of attempt- ing to charge the 50 per cent, in agency clauses as was the common practice, pointed out in those articles, now proposes to hand over to the author 90 pei cent, of the returns, taking the customary agency fee of 10 per cent. I think it only fair that this fact should be mentioned. Whether the change is due to these articles or to the prompt- ings of conscience does not appear, and need not be asked. To me, personally, the book of t\xe season is Skeat's "Student's Pastime." W^vft one bas known a man intimately for forty -y^ "Vv"*» known also the fixed and delilwraWV" 66°* A life; and has watched the resolute ^VsSV0 a «f°^L&» that purpose, it is intelligible that ^ ^tfV , \)1 %o^- may be, to this old friend, the b(Xi\5*~ This, however, is no ordinary bool^ 4^ ## p. 108 (#140) ############################################ io8 THE AUTHOR. there, to begin with, a collection of contributions made by our best Anglo-Saxon and early English scholar to literary journals during this long period. These alone are of the greatest value and interest. But it contains more. The author has prefixed certain notes autobiographical. I should like to have written those notes for him, because I could say in them what he cannot. I should then have related how Professor Skeat, when quite a young man, deliberately resigned every kind of work by which money can be made, and chose a line of research in which it was absolutely impossible to derive any profit of a pecuniary kind. For thirty years and more he went on enriching Anglo-Saxon and English literature with the long-lost treasures of the past. These treasures, when he began, were received even by students coldly: it is now acknowledged that they have caused the history of our litera- ture, from Beowulf to Lydgate, to be entirely rewritten. He has received his reward: not only in the Professorship which he holds: but in the consciousness of the first position among the scanty company of English students, and in the foremost place among living scholars. Walter Besant. FROM A PENMAN'S WORKSHOP. MY destiny pointed with unrelenting finger to the typewriter. So I began to learn the machine, and used to practise in the evening at a school where the use of it was taught. An employment bureau was attached to this school, and the notices of available employment were pinned to a board in the entrance hall. I did not always spend the evening in front of the typewriter; it seemed to tap the terrors of competition into my mind, and I frequently shirked it. Once I strolled into the school- building after I had avoided my duty for four nights running, and on the notice-board I saw the following announcement: "Wanted, amanuensis to literary man. Salary, £1 i$s. per week." That was just the work to which I aspired, the work for which I had vainly hoped—and the announcement was three days old already. I thought of the competition with a shudder as I walked into the employment manager's office. "I don't know whether the place is filled," said the manager. "We have sent several people down. He wants—let me see his letter—he wants someonp who has had experience in the atelier of an English literary man. Have you that qualification r" I had not. The words "experience in the atelier" struck me as odd. Hope dies hard, and I wrote to the literary man who wanted an amanuensis. He replied that the place was taken; but he noted my acquirements, and if he were not well suited he would revert to my application. Hope became comatose. But it seemed that the popular author had not been well suited, and in a few days he wrote to me again, with a request that I would call upon him. Of course I called. "I have to deliver a plot," he observed, " the plot of a story. I don't know anything about it yet. I have to deliver it to-morrow." I was raw to the me'tier, and found nothing better to say in response than "Oh!" He seemed to hesitate for awhile; then he said, "Come upstairs." So I followed him to his workroom. It was very plainly furnished ; nothing found a place there but the tools and a few photo- graphs. He walked up and down for a few minutes, wrapped in meditation. Then he cried of a sudden, "Take your pen and write." I took my pen and soon my shorthand abilities were taxed to keep pace with current literature— current with a vengeance. My stupor increased as we proceeded, and did not expedite my pen. "Is this what sells?" I ask myself. "Is this what some some large class of people buys and reads?" For we were with the army of a first-class Continental power, and we were in the middle of the present century; yet side by side with the captain of a company in action appeared our English hero—and he was arrayed in no kipi, in no pan talon g aranee, but in a straw hat and in flannels; in one hand he bore a sword—for which, by the way, he had no scabbard—and in the other hand a pistol. Both "reeked." Soon we were introduced to a hybrid villain advanced in years, and to the beautiful young orphan, heiress to large estates and untold wealth, whom he had abducted in childhood; thus she was ignorant of her real English name and legitimate English status. "Does a responsible, known author dictate this?" I asked myself. "Well, he will find no conceivable editor or publisher to pay him for it." We finished an instalment of six thousand words (I think), and at the end of it the hero, accompanied by the French captain, had forced his way over heaped corpses into the presence of the villain; and the villain had fired a mine of powder prepared beneath his sitting-room, and had blown all the principal characters in the story through the roof, except the heroine, who had ## p. 109 (#141) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. 109 fled through the window in the nick of time. It is needless to add that the hero survived this treatment. "There!" said the literary man to his wife, when we were at supper, for the work kept us late, and he had kindly invited me to his table, "I haven't given him a plot, but I've got an in- stalment to take him, a whole instalment." The word "him" referred to the proposed editor. Then he turned to me and said, laughing, "I don't know what the plot will be yet." Well, my anticipations proved to be groundless; that story sold, and it sold well, and the book- rights were worth something after the serial pub- lication was completed. And before the story was ended I learned a rule of the workshop. The literary man had a valuable knack. He began the tale with some- thing that caught the reader's attention; he wove a story round that incident; he "kept on telling the story " (I quote him); and he always remained in touch with that central interest on which he had fixed the reader's attention. These methods do not show the application of principles of art, but they are worth knowing— at least they were very well worth knowing in his case. G. B. LOOSE ENGLISH. fl^HE question, often discussed in the Author I and elsewhere, as to whether our noble language would be seriously benefited by the establishment of a Royal Literary Association (of the nature of the French Academy) involves two distinct questions. The general consensus of opinion as to the futility of expecting any great and durable l>enefit to English letters from the constitution of such an authority derives support from French expe- rience. From the days of Richelieu downwards the Academy has failed to capture some of the greatest literary artists ; it has hardly engendered any important production; it has never even carried much weight in the pedantic province to which its operation has been chiefly confined. Pascal, La Bruyere, Boileau, Molicre, Rousseau, the Guncourts, Flaubert, Daudet, Zola, are names which shine by their absence from the lists of membership; such a self-made master as Littre repudiates the Academy's judgment on many points of grammar and orthography ; Prof. Saints- bury answers us that the purity of the French tongue has not been preserved. "The language and literature have been flooded with new words, new forms of speech, new ideas, new models." (" Short History of French Literature," 2nd edit., p. 508.) Such changes, so far as they are required by new methods of living and scientific progress are not only deserving of discouragement, but cannot in the long run be anyhow discouraged. But there are other innovations, which may be more deplorable and may admit of correction (if opposed in time) without the cumbrous and uncertain machinery of Academies. The develop- ment of Democracy and diffusion of primary education tend to the production of vulgar neolo- gisms of which we may cull a few samples as we go- Some of these are of the nature of what are called '"Americanisms." Many of the best American authors use a style which is admirable for flexible strength and musical modulation; but certain locutions, taken from high-class trans- atlantic periodicals, will be recoguised by a little trained observation. For instance: "Back of," instead of behind; surely unneces- sary as a substitution. The same may be said of "around," used as a preposition. "Round the mahogany tree," sings Thackeray, and it is enough. Why spoil the metre, no less than the grammar, by employing a dissyllable which is an adverb; and, in good English, intransitive? As for neuter verbs, a constant mistake is to give them an active meaning. In a recent tale by so distinguished a writer as Mark Twain, an edu- cated man is represented as saying, "Nothing shall swerve me," meaning make me swerve. This is worse than the feminine "I did not trouble to go," when Lindley Murray—himself a native of Pennsylvania—would demand the full trouble myself. Another uncalled-for practice is the employment of substantives as verbs; "to mail a letter" is perhaps not worse than to post a letter; but what conceivable excuse can there be for saying, "He loaned me a hatchet?" The word "to advocate" may perhaps be cited, but it must be remembered that there was no exact verb at hand; whilst in the other case that is not so, "loan" being an established substantive of which the verb is " to lend." Some neologisms are common to both sides of the Atlantic. One can hardly take up a London paper without seeing such a sentence as "The man whom we see did this . . "-where a. small expansion would show the t^or. who did this, as we see ;" that is , tf^*6- \» actual meaning. Another palp^KA^ JwS*1^^ the phrase "Santa Claus" lor gift-bringer. The proper wor<J. -vv^ «!*•" las; for a male saint could ^ W ^ ^f^V^ Then, again, why do we fiud" x^^X^ \jl ## p. 110 (#142) ############################################ 1 IO THE AtlTHOU. I>eeuuiary is the right word? Moneta is a mint; and the adjective should be kept for use when we mean things of coinage or currency. All these appear gratuitous corruptions of the idiom of Shakspere, Addison, Washington Irving, and Macaulay; things that could be perhaps even now repressed by concurrent vigilance on the part of accepted authors. H. G. Keene. Brussels, August, 1896. WHEN I AM GONE! When I am gone far—very far away Beyond the glory of the dying day, Oh! let there be no pageantry of woe; No hideous hearse—no mourners moving slow. But let me to my pleasant conch be borne By comrades in the golden light of morn, Looking my last npon the soft bine sky With blythe birds singing as they bear me by! No leaden bier for me, But let my coffin be Fashioned of flowers from the greenwood wild; Then, in some corner green. Where violets bloom unseen, Lay me to rest like some poor weary child! II. When I am gone beyond the evening star, And sweet church bells from villages afar Are faintly pealing in the balmy night Of leafy June—then, in the fading light, Oh! give one thonght in some dim brambled dell To him who loved that fairy music well! One thought to him who nevermore will roam In twilight woods till darkness calls him home! But never weep for me, As haply I shall be Where restless souls at last are lulled to rest! No pang or doubt again Shall rack this fevered brain, When Mother Earth has clasped me to her breast! in. When day his course has run, And with the setting sun, Four daily cares have also found an ond, In the deep hnsh that steals Across the darkening fields, Kemember then your fond yet faulty friend. But shed no tears—the violets blue May weep for me in tears of dew, I loved them so in my past earthly days! The birds may miss me in the glen, And trembling blooms unseen by men May mourn me in the dewy tangled ways. F. B. Dovkton. Okehampton, Devon. BOOK TALE. THIS month will witness the appearance of the Progressive Review, a new shilling monthly, to be edited by Mr. J. A. Hobson and Mr. William Ciarke. It is intended to apjjeal specially to the thinking class of workmen, and trade union or co-operative society members. Consisting of 100 pages, and priced is., it will provide in each number some half-dozen articles, rather shorter than the ordinary review article. Sir Charles Dilke will contribute to the opening issue, and Mr. Edward Carpenter will have an article on "Democracy and Art." The publishers are Messrs. Horace Marshall and Son. The novels by the author of " John Westacott" having run out of print, are all to be reissued in a uniform edition, at a popular price, by Messrs. Chapmau and Hall. "John Westacott' will start the series, and during the season a new historical fifteenth century romance by Mr. James Baker will be issued by the same firm. Mr. Baker's lecture on Egypt, which was so success- ful last year at the Imperial Institute, will be given before the Aberdeen Philosophical Society in November, as well as before other lecture societies during the winter months. Mr. F. B. Doveton has made a selection of ton essays from his "Fisherman's Fancies," and has issued them in cheap form, viz., a sixpenny little volume called "Delightful Devon." The poem by him published in another column reminds us that "Q." in the Speaker calls Mr. Doveton " one of the sweetest of Devon singers now alive." The most notable publication of any kind within the last few weeks has been the first of two volumes of the Travels of His Imperial Majesty the Tsar in the East (1890-91), when Cesarewitch. Messrs. Archibald Constable and Co. have the distinction of publishing this large work, which is finely illustrated. It is written by a ltussian Prince, and edited by Sir George Birdwood. Mr. Crockett's story, which has l>een appearing in the Graphic, entitled " 1 he Grey Man," will be published immediately. There will also be an Edition dc luxe, with illustrations by Mr. Lucas. The long-announced novel by Mrs. Craigie (John Oliver Hobbes), entitled "The Herb Moon," will be published this autumn by Mr. Unwin. This publisher also announces a volume of literary criticisms by Mr. Zangwill. Mrs. Henry Norman (Mi'nie Muriel Dowie) is the writer of the first volume of short stories in a new scries which Mr. Lane is inaugurating. The title of Mrs. Norman's volume is that of the ## p. 111 (#143) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. leading story in it, namely, " The Hmt o' Hairst" —title suggested by a line from the Scottish poet Ainslie. Among other contributors of volume.-: to this series will be R. V. Risley and Mrs. Murray Hickson. Mr. Barrie's story of child life, "Sentimental Tommy," which ran serially in Scribner's, will be published early this autumn by Messrs. Cassell. A cycling romance by Mr. H. G. Wells is very shortly to be published by Messrs. Dent, entitled "The Wheels of Chance.'*' Mr. Louis Becke has written another story of the South Seas for publication in Mr. Fisher Unwin's Century Library under the title "His Native Wife." Mr. Guy Boothby's story "Dr. Nikola," and Mr. Arthur Morrison's "Adventures of Martin Hewitt," both of which have run in the Windsor Magazine, are announced by Messrs. Ward, Lock, and Co. Mr. H. D. Lowry has now ventured into a long story, which will be issued soon by Messrs. Bliss, Sands, and Co., entitled " A Man of Moods." Mrs. Mannington Caffyn, author of "The Yellow Aster," has written a new story entitled "A Quaker Grandmother," which Messrs. Hutchinson will issue immediately. The following volumes of fiction will appear in Mr. Lane's "Kevnote" series: "Maris Stella," by Miss Marie Clothilde Balfour; "Ugly Idol," bv Mr. Claud Nicholson; " Shapes in the Fire," by Mr. M. P. Shiel; "Kakemonos," by Mr. W. Carlton Dawe; "God's Failures," by Mr. J. S. Fletcher; "A Deliverance," by Mr. Allan Monk- house; "Mere Sentiment," by Mr. A. J. Dawson. A three-volume novel by Miss Brooke, author of the "Superfluous Woman," is about to be published by Mr. Heinemann. The title is " Life the Accuser." Mr. G. A. Henty has a three-volume novel, entitled "The Queen's Cup," in the hands of Messrs. Chatto and Windus for early publication. During the autumn Messrs. Henry will publish the following new novels: "The Passion for Romance," by Edgar Jepson; "The Tides Ebb Out to the Sea," by "Hugh Langley ;" and "Lady Levallion," by George Widdrington. Mr. Clark Russell will add to his sea-stories this autumn with "What Cheer!" The scenes are laid in Deal. Mr. J. A. Barry will also have a volume of tales of the sea entitled "In the Green Deep." Mr. Hardy is including "The Pursuit of the Well-Beloved" in the collected edition of his works, the issue of which is now almost complete. Mr. L. F. Austin has put together a volume of his essays, which will be published at once by Messrs. Ward and Lock, under the title, " At Random: Recollections of Literary Men." Mr. S. J. Stone, who was deputy inspector- general of police in the N.W. Provinces of India, has written a record of his sporting and explor- ing expeditions, some of which were to practically unknown country. The volume will be called "In and beyond the Himalayas," and Mr. Edward Arnold will publish it. Sir James Ramsay has written a "History of England to theDe ithof Stephen," which Messrs. Swan Sonnenschein will publish. Professor Max Muller, Dr. Garnett, Mr. F. E. Baines, and Sir Hugh Gilzean Reid, are among the writers of a book, to be called "The Civilisation of Our Day," which Messrs. Sampson Low will publish. It will consist of twenty-five essays, relating and sketching the progress in all depart- ments during this century. Mr. James Sainuel- son is editor. Another autobiography which may be expected soon is that of Sir Richard Temple. It will be in two volumes, published by Messrs. Cassell. Mr. Aubrey de Vere's reminiscences of the last fifty years will be published shortly by Mr. Arnold. Mr. Arthur Dasent is engaged on a work to be called " Through the Heart, of Mayfair." It will appear next year, from Messrs. Macmillan's, as a companion volume to the ajthor's "History of St. James's Square." "Annals of the Norfolk and Norwich Musical Festival" is a work written at intervals during the last three years bv Mr. Robin H. Legge, assisted by Mr. W. E. Hansell, which will be ready in time for the approaching Norwich Triennial Musical Festival. Messrs. Jarrold are the publishers. Mr. J. T. Cunningham, M.A., is the author of a book about to be published under the auspices of the Marine Biological Association, on the natural history of commercially valuable sea-fishes. The work is in the press, and will be published by Messrs. Macmillan. Sir Edwin Arnold has translated for the first time—as a holiday task—a very old Sanskrit love poem, which is about to be publisfo^A ^es8rt?- Kegan Paul and Co. A novelty tbe cation, which is to be called" \ ind"**^ ^°"'e Lament," is that it will be i^T^ \ facsimile of Sir Edwin's marv^^v^ fanciful illuminations bv him i x^^i-t^ ^ Mrs. Mevnell has written a Vi-V"*"^!^ '"W ^ entitled "The Darling Yo*i»g. ## p. 112 (#144) ############################################ 1 I 2 THE AUTHOR. lished by Mr. John Lane. From the Bodley Head publishing house there will also appear shortly, "The Quest of the Golden Head," by Mr. Le Gallienne," and " The Battle of the Bays," by Mr. Oscar Seaman. Mr. W. J. Stillman is engaged on an art volume entitled "Venus and Apollo in Painting and Sculpture," which will contain eighty-one large-sized photogravures of works by the most celebrated of the old masters. The only modern example will be a Burne-Jones, the original of which belongs to the editor. Messrs. Bliss, Sands, and Co. are to publish the book towards the end of the year. Following their " Temple " Shakespeare, Messrs. Dent are about to publish a series of "Temple" dramatists, and another of "Temple" classics. Mr. Israel Gollancz will edit these new series also. Mr. Kipling's volume of poems, " The Seven Seas," is expected to be in the hands of the book- sellers within a month from this date. The pub- lishers, Messrs. Methuen, have also a volume of vprse by Mr. A. T. Quiller-Couch. A volume of verse by Mr. Theodore Watts- Dunton will be published this autumn by Mr. John Lane. Many of the poems have appeared in the Athenmim. The same publisher will also issue a volume of " New Ballads" by Mr. John Davidson, a new volume of poems by Mr. A. C. Benson, and another volume of poems, illustrated, by Mr. Lawrence Housman. Mr. John Farmer is engaged upon a volume of "Songs for Soldiers and Sailors," selected from among the best English ballads. Sir George Robertson, British Agent at Gilgit, has written an account of his experience in Kafirstan, entitled "The Kaffirs of the Hindu Kush." It will be illustrated by Mr. A. D. McCormick. and published by Messrs. Lawrence and Bulleu. Mr. George Du Maurier has lately been occu- pied on a number of original drawings for a new book by Mr. Felix Moscheles entitled "In Bohemia with Du Maurier," which Mr. Fisher Unwin is about to publish. Mrs. K. L. Parker has collected and retold in English a number of "Australian Legendary Tales," which will be published in one volume under that title by Mr. Nutt. The author lived for over twenty years among the few remaining members of the Noongahburrah tribe in inner New South Wales. There will be illustrations in the book by a native artist, and a glossary of native words will be provided. Miss Francis Armstrong, author of "A Fair Claimant, &c, will publish in October a new story in one volume entitled " A Girl's Loyalty, price 5s. (Messrs. Blackie.) Mr. John Robert Robinson, author of "The Princely Chandos," "The Last Earls of Barry- more," " Old Q.," &c, has completed a biography of Philip Duke of Wharton. It will be published, among the autumn books by Messrs. Sampson Low and Co. Mr. J. W. Oddie, M.A., Fellow of Corpus Christi, Oxford, will publish immediately a volume of translations entitled " Choice Poems of Heinrich Heine" (Messrs. Macmillan and Co.). In these translations an effort has been made to combine almost literal faithfulness to their originals, with a thoroughly poetic rendering of most of the best pieces of the great German song writer. In addition to many gems from the "Buch der Lieder," there are included several of the later poems, which have seldom been trans- lated, such as the wonderful fourteenth chapter of "Deutschland," and the terrible "Spanische Atride." Her Royal Highness the Princess of Wales has accepted a copy of Mr. Arthur Lee Knight's book for children, "The Adventures of a Gunroom Monkey." LITERATURE IN THE PERIODICALS. [This precis is compiled up to the 26th of each month. All publications should reach the office of the Author by the 25th at the latest.] The Question of Reviewing. Leading article in Publishers' CircuUir for Sept. 12. Booksellers as Literary Censors. Bookseller for Sept. 4. Booksellers and Publishers. Paragraph in Athenseum for Aug. 29; Mr. Longman's letter in Athenmum for Sept. 5; Letters of Mr. S. E. WiUon and Mr. Alfred Wilson in Bookseller for Sept. 4; Letter of Mr. E. W. Humphries in Publishers' Circular for Sept. 5; Letter of Mr. James P. Britten in Publishers' Circular for Sept. 19; and leading article in last-mentioned paper. Minor Poets. Monthly Packet for September. Teaching the Spirit of Literature. W. P. Trent. Atlantic Monthly for September. The English Language. Frank GiUett. Idler for September. The Story of Uncle Tom's Cabin. Charles Dudley Warner. Atlantic Monthly for September. The Author of Uncle Tom's Cabin. Richard Burton. Century for September. Edmond de Goncourt. Yetta Blaze de Bury. Fort ■ nightly Review for September. Library Association. Report of Annual Meeting at Buxton. Athenamm for Sept. 5 and 12. English and Americans in French Fiction. Andrew de Tcrnant. Gentleman's Magazine (or September. Literary and Numismatic Sales of 1896. Times for Sept. 8. A New Well of Literature. Speaker for Sept. 19. Goldsmith's Conversation. Speaker for Sept. 19. ## p. 113 (#145) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. Mors Reflections of a Schoolmaster: Waverley and the Iliad. Blackwood's Magazine for September. M. Paul Hervieu. Hannah Lynch. Fortnightly Review for October. H. C. Bunner. Brander Matthews. Scribner's Maga- zine for September. Dante Gabriel Bossetti. Janet Harper. Westminster Review for September. "A Literary Outrage." Letters of Sir Edwin Arnold in Times for Sept. 24 and 25, and Times' comment on former date. Notable Reviews. Of G. Thorn Drury's edition of the Poems of John Keats. Athenseum for Sept. 12. Of Mrs. Alexander's Poems. (Hymns v. Poetry.) Daily Chronicle for Aug. 26. Of Mrs. Humphry Ward's "Sir George Tressady.'' W. L. Courtney. Daily Telegraph for Sept. 25. Sir Edwin Arnold was naturally surprised and indignant to find a poem -which he had written, on the subject of the Queen's reign, for a monthly magazine, reprinted on the morning of the 23rd. ult. in the middle of a page advertisement in the newspapers, *' in intimate connection of manner, type, and place with advertisements of bovril, patent medicines, and other articles useful, but not in any way connected with the august subject of the poem." The Times, however, had made inquiries before accepting the advertisement, and the advertisement agent produced the correspon- dence. "Of course," the latter had written, "it is understood that, as I mentioned in my previous letter, on receiving your poem and paying you cash your price, I become the absolute proprietor of the copyright of this poem, and I am at liberty to use it as I like, whenever and wherever Hike." To this Sir Edwin Arnold had replied: "I accept in full the conditions which you attach to this payment." In his rejoinder in the Times, Sir Edwin states that, in this acceptance, he never heard and never dreamed of any advertising element. It is a difficult question, says the Publishers' Circular, to say what are the proper limits of quotation in reviews, inasmuch as no hard and fast lines can be drawn for the guidance of the reviewer. The writer is discussing the matter it propos the article in the Author last month, which suggested that the whole question of reviewing ought to be taken up by the Society of Authors, either in conjunction with the Society of Publishers or separately. "There can be no question whatever," our contemporary proceeds, "that long quotations tend to damage the fortunes of a book." Indeed, "it is well known that many brilliant people derive almost their entire knowledge of current literature from extracts in so-called reviews." How, then, to stop the evil? Most editors leave reviewing wholly to subordinates; but if their attention were drawn to the abuses of which the writer in the Author complains, not without cause, we feel sure that reform would follow. And on the general question, after allowing that as a rule reviewers do their work "with intelligence and judgment," the Publishers' Circular concludes as follows: Reviews, it is sometimes said, have not the influence they onoe had. Perhaps not. But in one respect, if in one only, their power seems to us to be increasing; if they are no longer potent to help, they are, when unfairly done potent to hinder. So far the contributor to the Author is unquestionably right. The cry of the booksellers goes up to the pub- lishers. "The latter, however," says Mr. Britten, "like the Great Powers of Europe, stand by and watch the massacre, apparently too much dis- tracted to agree to an effectual remedy." It is the discount system that is complained of prin- cipally, but there is also a feeling against the interference of drapery and other stores with the trade. On this latter point, to take it first, the Publishers'1 Circular remarks as follows: Is a man who adds a book department to his drapery or his grocery business to be excluded from the magic oircle because he happens to be a draper or a grocer, as well as a seller of books? A unanimous answer to that qnestion would do much to restore the peace, if not the prosperity, of the trade. But for complete unanimity we are likely to hare some time to wait. Mr. Alfred Wilson and Mr. E. W. Humphries suggest that as the leading tobacco manufacturers have recently laid down the law that merchants who sell their goods under the published prices will, after a certain date, not be supplied, so pub- Ushers should act in regard to booksellers who undersell. The Athenseum a few weeks ago inquired what the use of the Publishers' Association was, seeing that it had declined to discuss two proposals for amendment made by the Associated Booksellers, and had said with regard to a third that it was a matter for the individual publisher to decide. Mr. C. J. Longmau, Chairman of the Pub- Ushers' Association, replied to the Athenseum to say that it had omitted the most important part of the proposal, namely, that in reference to the first and second points "steps should be taken to enforce them." These points, it may be recalled, were (1) "that all books published at net prices be sold at the fuU price," and (2) "that no greater discount than 25 per cent, be allowed upon books published on the old terms, and that steps be taken to enforce both these regulations." Mr. Longman continued. • The only suggestion made for enforcing the% te8a^a't*0nft involved coercion or boycotting in some t0>.^ «AVt>*** this that the oouncil of the Publishers' ^0.*etCe not willing to discuss. The general qu^f^tji* v\ °0^: up again before the Publishers' Associatio^***^ ^ ## p. 114 (#146) ############################################ ii4 THE AUTHOR. and no doubt before the Booksellers' Association also, and Bhonld any feasible solution be found, it will be welcomed by the publishers no less than by the booksellers themselves. Mr. Alfred Wilson states, however, that Messrs. Longmans on one occasion refused to supply him with a book unless he promised not to let a certain firm have copies of it. This corre- spondent adds: The system by which high-priced books are credited by publishers to the authors twenty-five as twenty-four, though not a retail bookseller in the oountry is able to avail himself of the odd copy offered in mockery, is hardly an honest one, and if the publishers could see their way to allow the book- sellers that 4 per cent, on single copies, an advantage would be 'given us which would re-act to the benefit of the publishers in the long run. Mr. S. R. Wilson says bookselling has de- generated to the huckster's barrow, and recom- mends his country friends to stand aloof and let the publishers sell tbeir books themselves. Meanwhile the Publishers' Circular asks book- sellers not to expect the impossible, and reminds them that the interests of publisher and book- seller are indissolubly bound together. On the subject of booksellers as censors of literature, referred to in this column last month in connection with the action of Messrs. Smith withdrawing a certain novel from their stalls, the Bookseller does not suppose that either side would always carry out their contention to its logical, for, after all, booksellers are men of business first, and they will always in these doubtful cases act as they think will be best for their business reputation in the long run. COBBESPONDENCE. I.—The First Book. IQUITE agree with the editor that an author is lucky if he gets his first book taken on any terms, provided that he is not obliged to pay for its production. I have just experienced this "luck," having parted with all rights of a short novel for a small sum. I had thoughts of submitting the proposal to the secretary before accepting, but, on second thoughts, decided it was not necessary, the offer coming from a well-known man of letters, and one of the leading houses. I do not think many new writers are in a position to do as the editor advises, namely, to print their first book themselves; for these nothing remains but to write on and submit their stories till success comes; this is what I have had to do, and it has taken years, but I do not think my fortune is made yet. Alan Oscar. [Note.—My own experience in printing at my own exj>en.se was related as an example to those who are willing to take the risk of a first book. By this method one at least avoids the common overcharges of paying for production.—Ed.] II.—Royalty on First Books. As both you and Mr. Moncure Conway ask for au instance where an English author has obtained gradually increasing payments for successive editions of a "first book," and as it seems fair that publishers, when liberal, should have the credit of it, I may mention a case where I con- ducted the arrangements with Messrs. Blackwood on the above footing. The author received ,£50 for the first edition, and was paid on a gradually rising scale for each successive edition, until the royalty reached 2 5 per cent of the published price (counting thirteen as twelve), and has remained at that rate for the last six editions. The sales in this country havf exceeded 14,000 copies; in America about half that number (for which the author has received about .£75 in spite of the Copyright Act); and about 5000 in the Colonies. The author's total receipts have considerably exceeded £1000, and the book is still selling, so that I doubt not that the publishers, have done very well tod. The arrangement was an entirely business one, as I was a complete stranger to Messrs. Black- wood, and they were unaware of the name of the author (who had never published anything before) for some time after publication. Sept. 14. in A Member. III.—Our Brains. The practice which prevails amongst certain journals of appropriating gratis or at the meanest possible figure, all they can lay their hands upon, has of late been severely condemned in the columns of the A uthor. A system equally unfair is that whereby contributions are utilised for the purpose of elaborating more or less viva- cious paragraphs without our receiving a cent of recompense. Surely he, or she, who supplies stock for the editorial stewpan deserves a share of its nutrition? Many papers thrive exceedingly upon this inglorious method of brain-sucking. Their defence is that it is necessary to manipu- late the substance by deft hands into a shape which shall be palatable to the particular organ's clientele. That is a very convenient excuse for paying nobody, and is altogether unsound. One is reluctant to price such wares straight off, trusting to mutual consideration and courtesy. And this is only too often all the reward we get for our confidence! Does not my complaint apply also in a degree to ## p. 115 (#147) ############################################ THE AUTHOR. "letters to the editor?" A writer may chance to initiate a correspondence which proves quite a godsend to some newspaper in want of a fillip. But recognition, save that of private glory, rarely comes his way. As the topic has, in all probability, been launched anonymously, he does not even enjoy the benefit of an advertisement. Cecil Clarke. Author's Club, S.W. Sept. 19, 1896. IV.—Monsters in Fiction. Your contributor, D. F. Hannigan, raises a question about monsters, and regards the problem of monstrosity as one which has not yet been solved: "Perhaps the time is at hand when we shall find literature assisting science in throwing light on the question." The paper is concerning monsters in fiction, and assumes that the centaur and the man-bull are fabulous creations of a luxuriant imagination. This is no doubt the general impression; but may not the monsters of mythology have been symbolical of ideas and truths, and fashioned consistently in accordance with a principle? "Gorgons, and hydras, and chiniaeras dire." carry us back at once to Ancient Greece, where the legends meant something. Visitors to Athens and Rome, Pompeii and Naples, will remember how often the Minotaur is represented, as well as Medusa's snaky head. There was religious zeal and theological meaning in these frequent repro- ductions. Egyptian gods and goddess combine the human body with the head of a cow or ram, a hawk or an ibis. It is not to be supposed that learned priests conceived that such beings existed in any literal sense. In early times people talked in figure, and used emblems, to a much larger extent than now. The truths of their astro- religious system were set forth in symbol; and the religious teaching was acted in ceremony. The multitude could then see, as they did in a later age when Pilate washed his hands in token of innocency. It should be as possible to recover this lan- guage of symbol as it has been to decipher the hieroglyphics themselves; and then it would be found that there was a fitness in every representa- tion, however grotesque. As a single example let us take the man-bull of Assyria. It unites the parts of three animals, and sometimes four, namely, the head of a man, the body of a bull, the wings of an eagle, and the claws of a lion. These were four signs of the Zodiac — the four quarter signs, associated with the summer aud winter solstice, and the vernal and autumnal equinox. The eagle in some Zodiacs takes the place of the scorpion. The man-bull would thus be the symbol of the ecliptic circle and the four chief "houses" of the sun. The Greek sphinx, according to the common idea, comprised the head and breast of a woman, and a lion's body with wings; but sometimes the tail of a serpent was included. The Egyptian sphinx— uniting only the human head and breast and a lion without wings might possibly represent the two solstices. The sun might be viewed in two, aspects, or three, or four; and the symbolical figure would say—These are a 11 one! In the monsters of mythology there was., symbol and sense; but when Flaubert tells of "headless things with enormous shoulders," it is not so, nor when "Peter Wilkins" marries a flying woman. These are instances of what your contributor calls a human imagination with its excesses unchecked by science; but the man-bull of the Assyrians and the Centaur of the Greeks had a sober and serious origin. As to dwarfs, Stanley's African race run to more than four feet high, while the pygmy sons of Ptah were only of one cubit; and being seven in number, like the Cabiri, they meant something. Geo. St. Clair. V.—The Title. Referring to the answer which your correspon-. dent " Old Bird" has kindly given to my inquiry, does not the case seem eminently one for organisa- tion? Instead of each author hunting over Smith's or Mudie's catalogues at the British Museum, or paying some one else to do so, might not a catalogue of titles be compiled and kept up to date with comparative ease, if the co-operation of the authorities were obtained? A fee might be charged for consulting it, or, on application and payment by letter, a certificate that such and such a title was or was not in the list at such and such a date might be procured; and the scale could be so regulated that all expenses might be defrayed; to the saving in the long run of time and trouble to everyone concerned, not omitting the officials of the Museum themselves. Tyro. THE FUBLISHINa SEASON. TI^HE following is a resume of the an- I nouncements made in the Athcnceum for September: Athenaeum, Sept. 5, i&c\f, .. -w Cassell and Co. announce 21 woj-u 'j^, ■. and Tales, 12 (apparently and biography, 6 (one book a-tw \\%' 2 SHvjjSP risk); Poetry, 1; Reprints, z Mr. Fisher tlnwin announce^ ^ 1 \& HP ## p. 116 (#148) ############################################ u6 THE AUTHOR. Novels and Tales, i 7; History and Biography, 17; Belles Lettrcs, 5; Children's books, 3; Travel, 5; Essays, &c, 5. Messrs. W. and R. Chambers announce 18 works, viz.: Novels and Tales, 14; Science, 1; His- tory and Biography, 2; Reprint, 1. Messrs. Skeffington and Son announce 9 works, all religious. Athenteum, Sept. 12. Clarendon Press:—Theology, 10; Classics, 5; Oriental, 7; General Literature, 5; Art and Archaeology, 7; History, Biography, and Law, 11; Science, 4; Sacred Books of E., 3; Anee- dota Oxon., 8.—58. Dent :—Fiction, 18; History, Belles Lett res, 6.—24. Innes :■—History and Law, 4 ; Travel, 1 ; Belles Lett res and Verse, 4; Sport, 3; Fiction, 10.—22. Nutt :—Folk and Fairy Lore, 11; Translation, 5; Belles Lett res, 6.—22. Hodder and Stoughton:—Fiction, 5; Theological, 12; History and Travel, Biography, 5. Skeffington:—Fiction, 2; History, 1; Belles Lettres, 1. Athenaeum, Sept. iy. Maemillan :—Reprints, 13 ; Fiction, 6 ; Travel, 9; Biography and History, 10; Theology, 2; Eco- nomics, 7; Classics, 12; Religious, 2. Heinemann :—Reprints, 7; Fiction. 23; Travels, 2; Biography and History, 16. Sampson Low:—Fiction, 7; Travel, 3; Biography and History, 8; Theology, 4; Boys', 5. Constable:—Reprints, 7; Fiction, 8; Travel, 1; Poetry, 3; Religious, 3. Athenaeum, Sept. 26. Cambridge University Press:—Theology, 18; Oriental, 4; Classical, 5; Law, History, and Economics, 12; Belles Lettres, 5 ; Educational, 3; History, Biography, and Miscellaneous, 11. Messrs. Sonnenschein :—Philosophy and Theo- logy. 7 ; History, 12 ; Belles Lett rex and Art, 3; Reprints, 3; Miscellaneous, 4; Social Eco- nomics, 9. Mr. John Lane :—History, 2; Belles Lettres and Poems, 41 ; Fiction, 18. Seeley :•—Fiction, 2; Miscellaneous, 4. SIB JOHN ERICHSEN. BY the death of Sir John Erichsen the Society has lost a warm friend and supporter, while the medical and scientific world have lost one of its greatest lights. The career of Sir John has been one long succession of dist inguished work, • rewarded by distinguished posts. He became a member of the Royal College of Sur- geons in 1839, and a fellow in 1845. He lectured on physiology at Westmiuster Hospital, became assistant surgeon at University; professor of surgery there in 1850; Holme Professor of Clinical Surgery in 1865; he was put on the Council of the College of Surgeons in 1869; examiner in 1875; president in 1880. He was LL.D. of Edinburgh; F.R.S. ; fellow of many foreign societies; President of the Royal Medical and Chirurgical Society; senior surgeon to the Queen, with other posts of honour. He was the author of the "Science and Art of Surgery. He was made a baronet in 1895, but leaves no children. AUTHORS v- PRESSMEN. ri^HIS match, played for the first time last I year, and won by the Press Club, took place on Lord's Cricket Ground a day late, having l>een postponed from the previous Thurs- day through rain. The Press won the toss and put their rivals in, with the result that the Authors scored 216 for the loss of only one wicket. The feature of the game was the fine play of Dr. Conan Doyle, who scored 101 not out. During three hours' cricket he gave no chance, and hit eleven fours, five threes, and eleven twos. With Tyssen, who made 97, the Doctor put on 178 for the first wicket. The Press Club had just a little over an hour's play, and in this period lost six wickets for 81, so that they had much the worst of the draw. Score: Authors' Club. A. Conan Doyle, not out 101 C. A. Tyssen, e Jones, b Groves 97 G. Duckworth, not ont 8 Extras 10 •Total (1 wkt) 216 * Inningrs declared closed. G. H. Duckworth, H. A. Holt, G. C. Ives, E. R. Tottenham, J. M. Barrie, W. H. Winter, R. Bennett, A. S. Openheimer, and Frankfort-Moore did not bat. Press Club. G. Groves, c Duckworth, b IveB 24 H. B. Smith, c and b Holt 18 H. V. Jones, c Tissen, b Doyle 17 G. Bull, b Holt ° H. Preston, not out 12 W. T. A. Beare, b Holt 2 S. J. Southerton, b Doyle ° J. Barr, not out 3 Kxtras 5 Total 81 "J. Wilson." C. Edwards, and E. R. Ward did not bat. Daily Kexcr. ## p. 116 (#149) ############################################ A D VER TISEMENTS. iii LOWEST PRICES IN LONDON. Authors' MSS. correctly unci neatly oopieil at lOd. per lOOO words. Carbon Duplicates at 2d. ,, LEGAL AND GENERAL COPYING at Id. per folio. We have a skilled and irell educated staffi of operators. Give us a trial, and compare our work and jirices tcith those of other offices. LARGE ORDERS ESTIMATED FOR. Note our address— THE ECLIPSE TYPEWRITING AND SHORTHAND OFFICES, 28, FENCHURCH STREET. LONDON, E.C. Crown 8vo., cloth boards, price 6s. HATHERSAGE: A Tale of North Derbyshire. BY CHARLES EDMUND HALL, Author of " An Ancient Ancestor," &c. London: HORACE Cox, Windsor HouHe, Bream's-buildings. E.C. In demy 8vo., price 12s. net, by post 12s. 6d. Six Months in a Syrian Monastery. Being the Record of a Visit to the Headquarters of the Syrian Church in Mesopotamia, with some account of the Yazidis, or Devil Worshippers of Mosul, and El Jilwah, their Sacred Book. By OSWALD H. PARRY, B A. (Of Magdalen College, Oxford.) Illustrated by the Author. With a Prefatory Note by the Right Reverend the Lord Bishop of Durham. M The author of tin* haudsomc volume presents 1 a detailed Btudy of a relic of history pursued off the track of general research;' he has sought to give, and has succeeded in giving, *a picture of quiet life in a country much abused, and among a people lhat command less than their share of ordinary interest.' 1 West ward the tide of Empire takes its way,' sang a prophetic divine of the olden days, and no less certainly, as Mr. Parry points out, does the ebb of travel rwturn towards the East. . . . As a volume descriptive of life and travel among a distant people, his work is well worth reading, but for those persons who are more particularly concerned with the old Syrian Church, or in the solution of the problem indicated above, it is one of quite unique attraction. A pathetic interest attaches to the account of the Yazidis included in this volume for it contains part of their sacred writings, the original manuscript of which was in the hands of Professor Robertson Smith for translation at the time of his death.' —Pabluheri Circular. London: Horace Cox, Windsor House. Bream's-buildings, E.C. Now ready, price 2s. 0d., cloth. A FLYING VISIT TO THE AMEBICAN CONTINENT. WITH NOTES BY THE WAY. By F. DALE PAWLE. Ixindon: Horack Cox, Windsor House, Brenm's-buikllngs, jj q Crown 8vo., cloth boards, 3s. 6d. Crimean & other Short Stories. BY WILLIAM ADDISOOSr. CONTENTS.— An Adjutant's Adventure; an Episode of the Crimean Campaign—From an Uuseen World—Characteristic Stories of Royal Personages—The Tsar's Axe—An Indian Legend Modernised —A Love Test—Atta; or, The Circassian's Daughter—Father Con- fessor—His Word of Honour (from the German)—Dearer than Life— A Polish PrinceBS—The Evil Eye: a Story of Superstition—The Parson's Daughter—Old Love Never Rusts. London: HORACE COX, Windsor House, Bream's-buildings, E.C. RECENT VERSE. LYRICS. By Dr. J. A. GOODCHILD. Cloth lettered, price 5s. NORTH COUNTRY BALLADS. By HENRY TODD, Price fls. TALES IN VERSE. By Dr. J. A. GOODCHILD. Cloth lettered, price 5b. SONGS OF THE CASCADES. By ERL VIKING. Fcap. 8vo., cloth boards, 3b. 6d. SONGS OF THE PINEWOODS. By ARTHUR CAMP- BELL. Price 3s. 6d. THE FAIREST OF THE ANGELS, and Other Verse. By MARY COLBORNE-VEEL. Fcap 8vo., cloth boards, :1s. 6d. "Some of the shorter lyrics are much above the average, being clear in thought and musical in expression. The merits of the collec- tion are considerable."— The Bookman. THE WANDERER IN THE LAND OF CYBI, and other Poems (1886-93). By CLIFFORD BROOKS. Fcap. 8vo., cloth boardB, 3s. 6d. POEMS. By THOMAS BARLOW. Crown 8vo., bevelled boardB, gilt edges, price 58. POEMS. By LEWIS BROCKMAN. Crown Svo., cloth boarda, 5s. "The ballads are full of the spirit and directness of 8ty\e proper to the ballad."—Saturday Herieir. "Mr. Brockman is a writer of good poetic metvu .Alio <W** reading world will hear more of him yet."—(llas,^ * u •<— "The graceful smoothness of Mr. Lewis nVr. Her", ' «oeS&»' Daily Telegraph. ^V^s*^* "He 1b decidedly inventive, and often uighlv » .^e -oos^' The element of originality pervades the book. * tfC^ *^-\° v °* 'Ronald's Cross,' is well sustained . . . it "« , VMl .^i* ^ 'Mariner,' and it holds uB."~Queen. "A reader who values cultured sentiments tion will find much to admire."__^c0(j(,nan. London: Horack Cox, winc\80t y0usc, ## p. 116 (#150) ############################################ AD VER TISEMENTS. TEMPLE TYPEWRITING OFFICE. THE TYPEWRITING EXCEPTIONALLY ACCURATE. Moderate prices. Duplicates of Circulars by the latest process. References to the Society of Authors. • OPINIONS OF CLIENTS—Distinguished Author:—"The moat beautiful typing I have ever seen" Ladt or Title:—"The work was very well and clearly done." 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IN NEW SOUTH AFRICA. Travels in the Transvaal and Rhodesia. With Map and Twenty-six Illustration*. By II. LINCOLN TANOYE. CONTENTS. Introductory. PART I. Chapter I.—The Land of Gold and the Way there. ,, II.—Across Desert and Veldt. in.—Johannesburg the Golden. ,, IV.—A Transvaal Coach Journey. V.—Natal: the South African Garden. ,, VI—Ostracised in Africa. Home with the Swallows. PABT II —RAMBLES IN RHODESIA. Chapter I.—Eendragt Maakt Magt. II.—Into the Country of Lobengula. „ III.—The Trail of War. ,, IV.—Goldmining. Ancient and Modern. V.—Sic Transit Gloria Mundi. VI.—To Northern Mashonaland. .. VII.—Primitive Art. The Misadventures of a Wagon. Index. London: IIobace Cox. Windsor House, Bream's-buiMings, E.C. 35, =L8. GILL, TYPE-WHITING OFFICE, LUDGATE HILL, E.C. (ESTABLISHED 1883.) Authors' MSS. carefully copied from 1b. per 1000 words. Duplicate copies third price. Skilled typibts sent out by hour, day. or week. 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Now ready. Second Edition, BeTised and Enlarged. Crown 8vo., limp cloth. 2s. <;d. net; postage, 3d. extra. THE PRINCIPLES OF CHESS IN THEORY AND PRACTICE. james is^jf^sonsr. CONTENTS. — 1. Elements of Chess. 2. General Principles. 8. Combination. 4. Exposition of Master Play Complete. London: Horace Cox, Windsor House, Bream's-buildings, E.C. THE ART of CHESS. By James Mason. Price 5s. net, by post 5s. 4d. THE KNIGHTS and KINGS of CHESS. By the Rev. G. A. MACDONNELL, B A. With Portrait and 17 Illustra- tions. Crown 8vo.. cloth boards, price 2s. Cd. net. London: Horace Cox, Windsor House, Bream's-buildings, E.C. iPrinted and Published by Horace Cox, Windsor House, Bream's-buildings, London, E.C. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Author, Vol. 07 Issue 05 (October 1896) Subject The topic of the resource The Author, Vol. 07 Issue 05 (October 1896) Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015049239455" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015049239455</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Publication Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 1896-10-01-The-Author-7-5 publications The Author https://historysoa.com/files/original/5/294/1896-09-01-The-Author-7-4.pdf eded982ed313cf82c575cdcbd3d1f854 PDF Text Text �� Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Author Subject The topic of the resource The Author Description An account of the resource A digitised run of the Society of Authors' monthly periodical, The Author, 1890–1914, made available together for the first time. Currently users can browse issues and <a href="https://historysoa.com/items/browse?search=&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bjoiner%5D=and&advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=51&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Index&collection=&type=&tags=&exhibit=&date_search_term=&submit_search=Search+For+Items&sort_field=Dublin+Core%2CTitle">indices</a> (not available for all volumes). Full text search for all issues, and other additional search functionality, will be added in 2022. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1890–1914 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context The-Author-Issues Publication Date The date of an event (in YYYY, YYYY-MM or YYYY-MM-DD format) 1896-09-01 Volume 7 Issue 4 Pages Page range in volume 73–96 Ngram Date Version of the date in YYYYMMDD format for use by the Ngram plugin 18960901 Ngram Text Version of the text with no HTML formatting for use by the Ngram plugin Uhc Butbor* (The Organ of the Incorporated Society of Authors. Monthly.) CONDUCTED BY WALTER BESANT. Vol. VIL—No. 4.] SEPTEMBER i, 1896. [Price Sixpence. CONTENTS. • PAG* PAOK Warnings and Notices 73 National Bibliography S3 Literary Property— Notes and News. By the Editor 81 1. "The Fol'owing Favourable Terms" ... 75 Feuilleton— 2. Serial RlghtB 76 The Reputation of Bipplington si; 8. The First Book 77 Monsters in Fiction so 4. Pitts c. George and Co 77 Book Talk 91 6. The Associated Booksellers 78 Literature in the Periodicals :ti 6. Literary and Artistic Congress 80 Correspondence—1. To be Returned within a Certain Time. New York Letter SO 2. Injury by Detention. 8. The Title. 4. Literary Grab-alls. Reviewing 82 5. Criticism from a Commercial Point of View M PUBLICATIONS OF THE SOCIETY. 1. The Annual Report. That for January 1896 can be had on application to the Secretary. 2. The Author. A Monthly Journal devoted especially to the protection and maintenance of Literary Property. Issued to all Members. Back numbers are offered at the following prices: Vol. I., ios. 6d. (Bound); Vols. II., III., and IV., 8». 6d. each (Bound); Vol. V., 6s. 6d. (Unbound). 3. Literature and the Pension List. By W. Morris Colles, Barrister-at-Law. (Henry G-laisher, 95, Strand, W.C.) 3*. 4. The History of the Societe des Gens de Lettres. By S. Squire Sprigge, late Secretary to the Society, is. 5. The Cost Of Production. In this work specimens are given of the most important forms of type, size of page, Ac, with estimates showing what it costs to produce the more common kinds of books. Henry Glaisher, 95, Strand, W.C. 2s. 6d. 6. The Various Methods of Publication. By S. Squire Sprigge. In this work, compiled from the papers in the Society's offices, the various forms of agreements proposed by Publishers to Authors are examined, and their meaning carefully explained, with an account of the various kinds of fraud which have been made possible by the different clauses in their agreements. Henry Glaisher, 95, Strand, W.C. 3*. 7. Copyright Law Reform. An Exposit ion of Lord Monkswell's Copyright Bill now before Parlia- ment. With Extracts from the Eeport of the Commission of 1878, and an Appendix containing the Berne Convention and the American Copyright Bill. By J. M. Lely. • Eyre and Spottiswoode. is. 6d. 8. The Society of Authors. A Record of its Action from its Foundation. By Walter Bisant (qhairman of Committee, 188g_jgo2). Iir, 9. The ^Contract^ ^Publication ^ gennany, Austria, Hungary, and Switzerland. By Ernst ## p. 72 (#100) ############################################# 11 AD VER TISEMENTS. g>ocietp of Jluf^ots (gncotporaieb). Sie Edwin Aknold, K.C.I.E., C.S.I. Alfred Austin. J. M. Baerik A W. X Beckett. ?. E. Beddard, F.B.S. Robert Bateman. Sib Henrt Bergne, K.C.M.G. Sir Walter Besant. Augustine Birrell, M.P. Eev. Prof. Bonnet, F.B.S. Bight Hon. James Bryce, M.P. Bight Hon. Lord Burghclere, P.C Hall Caine. Egerton Castle, F.S.A. P. W. Clatden. Edward Clodd. W. Morris Colles. Hon. John Collier. Sir W. Martin Conwat. F. Marion Crawford. A. W. X Beckett. Sir Walter Besant. Egerton Castle. W. Morris Colles. PRESIDENT. a-ZEOZRO-IE MEREDITH. COUNCIL. The Earl of Desart. Austin Dobson. A. Conan Doyle, M.D A. W. Dubourg. Sir J. Eric Erichsen, Bart., F.B.S. Prof. Michael Foster, F.B.S. Bichard Oabnett, C.B., LL.D. Edmund Gosse. H. Bideb Haggard. 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Herbert Thring, B.A. OFFICES: 4, Portugal Street, Lincoln's Inn Fields, W.C. IE3. WATT & SO INT, LITERARY AGENTS, Formerly of 2, PATERNOSTER SaUARE, Have now removed to HASTINGS HOUSE, NORFOLK STREET, STRAND, LONDON. "W.C. WINDSOR HOUSE PRINTING WORKS, BREAM'S BTJ-IXjIDHTO-S, ZE.G. Offices of "The Field," "The Queen," "The Law Times," &e. Mr. HOEACE COX, Printer to the Authors' Society, takes the opportunity of informing Authors that, having a very large Office, and an extensive Plant of Type of every description, he is in a position to EXECUTE any PEINTLNG they may entrust to his care. ESTIMATES FORWARDED, AND REASONABLE CHARGES WILL BE FOUND. ## p. 73 (#101) ############################################# XI be Hutbor* (The Organ of the Incorporated Society of Authors. Monthly.) CONDUCTED BY WALTER BESANT. Vol. VII.—No. 4.] SEPTEMBER 1, 1896. [Price Sixpence. For the Opinions expressed in papers that are signed or initialled the Authors alone are responsible. None of the papers or para- graphs must be taken as expressing the collective opinions of the committee unless they are officially signed by G. Herbert Thring, Sec. THE Secretary of the Society begs to give notice that all remittances are acknowledged by return of post, and requests that all members not receiving an answer to important communications within two days will write to him without delay. All remittances should be crossed Union Bank 0/ London, Chancery-lane, or be sent by registered letter only. Communications and letters are invited by the Editor on all subjects connected with literature, but on no other sub- jects whatever. Articles which cannot be accepted are returned if stamps for the purpose accompany the MSS. GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS. are several methods of publishing by agree- ments. Thus (1) an author may sell his work for a sum of money down: (2) he may take a share of the profits: (3) he may accept a royalty. The first method is the readiest and, where a proper price is paid, perhaps the best. It involves a certain amount of risk or doubt as to the result on the part of the buyer, and a certain amount of hesitation on the part of the seller. The author would do well to sell through an agent. But let him beware as to his choice of agent. At a time when the production of new books involved great risks and where the possible circle of purchasers was very small, the publishers, joining together, took half the profits as a return for their risk and services. At the present time in many cases, where there are no risks, they often take two-thirds and even more of the profits, and that after setting apart a large sum for "office expenses," allowing the author nothing at all for his office expenses. In other words, it is as if a steward were to charge first for his office and desks and then to take half or two-thirds of the remainder for himself as steward's fee. Therefore the author must in every case ascertain carefully, before signing the agreement, what proportion is appropriate under its clauses by the publisher for himself. If the aa(L jg ja doubt, let him submit the agreement to the secret- r to one of the VOL. Til. *?> 0 literary agents recommended by the secretary. Above all things he must remember that in any business transaction the one who accepts an agreement in ignorance will quite certainly get the worst of it. The folly of signing in ignorance is the main cause of half the quarrels between author and publisher. In the case of profit-sharing agreements, remember that a very common form of getting the better of an author is the practice of advertising the book in the publisher's own organs, very likely magazines of small circulation. Sometimes, also, he " exchanges " advertisements with other magazines, and charges the author as if he had paid for them. In this way the publisher may put the whole profits of a book in his own pooket. One way to prevent this sharp practice is to insert a clause to the effect that advertisements Bhall only be charged at the actual price paid for them. A better way, however, is to agree beforehand upon the papers in which advertisements may be inserted. As regards the right of inspecting the books, that neeo not be claimed, because it exists as the right of every partner, or joint venturer. You have only to demand the inspection of the books by your solicitor, your accountant, or the secretary of the Sooiety. It' the book is a first book, or one that carries risk, it is fan- to make an arrangement for the first edition and another for the second, and following, if any. The publisher confers so signal a service upon the young author by producing his work at all—i.e., by giving him the chance he desires above all things—that it seems fair in such a case to yield him the larger share. In a profit-sharing agreement do not let the cost of pro- duction form a part of the agreement, otherwise you will be unable to contest it afterwards. It will be wisest never to enter into relations with any publisher unless recommended by the Society. There are many other dangers to be avoided. Serial rights: stamping the agreement: American rights: future work: cession of copyright—these things cannot possibly bo attended to by the young author. Therefore his agree- ment should always be shown to the secretary. It has been objected that these precautions presuppose a great success for the book, and that very few books indeed attain to this great success. That is quite true: but there is always this uncertainty of literary property that, although the works of a great many authors carry with them no risk at all, and although of a great n^oy it '8 known within a few copies what will be their mi^j^uw calculation, it is not known what will be their xh^jb«». Therefore every author, for every should success which may come. Therefore on the chance ot The four poijw , the ^ ^ A*«s» 4cmMv4e4 from the outset H *\ ve" («0 That K / ^vN5 n« W ^ mean.. ^'^ \ ^ ## p. 74 (#102) ############################################# 74 THE AUTHOR. (2.) The inspection of those account books which belong to the author. We are advised that this is a right, in the nature of a common law right, which cannot be denied or withheld. (3.) That there shall be no secret profits. (4.) That nothing Bhall be charged which has not been actually paid—for instance, that there shall be no charge for advertisements in the publisher's own organs and none for exchanged advertisements; and that all discoants shall bo duly entered. If these points are carefully looked after, the anthor may rest pretty well assured that he is in right hands. At the same time he will do well to send his agreement to the secretary before he signs it. HOW TO USE TEE SOCIETY. 1. in VERY member has a right to ask for and to receive Pi advice upon his agreements, his choice of a pub- lisher, or any dispute arising in the conduct of his business or the administration of his property. If the advice sought is such as can be given best by a solicitor, the member has a right to an opinion from the Society's solicitors. If the case is such that Counsel's opinion is desirable, the Com- mittee will obtain for him Counsel's opinion. All this without any cost to the member. 2. Remember that questions connected with oopyright and publisher's agreements do not generally fall within tho experience of ordinary solicitors. Thorefore, do not scruple to use the Society first—onr solicitors are continually engaged upon such questions for us. 3. Send to the office copies of past agreements and past accounts with the loan of the books represented. This is in order to ascertain what has been the nature of your agree- ments, and the results to author and publisher respectively so far. The Secretary will always be glad to have any agreements, new or old, for inspection and note. The infor- mation thus obtained may prove invaluable. 4. If the examination of your previous business trans- actions by the Secretary proves unfavourable, you should take advice as to a change of publishers. 5. Before signing any agreement whatever, send the pro- posed document to the Society for examination. 6. The Society is acquainted with the methods, and—in the case of fraudulent houses—the tricks of every publish- ing firm in the country. 7. Remember always that in belonging to the Society you are fighting the battles of other writers, even if you are reaping no benefit to yourself, and that you are advancing the best interests of literature in promoting the indepen- dence of the writer. 8. Send to the Editor of the Author notes of everything important to literature that you may hear or meet with. 9. The committee have now arranged for the reception of members' agreements and their preservation in a fireproof safe. The agreements will, of course, be regarded as con- fidential documents to be read only by the Secretary, who will keep the key of the safe. The Society now offers:—(1) To read and advise upon agreements and publishers. (2) To stamp agreements in readiness for a possible action upon them. (3) To keep agreements. (4) To onforce payments due according to agreements. THE AUTHORS' SYNDICATE. MEMBERS are informed: 1. That the Authors' Syndicate takes charge of the business of members of the Society. That it submits MSS. to publishers and editors, concludes agree- ments, examines, passes, and collects accounts, and, gene- rally, relieves members of the trouble of managing business details. 2. That the terms upon which its services can be secured will be forwarded upon detailed application. 3. That the Authors' Syndicate works only for those members of the Society whose work possesses a market value. 4. That the Syndicate can only undertake any negotiations whatever on the distinct understanding that those negotia- tions are placed exclusively in its hands, and that all communications relating thereto are referred to it. 5. That clients can only be seen by the Director by appointment, and that, when possible, at least two days' notice should be given. 6. That jvery attempt is made to deal with all communi- cations promptly. That stamps should, in all cases, be sent to defray postage. 7. That the Authors' Syndicate does not invite MSS. without previous correspondence; does not hold itself responsible for MSS. forwarded without notice; and that in all cases MSS. must be accompanied by stamps to defray postage. 8. That the Syndicate undertakes arrangements for lectures by some of the leading members of the Society: that it has a "Transfer Department" for the sale and purchase of journals and periodicals; and that a " Register of Wants and Wantod" is open. Members are invited to communicate their requirements to the Manager. There is an Honorary Advisory Committee, whose services will be called npon in any case of dispute or difficulty. It is perhaps necessary to state that the members of the Advisory Committee have no pecuniary interest whatever in the Syndicate. NOTICES. THE Editor of the Author begs to remind members of the Society that, although the paper is sent to them free of charge, the cost of producing it would be a very heavy charge on the resources of the Society if a great many members did not forward to the Secretary the modest 6s. 6d. subscription for the year. The Editor is always glad to receive short papers and communications on all subjects connected with literature from members and others. Nothing can do more good to the Society than to make the Author complete, attractive, and interesting. Will those who are willing to aid in this work send their names and the special subjects on which they are willing to write P Communications for the Author should reach the Editor not later than the 21 st of each month. All persons engaged in literary work of any kind, whether members of the Society or not, are invited to communicate to the Editor any points connected with their work which it would be advisable in the general interest to publish. Members and others who wish their MSS. read are requested not to send them to the Office without previously ## p. 75 (#103) ############################################# THE AUTHOR. 75 commusieating with the Secretary. The utmost practicable despatch is aimed at, and MSS. are read in the order in which they are received. It must also be distinctly under- stood that the Society does not, under any circumstances, undertake the publication of MSS. The Authors' Club is now open in its new premises, at 3, Whitehall-court, Charing Cross. Address the Secretary for information, rules of admission, Ac. Will members take the trouble to ascertain whether they have paid their subscriptions for the year? If they will do this, and remit the amount, if still unpaid, or a banker's order, it will greatly assist the Secretary, and save him the trouble of sending out a reminder. Members are most earnestly entreated to attend to the following warning. It is a most foolish and may be a most disastrous thing to enter into an agreement binding for a term of years. Let them ask themselves if they would give a solicitor the collection of their rents for five years to come, whatever his conduct, whether he was honest or dishonest? Of course they would not. Why then hesitate for a moment when they are asked to sign them- selves into literary bondage for three or five years P Those who possess the "Cost of Production" are requested to note that the cost of binding has advanced IS per cent. This means, for those who do not like the trouble of "doing sums," the addition of three shillings in the pound on this head. In other words, if the cost of binding is set down in our book at eight pounds, to this must now be added twenty-four shillings more, so that it now stands at jBq 4». The figures in our book are as near the exact truth as can be procured; but a printer's, or a binder's, bill is so elastic a thing that nothing more exact can be arrived at. Some remarks have been made upon the amount charged in the " Cost of Production" for advertising. Of course, we have not included any sums which may be charged for inserting advertisements in the publisher's own magazines, or in other magazines by exchange. As agreements too often go, there is nothing to prevent the publisher from sweeping the whole profits of a book into his own pocket, by inserting any number of advertisements in his own magazines, and by exchanging with others. Some there are who call this a form of fraud; it is not known what those who practise this method of swelling their own profits call it. LITERARY PROPERTY. I.—" The Following Favourable Tebms." THE two proposals which follow explain themselves. We have omitted the name of the author and the name of the firm. The secretary, however, will inform any members, who may desire to know the latter. D.ABSJB, July 24, tSofi. We have given this work our careful attention, and our opinion of it being favourable, we have decided to offer you the following favourable terms for its production and publication, viz.:— That in consideration of our printing 1000 copies of the book in the best style on good paper from new type, publishing at the popular price of 3s. (fi ^ jjandsome cloth, gold lettered, advertising to the amom,j r £1 a*1"* Riving you two-thirds of the proceeds of sal68 c 01 gteo *° Pay to us the sum of .£88—.£50 when you sign the agreement, and J638 when you see the last proofs. The above amount to constitute your sole' outlay, the copyright remaining your property. The expenses of all future editions to be borne entirely by us, we paying to you one half the profits. It may perhaps be superfluous to mention that reviewing, and all the many other technicalities of publishing necessary for placing the book on the market, would have our especial care. We should be glad of an early decision on our terms, as we are desirous of proceeding with the work without delay in order that it may be ready in good time for the autumn season, the best publishing season of the year. Faithfully yours, P.S.—The above payment is inolusive of revision and preparation for press. July 30, 1896. Dear Sib, We are in receipt of your favour, and regret to say we do not see our way to undertake publication on terms other than thoBe in which you at least make a payment. This is usual with new writers. We have, however, after careful reflection, decided to make you the following exceptional offer, viz.:— That you make payment of the sum of ,£70 (J640 on signing the agreement, and .£30 when you see the last proofs), and share with us in all sales of the work thus— that you receive three-fifths of the proceeds of sales on a first edition of 1000 copies. Afterwards half the profits on future editions, the expenses of which would be borne entirely by us. The expenses of advertising (full details of which would be sent you) to be a first charge on the total sales. Being anxious to meet you in the matter of terms, we have placed your payment at the lowest, consistent with good work and effective publishing. We can only now add that if you elect to entrust the publication with us, you may rely on our doing our best to make the book a suocess. Faithfully yours, We note on the above: (1) The first offer is for .£50 on signing the agreement and ,£38 on receiving first proof: but ,£15 to be spent on advertising. (2) The second offer is for ,£40 on signing the agreement and .£30 on receiving first proof. None of the money to be spent on advertising. (3) The publishers in their second offer reserve the power of spending what they please on advertising. (4) Under the first proposal the author gets two-thirds of the total proceeds of the first edition of 1000 copies. (5) Under the second, proposal he gets three- fifths of the total procee<^% Let us now Sflp UBder tU '^ost^wwaUe terms, how the autV . *0u\a Xe%A- ^suppose the whole of th^T°i t e^itit^V5^ °VeSS ""^ copies givex^ ft^ls J**! •W*e the aveLg^ nearly too* ^ V ## p. 76 (#104) ############################################# 76 THE AUTHOR. Now, under the first offer, Author pays <£88: receives two-thirds o f <£ioo —i.e., £66 13.9. 4</. Certain loss on the best possible event, £21 6s. Sd. By the second offer. Author pays ,£70. Receipts £100, less (say) =£15 for adver- tising = £8 5. Author receives three-fifths of ,£85—i.e., £51. Certain loss on the best possible event, £19. The author's certain loss at the best gives the publishers' highest profit. They take on the first offer ,£88, less .£15 for advertisements = .£73. To this must be added the interest on the money before printers, &c, are paid. Is it too much to set this down at 10 per cent.? Thus we have for the publisher's account: .£. *. d. Received from the author 73 o o Interest on ,£73 for six months at 5 per cent 3 13 o By one-third of sales 33 6 8 109 19 8 From this must be deducted the cost of pro- duction, which in such cases is conducted with an eye to cheapness. Perhaps it would amount to £70, seeing that the type is not probably stereotyped. On these figures, we observe that in the event of there being a sale of the whole edition (a very unlikely event) the publisher's profit would be somewhere about ,£40 and the author's loss would be about £20. Nothing, however, has been said about corrections. Under the second offer the publisher can do what he pleases about advertisements. The author's loss may, there- fore, be anything up to the amount paid over. Does this admirable result commend this way of publishing? We have not inquired what the publisher means by taking "reviewing" into his especial care. One would like to know what he does mean. It may be added that these letters are only samples. Dozens reach the secretary, all in the same temis. The following, for example, is another proposal from the same firm. The reader will mark the wonderful resemblance of the two proposals with the little differences of liability. August I0> 1896. Dear Madam, We have given this work our careful attention, and, our opinion of it being favourable, wo have decided to offer you the following favourable terms for its production and publication, viz.: That, in consideration of our printing 1000 copies of the book in the best style on good paper from new type, pub- lishing at the popular price of 6s. in handsome cloth, gold lettered, advertising to the amount of £2^, and giving you two-thirds of the proceeds of sales, you agree to pay to ub the sum of £go, £60 when you sign the agreement, and .£30 when you see the last proofs. The above amount to constitute your sole outlay, the copyright remaining your property. The expenses of all future editions to be bome entirely by us, we paying to yon one half the profits. It may, perhaps, be superfluous to mention that reviewing, and all the many other technicalities of publishing necessary for placing the book on the market, would have our especial care. We Bhonld bo glad of an early decision on our terms, as we are desirous of proceeding with the work without delay, in order that it may be ready in good time for the autumn season, the best publishing season of the year. Faithfully yours, II.—Serial Rights. The following paragraph should have been noticed last month. It appeared in the St. James' Gazette of July 7th. "Is the purchaser of the serial rights of a work of fiction entitled to go on producing the work as a serial for an indefinite number of times and for an indefinite period, if there is no express provision in the agreement to the contrary? A literary agent has, it seems, recently expressed the opinion that he is so entitled; and authors with serial rights to dispose of are recommended by a contemporary to insert in their agreements a limit of time for serial production. Seeing that it is common knowledge that publication in book form is to follow, that such publication is implied in the very fact of the separate sale of serial rights, one might have fairly supposed that it was an implied term of the bargain that the purchaser of the serial right should publish and finish publish- ing the serial within a reasonable time of the purchase. Will the Authors' Society take counsel's opinion upon the point?" This is purely a question of agreement. Serial rights are not, as a matter of fact, now under- stood to mean the first right of appearance, but the right of placing a work as a serial anywhere, and as often as can be arranged. Generally speaking, a novelist expressly states in his agreement that he sells only the first right of appearance in serial form; with, of course, a time limitation. There are, however, certain syndicates which buy " all serial" rights, meaning the right to place a work as a serial as often as they can find purchasers for it. This "second" right is so seldom worth anything that it would seem useless to make any stipulation about it. It would be well, however, if authors would take the precaution of seeing that their agreements reserve for them what they wish to be reserved. On the other hand, if a writer does not object to his work appearing here, there, and everywhere, why should he not let a syndicate buy that right? ## p. 77 (#105) ############################################# THE AUTHOR. 77 Suppose, however, that the point remains open: suppose that a syndicate purchases "the serial rights : " and that the question thus remains. "Do 'the serial rights ' mean only the right of publica- tion in serial form before the volume form 9" Or, in other words, does the recognised intention of the author to publish in volume form put an end to serial right after publication in volume form? If after, why not before? In fact, experience shows that publication in serial form does good, not harm, to volume form: and one cannot see why this established fact does not apply to " second rights a-i well as "first." One important syndi- cate, at least, in buying the whole serial rights expressly states this fact in its agreements. The authors, however, are in command of the situa- tion: they can refuse to sell more than they choose: if they limit "serial rights" to first appearance, they can do so. Is it worth while to ask counsel's opinion as to what is meant by "serial" rights when the words are already practically taken to mean the power of selling a work as a serial whenever, wherever, as often as, as long as, the buyer pleases and can find a market? III.—The Fibst Book, i. In your comments on my article on American Literature, and the injustice of the United States Copyright Act, especially in depriving the European author of the earnings of his first work, you say the English author loses those earnings in his own country also. Were this true, there would still remain much difference between voluntarily parting with one's property and being robbed of it. But is it true? Surely any man able to write a book is able to secure from a publisher an agreement that the royalty shall increase with the sales. Thus his success becomes his property. If any English author has been able to secure, for his first icork, such a sliding scale, I trust he will make the fact known. Moncuee D. Conway. a. My own experience of an author's first book is that he is lucky, indeed, if he gets it taken by any one on any terms, provided that he is not obliged to pay for its production and to pay a fancy price, in most cases. When a first book is so good as to be certain of success, which is very rare indeed, it is taken, of course, without hesitation. Most first books are paid for by the authors: a few> bow- ever, are accepted by an editor jfben thev are generally bought "right out" ^ ^0 publisher, when they often turn out extremely well—for the publisher. Thus a case is in my recollection in which a story was accepted by the editor and bought by the publisher for ,£50. It ran through the maga- zine, which thus got a novel for next to nothing: the magazine type served for the volume form: several editions have been printed: the publisher has done very well indeed. And the author ought not to grumble, because he had his first chance. I have never yet seen one agreement in which the author with his first book was offered a graduated royalty. There may be such agreements, but I have never seen any. My own first novel (in collaboration) was thus managed:' (1) It appeared in Once a fVeek for £100. (2) The authors printed it themselves, gave the book, bound, to the publishers, superintended the advertising, and gave a commission to the publishers. They printed 600 copies, all of which were taken. The publisher secured about £60; the authors about .£100. (3) The cheap form was then sold for five years to another firm for £50. (4) All rights were sold out, for, I think, ,£100. (5) An American firm sent £50. The authors, therefore, contrived to divide about ■£400. Not much, it is true, but in those days between the very popular authors and the less popular there was a much wider gulf than at present. The name of the book was " Ready Money Mortiboy," and I should be very glad to know how many copies of the book have been sold since its first appearance; not in any spirit of grumbling, because this selling of all rights for a small sum was then the practice, and it was not possible to do better with it. The sale outright continues to be the practice with some writers, and is a very good one, provided the proper price can be obtained. Now a new writer has no "proper price." It is quite impossible to say how far he will succeed, either from a literary or a commercial point of view. The above method is commended to a new writer who believes in his own work. He must not give bis MS. to the publisher to be printed but must print it himself. He must not give the publisher a free hand with the advertisements. He must give a liberal commission. He must be free with his Press copies. Perhaps be will lose something on his veiituve but lie will get what most he wants—his first ^a3>£fc- IV.—Pitts "In thi^ injunction ^ Co. {.The Times, ## p. 78 (#106) ############################################# 78 THE AUTHOR. any copies of a piece of music called 'La Filleuse,' by the celebrated composer, Joachim Eaff, or dealing with them so as to infringe the plaintiff's copyright therein. It appeared that the plaintiff was the assignee of the copyright in the piece of music in this country, and that the defendant had (inadvertently, as he alleged) purchased and sold about fourteen copies of the piece, which had been printed at Liepzig by the publishers and representatatives of the original proprietor, and published, so far as appeared, either at Brussels or Paris. The plaintiff now moved the court for an injunctiou. "Mr. Ingpen appeared for the plaintiff in support of the motion. "Mr. Scrutton, for the defendants, referred to section 10 of the International Copyright Act, 1844 (7 Vict. c. 12), prohibiting the importation of 'all copies of books wherein there shall be any subsisting copyright, printed or reprinted iu any foreign country except that in which such books were first published ;' and submitted that, as the copies sold by the defendant were printed at Leipzig, where the piece of music was first published, the case was within the exception con- tained in the section, and the action therefore could not be maintained. "Mr. Ingpen, in reply, referred to section 15 of the Copyright Act, 1842 (5 & 6 Vict. c. 45), as containing an absolute prohibition against the sale in this country of imported copies of books or music entitled to copyright, and contended that section 10 of the Act of 1844 was not an enabling enactment, but merely prohibitory, and that section 15 of the Act of 1842 therefore remained in full force. "Mr. Justice Kekewich said that section 15 of the Act of 1842 contained a prohibition against the importation into this country and sale of copies of works registered here, if unlawfully printed or reprinted. The Act of 1844 was an international Act, intended to support the inter- change of copyright obligations between this country and foreign countries, but not so as to exclude the right of what might be termed the 'domicile of origin' of the work. Accordingly that Act provided in effect that, where books were printed or reprinted in any foreign country in which they were first published, then the print- ing might be continued and they were not subject to the prohibition contained in the section. The law therefore was not transgressed if the books imported were first published in the domi- cile of origin. The pieces of music in this case were clearly published in Leipzig, the domicile of origin, and therefore, being law- fully printed, were not within the prohibitive part of section 10 of the Act of 1845 nor within the prohibition' contained in section 15 of the Act of 1842. '* The motion being, by consent, treated as the trial of the action, his Lordship accordingly gave judgment for the defendant." The above case was tried in the High Courts before Mr. Justice Kekewich, and from the deci- sion of that judge an appeal was entered. The case on appeal was heard at the end of the sittings, and, as the question of law is exceedingly difficult and complicated, the Justices of Appeal deferred judgment. They were unable, however, to fix a date in the last Session on which to deliver judg- ment, as the research into former Acts of Parlia- ment necessitated considerable labour. The case as it stands, however, is put down for considera- tion of the members of the Society, especially those who are writers of music, to whom it specially refers. The case comes under the Inter- national Copyright Act of 1844, and does not touch the Berne Convention on any point. It applies especially to those holders of musical copy- right, of whom there are many in the Society, as music is a universal language, and needs no trans- lation for its publication in a foreign country. It applies in a much less degree to holders of literary copyright, but it is possible that it might be desirous to publish a book in its original lan- guage in a foreign country. This is of course of infrequent occurrence, but such cases have occurred. When the final decision has been given by the Justices of Appeal, if given at the end of October, it will come most probably into the December number. _ _ V.—The Associated Booksellers. The following correspondence has been sent to the Author by the hon. secretary of this society :— Thb Associated Booksellers of Great Britain and Ireland. 370, Oxford-street, W. July 31, 1896. Gentlemen, On behalf of the Council I beg to bring before you the correspondence which has taken place between the Council of the Publishers' Association and ourselves, from which it will be seen that we have referred to "individual pub- lishers" with respect to clause 3 of our resolutions sent to them. Our Council therefore asks you to say definitely whether yon will be prepared to ooncede (perhaps gradually) the terms asked for in clause 3, which is worded as follows :— "3. That publishers recognise that immediate relief is necessary, by charging single copies of books pub- lished at 7s. 6d. and upwards, at a net price, which would be equivalent to the net cost when the odd copy is is taken with the usual discount at settle- ment." I remain, yours truly, Thomas Burleigh, Hon. Sec. ## p. 79 (#107) ############################################# THE AUTHOR. 79 Copy of resolution sent to Mr. C. J. Longman, the presi- dent of the Publishers' Association :— "That the Council having received from Mr. Longman a report of the meeting held on the 21st inst. (November), regret that the publishers decline to appoint a committee to meet the booksellers. They note, however, with satisfaction the formation of a Publishers' Association, and trust that when the new society is fully organised arrangements will be made for the meeting of the councils of the two bodies, as they are convinced it is only by the co-operation of pub- lishers with booksellers- that any improvement can bo effected in the condition of the retail trade. II. St. Dnnstan's House, Fetter-lane, London, E.C. March 27, 1896. To Thomas Burleigh, Esq., Hon. Sec. The Associated Booksellers of Great Britain and Ireland, 370, Oxford-Btreet, W. Dear Sib, Your letter to the president of the Publishers' Associa- tion dated March 17 was considered at the first meeting of the Council, held yesterday, and I was requested to inform you that, if at any time the Booksellers' Association will submit to the Council of the Publishers' Association any definite question with a view to a joint discussion, the Pub- lishers' Association will be very happy to take it into con- e ideration, and, if found desirable, to arrange a meeting, but they do not regard a conference, without any definite object, as likely to lead to satisfactory results. Yours faithfully, R. B. Mabston, Secretary (pro tern.) of the Publishers' Association. ra. Copy of resolution sent to the hon. secretary of the Pub- lishers' Association:— "It having been conclusively proved that no combination of booksellers alone can deal with the excessive discounts which render the trade unprofitable to most retailers, the Council of the Associated Booksellers request the Pub- lishers' Association to meet them to discuss the following proposals:— "1. That all books published at net prices be sold at the full price. "2. That no greater discount than 25 per cent, be allowed upon books published on the old terms, and that steps be taken to enforce both these regula- tions. 3. That publishers recognise that immediate relief is necessary, by charging single copies of books pub- lished at 78. 6d. and upwards at a net prioe, whioh would be equivalent to the not cost when the odd copy is taken with the usual discount at settlement. In the event of their not being prepared to do this (meet the Council for the purpose of discussing these proposals), the Publishers' Association be asked to make suggestions for joint co-operation." IV. Publisher's Association, Stationers' Hall, E.C. May 8, 1896. T. Burleigh, Esq. Hon Sec. Associated Booksellers of Great Britain and Ireland, 370, Oxford-atreet, W- Dear Sir, The Council of the Publishers' Asj^.t:oD have given very careful consideration to your ioftej\ oTil 20- VOL. VII. The proposals contained in it have already been circulated by your Society among the publishers individually, and have been fully discussed by them at a meeting held before the Publishers' Association was formed. The Council of the Association think it right to inform you that they cannot entertain the adoption of any plan which would involve a system of coercion or " boycotting' on their part, and it appears to them that the portion of your Council's resolution embodying proposals 1 and 2 depends entirely on such a system: they therefore feel that thoy would not be justified in entering into any discussion upon this matter. If the Associated booksellers desire to modify their pro- posals in view of this decision, the Council of the Publishers Association will be most happy to consider carefully any suoh amended suggestiona- I am, dear Sir, yours faithfully, Wm. Poulten, Secretary. Copy of Resolution sent to the Publishers' Association:— "The Council regret that the Publishers' Association declines to discuss clauses 1 and 2 of their proposals, with- out which, in their opinion, no improvement in the present condition of the trade is possible." "The Council point out that the system of publishing books at net prices was introduced by publishers as a remedy for underselling, and fear that the Publisher's Asso- ciation in declining to take any steps to maintain those prices, thereby dooms the net system to failure." "The Counoil desire to know the decision of the Pub- lishers' Association with regard to clause 3 of their pro- posals, and whether the Publishers' Association is prepared to make alternative proposals as to clauses 1 and 2." The Publishers' Association, Stationer's Hall, London, E.C, July 24, 1896. Dear Sib, In reply to your communication of the 5th ult., I am directed to inform you that the Council of the Publishers' Association have no alternatives to suggest with regard to clauses 1 and 2 of your proposals, and with respect to clause 3, I am to say, that the Council consider the subject to bo a matter for arrangement by individual publishers. Yours faithfully, Wm. Poulten, Secretary. Mr. T. Burleigh, Hon. Sec. Associated Booksellers, 370, Oxford-street, W. VI. The Associated Booksellers of Great Britain and Ireland, 370, Oxford-street, W. July 31, 1896. Dear Sir, At a Council meeting held last night I was requested to acknowledge tho receipt of your letter of the 24th inst., and to call the attention of your Council to the following extracts from the report of the meeting held on Nov. 21 last, and sent to me officially by Mr. Longman. "Mr. Murray said,' It has long l°oen *e^" ^at some union or association of publishers tQ ^cal matters such as that before them and many OVW8 »5e(A™8 tneit «*tol08t should be formed.'" "It was the ._0uB op\- e ^meelangtnat, it was only by the fot^^n{ wxa^Ho*^^V"MiaW« eoutt satisfactorily ftJ£^W Tho Council are now reft Vi»\^<"wANta* 'bhkSu f ## p. 80 (#108) ############################################# 8o THE AUTHOR. rogret that their proposals have not been placed before the members of the Publishers' Association for discussion. I remain, yours truly, Thomas, Burleigh, Hon. Seoretary. Mr. Wm. Poulten, Seoretary the Publishers' Association. VI.—Literary and Artistic Congress. Berne, Aug. 24. The International Congress on Literary and Artistic Copyright has resolved to take steps to secure the speedy ratification of the results of the Paris conference of this year and obtain a reform of the copyright laws in the different States, particularly Great Britain and Germany. With this object the International Literary and Artistic Association will enter into communication with the societies of authors and jurists in those countries.—Daily Chronicle. NEW YORK LETTBE. Aug. 14, 1896. STONE and KIMBALL have just issued an enlarged edition of the Poems of George Santayana, which were first published in 1894. Mr. Santayana, although as yet known to few, is a tempting subject of panegyric to those who believe that he is writing the best poetry produced to-day in America. This is not the highest praise, perhaps, because our level in verse just now is rather low, but one goes further in saying that many of the most intelligent people of Cambridge (the seat of Harvard University) and Boston, the two places in which his work is best known, believe that his poetry is destined to last and to grow in esteem. He is a teacher of philosophy in the University, just over thirty years of age, half Spanish, a Catholic, although one of the subtlest sceptical critics that Harvard has produced. His "Sense of Beauty," which has already been mentioned in these letters, when published by Scribner in the fall, will probably do more to make him known than these poems. Not that he writes bettor in prose (for it is hard to say in which form he has greater excellence), but for the natural reason that a great house like Scribners can give the book a circulation which a new firm like Stone and Kimball can not. Mr. Santayana is now in England, and will spend a year there, after which he will return to Harvard. The poems have a sort of second simplicity both in thought and expression, the result of long brooding by an imaginative and analytical temperament, and their technical qualities are high; they are entirely original, but they suggest occasionally that two of the author's favourite poets are Petrarch and Shakespeare. As I am one of those who believe in an important future for the poems, I take space for two of the more recent sonnets: We were together, and I longed to tell How drop by silent drop my bosom bled, I took some verses full of you, and read, Waiting for God to work some miracle. They told how love had plunged in burning hell One half my soul, while the other half had fled Upon love's wings to heaven; and you said: "I like the verses; they are written well." If I had knelt confessing " It is yon, You are my torment and my rapture too," I should have seen yon rise in flushed disdain: "For shame to say so, be it false or true!" And the sharp sword that ran me through and through, On your white bosom too had left a stain. When I survey the harvest of the year And from time's threshing garner up the grain, What profit have I of forgotten pain, What comfort, heart-locked, for the winter's cheer P The season's yield is this, that thou art dear, And that I love thee, that is all mv gain; The rest was chaff, blown from the weary brain Where now they treasured image lieth cloar, How liberal is beauty that, but seen, Makes rich the bosom of her silent lovor! How excellent is truth, on which I lean! Yet my religion were a charmed despair, Did I not in thy perfect heart discover How beauty can bo true and virtue fair. In connection with what I said last month of the literary work being done in New York by painters, should be mentioned one of the most important books of the fall, soon to be announced by the Scribners. E. W. Blashfield is one of our most prominent painters. His interest in litera- ture, including naturally the literature of art, is keen, and his wife is a scholarly woman and a practised writer, who has lived a great deal in Italy. They will bring out this fall the only edition of Vasari published in England since that of Mrs. Foster. It will be an Edition dc Iv.re, in four volumes, with forty-eight photogravure reproductions of important paintings. Only the most prominent lives will be given, seventy in all. The men whose work is now unknown, mostly contemporaries of Vasari and important to him because of his personal interest in them, are omitted. As Mrs. Foster's text has become so familiar to the Euglish world, her translation will be kept, slight corrections being marie in notes where her lack of acquaintance with Italy led her to fail in seizing certain turns of expression. The greatest value of the new book, however, will be in the historical, critical, and philological notes, which practically amount toa summary of the results of the new school of Art criticisms, supjwrted by a thorough personal knowledge of Italy and ## p. 81 (#109) ############################################# THE AUTHOR. 81 the technical understanding of a painter. The last Italian editionof Vasari, that of Gaetano Milanesi, published in nine volumes in 1882, the result of the work of seven or eight scholars for several years, has been the main authority for names, dates, &c. The work of the Italian scholars who write for the Archivio, of the Frenchmen who write for the Gazette des Beaux Arts, the Courier de VArt, of the German scholars in the various periodicals, and the comparatively little done by the English and Americans, by Middle- ton, Rossetti, Berenson, C. C. Perkins, Loeser, and others, have been freely drawn on. Of course the Italian scholars form the main basis of this part of the work. All of the recent discoveries of concrete things, such as the framework of the Donatello altar at Padua, the singing galleries for the Delia Robbias in Florence, &c., are noted, and make it possible to see many of the works spoken of by Vasari more as he saw them than has been before possible. The estimates of the painters, which are added to the lives, are written by the two authors in conjunction, and combine technical criticism with more general appre- ciation. Last month I spoke rather severely of criticism in this country. One reservation should be made in favour of that kind of critical work intended for students in schools and colleges, which is now excellent. For instance, G. E. Woodberry, one of our first scholars, is seeing through the press an edition of Tennyson to appear this month in the series of English works being published by Longmans, Green, and Co., under the general direction of Professor George R. Carpenter, of Columbia, who has been able to get the various books of the series done by the leading teachers of English, on account of the decided wave of interest which has been growing here for some years. The series has been a marked success. In the fall the Scribners will publish twenty or more "Poems of Childhood" by Eugene Field, set to music by various composers, most of them by Reginald de Koven, the most popular of American song writers. It is to be called " The Field de Koven Song Book." The popularity of Mr. Field seems to be on a steady increase since his death. Most of these songs were written and set to music long ago, before either Mr. Field or Mr. de Koven was known to the world. Roberts Brothers, of Boston, have in prepara- tion a volume of the poems of Emily Dickinson, the strangely vivid New England spinster, whose poems and letters made a sensation here when they were published under the augpjce* °* Col. T. W. Higginson, who discovered ^e unknown writer and hailed her as a ge^,- g^e then became a decided fad for some time, and the death of the fad seems to have left a steady interest in her work, which is very crude, but intelligent and entirely typical of New England feeling away from the centres of population. A new writer from Chicago is launched by the Harpers in the recently published novel '' Jerry the Dreamer," by Will Payne, financial editor of a Chicago daily, the Chronicle. Houghton, Mifflin and Co. are collecting letters for a sixteen volume edition of the Life and Letters of Harriet Beecher Stowe. Statistics which I sent some months ago showed that "Uncle Tom's Cabin " is second in popularity to Hawthorne's "Scarlet Letter" among American novels of standing. It will probably always be popular enough as a story as well as important enough as a document, to keep Mrs. Stowe's name a leading one in our literature, but as it succeeded more because it was a timely tract of power, than because of its artistic merits, it can hardly be expected that the author's relative importance will continue as great as it is now. Of the other eminent American writer who has died this year, Oliver Wendell Holmes, the contrary is true. His work depends in no way on any occasional interest, but has taken its place, apparently permanently, not very near the top, but well up, and some of his books make part of the instinctive thought of the New England people. Publishing, like every other business, is suffer- ing from the silver scare. All houses are trying to keep down their expenses, and some which were spending money with absolute freedom in the spring, are now running on as small an out- lay as possible. Campaign literature, so called, is what there is most demand for. There is a good deal of talk among writers here about the possibility of making interesting novels and treatises out of the emotional wave that has swept over the West and South for the last few years, but as yet nothing which is really literature has resulted from the silver craze. "Coin's Financial School," the famous book now dead, which ran like fire over the country two years ago, was merely laughed at by the Eastern press, which has either never appreciated the existence of the silver feeling, or has thought it best not to state it. Reports from the representatives of our Eastern dailies are received \$. two forms; one in- tended for publication, ano^et teUmg tbe editors privately how nvucb. more pt\0\1B ttve danger is than it would be Wt to stav- * ouemo^VjmNew York City has \ \ come ^ Joso^ *0T sftveT' and the most J .-ent ^SSL, ^v «-W»k *° the poorer ^ T? ago from su^N O^W A* * * Bryan, without! J 0* .Tr^ V ## p. 82 (#110) ############################################# 82 THE A UTHOR. The success here of the stage versions of two popular English novels last year, "Trilby" and "The Prisoner of Zenda," has led to a determina- tion by the managers to put on this year several plays made out of popular novels. Weyman's "Under the Red Robe," Hope's "Throso," Barrie's "Little Minister," Bourget's " Tragic Idyll," and Mrs. Burnett's "Lady of Quality," are already arranged for. Norman Hapoood. REVIEWING. TI ^HE Daily Chronicle reports that certain I publishers have met together to consider the practice of appropriating whole pages of a book under the title of a review. It might be as well, we observe, if authors also had a word to say upon this subject, which seems to concern those whose reputation is at stake even more than those to whom their money is the only con- sideration. The whole question of reviewing, not this point or that point, ought surely to be taken up by the Society of Authors, either in conjunction with the Society of Publishers, or separately. The limits of appropriation or quotation must, of course, form part of the subject . A review which picks out and publishes all the "plums," obviously makes it unnecessary for the reader to buy the book. For instance, to quote a case now about twelve years old, the "Recollections of Anthony Trollope," published after his death, contained a great many interesting stories. A copy was given to the present writer: for some reason he could not read the book for some months: when at last he found time to o]x?n it he discovered that, in one review or another, he had already become acquainted with every good thing in the two volumes. But, it may be urged, this writer was in the habit of reading all the reviews. One did not need to read all the reviews in order to learn the good things. Many of them quoted shame- lessly. Men at clubs, also, do turn over the leaves of many reviews. The practice, it is everywhere acknowledged, is unfair. How. is it to be stopped or remedied? The reviewer, to whom quotation means a saving of time and work, says that to give his readers a fair idea of the work he must quote from it. This is probably true in many cases. Yet one must not quote everything. The only step possible is a remonstrance with the editor. But that remon- strance must come from a body, not from an individual. Hitherto the individual has spoken. The Athenseum, say, prints his letter; no com- ment is made upon it, nor any answer attempted, and the question drops. The remonstrance has been thrown away. An association which seriously takes up the question and presents a remon- strance is another matter altogether. A second, and a more serious reason for remon- strance, is the personal element. There are still, unfortunately, in the world of letters many per- sonal enmities. Where the author, if a well- known man, is a resident of London and a fre- quenter of London clubs, it is pretty certain that he has made enemies; indeed, it is impossible to take a side on any of the questions which arise perpetually in the world of art and letters without making enemies. It should be, therefore, the special care of every editor to intrust a book for review to no one who is known to cherish personal enmity towards the author under review. Everyone behind the scenes; everyone who knows the staff of this or that journal; under- stands that if certain reviewers get the chance they will "slate" certain writers. The danger is perhaps equally great that they will log-roll other writers. Here, again, the protest of a single person is of no avail, while an association would be able to speak with such authority as it possesses from the reputation and the jnumber of its members. Another point is the reviewing of books in a batch. The practice is to be condemned, if only from the editor's point of view, as well as the author's. As regards the editor, by allowing books to be reviewed in the batch, he takes the surest and simplest way of destroying the literary weight and authority of his columns. Where a book is singled out for criticism and stands alone upon the page, that fact gives it special impor- tance. There are cases recorded in which a review of this kind in an important paper has instantly made the fortune of a book. But where a dozen books are reviewed all together, what is said for or against each matters prac- tically little. The "batch" are neither much advanced nor much hindered by what is said of them in the collection. There is another and a much more serious objection to this course. Some journals assign a space so insufficient, with an amount of pay so inadequate, that it is absolutely impossible for the reviewer even to read the works on which he pro- fesses to pronounce a judgment. Thus, there are papers which cram into a single column a dozen books. The reviewer (?) has to provide this column once a week for a guinea or so. It stands to reason, since a man cannot live on a guinea a week, that he cannot afford to read the books, which would indeed take more than a week to read if he did nothing else. What does he do, then? He falls back upon generalities, praising ## p. 83 (#111) ############################################# THE AUTHOR. 83 or blaming in vague terms, and quite at random. It is naturally easier and safer to damn a book than to praise it, because the latter demands the discovery of certain definite qualities which can only be found by reading. What possible weight, however, can such a notice carry with it? What must be the literary character of a paper which -carries on its critical branch in such a way? How much better to pick out a single work and to insist that the reviewer should give time to read the book? Such a system seems little better than money thrown away, and space wasted. Another, and a very important, consideration is the fitness of the writer for the work entrusted to him. The most incompetent persons are notoriously, in some papers, entrusted with the reviewing of books — young beginners in journalism; men and women who have not even read the literature of the day; men of the Bohemian smoking room, who review the dainty works of cultured gentlewomen; ladies who shrink from strength review works full of the strongest meat; persons ignorant of history review special studies in history; poetry is given to men of science; and science, perhaps, to young gentlemen fresh from a classical first at Oxford. These points, it will be observed, are only a few of those which await consideration on the great subject of reviewing. We are not bringing charges, we state only certain notorious facts which, indeed, are never found in certain journals except by accident. Why should they be found at all, considering not only the injustice done to authors, but also the mis- •chief done to a paper by the mere suspicion of log- rolling, personal animosities, and judgments pronounced on books which are not even read? NATIONAL BIBLIOGRAPHY. THESE has just been published at the Library Bureau, 10, Bloomsbury-street, London, a very full work on " The Theory of National and International Bibliography, with Special Reference to the Introduction of System in the Record of Modern Literature." The author of it, Mr. Frank Campbell, has been connected for twelve years with the library of the British Museum. International bibliography, he ex- plains, has for its object the promotion of rational uniformity in methods of recording national literature, so that any individual nation may be able to obtain the whole or separate sectional parts of the literary records of other State, based upon a common intelligiM gygtem; and that each State may be able wi^ e Aiffica&Y to VOL, VII. obtain exact records of the literature on any subject issued throughout the whole world, independently of geographical or political divisions. The only way to accomplish this is for each State to agree to three things: 1. Each State is to agree to record its literature com- pletely year by year. 2. To record it according to its natural divisions and subdivisions. 3. To use the full title of a work as the unit and movable factor on which all subsequent work depends. Given the issue of a certain number of works in a certain area during a certain period, there should be, says the author, a complete record of them for the use of the reading public, such record to be issued in a convenient form at con- venient intervals of time. Where circumstances permit, the national libraries should be the centres of national systems of bibliography, because these, and these only, receive a complete collection of the national literature. He regards it as an absolute necessity that each country should issue a proper bibliographical guide to the more special collections to be found in the several libraries throughout each country, such as the French Government has published for some years under the title of "Annuaire des Bibliotheques et des Archives," to do what the "Jahrbuch der Musikbibliothek Peters" does for public and private hbraries in Europe in presenting a clue to their more special contents. Mr. Campbell has much to say of the inacceS' sibility of official documents, and, though to a less degree, the publications of the learned societies. His book was published in the middle of August, but a month earlier an international conference of representatives of scientific societies from all parts of the world was held, under the presidency of Sir John Gorst, in London, at which it was resolved to compile and publish by means of some international organisation a com- plete catalogue of scientific literature, arranged according both to subject matter and to authors' names, in which regard shall be had, in the first instance, to the requirements of scientific inves- tigators, to the end that these may find out most easily what has been pubhshed concerning any particular subject of inquiry. This work has been increasing so rapidly that the Royal Society was no longer able to cope with it through its catalogue, therefore, at it^^ateuee,Her Majesty's Government BUmmotied cotvlexeuce. It may x "^clO made an be assumed tW M*- Qvu-otfc^^0 maAe an appeal to men 1 0n\euc% »«0 to come in the The Si ## p. 84 (#112) ############################################# 84 THE AUTHOR. is minutely set forth in the book, and will afford plenty of scope for the study and criticism of fellow-librarians. As a matter of more imme- diate interest to authors, however, Mr. Campbell's discussion of the influence of the copyright laws on the question may be quoted. After remarking that in the laws of our smaller colonies news- papers are in many instances exempt from regis- tration, and that a considerable amount of often valuable matter comes generally under the name of "Annual Reports," and is therefore exempted from registration, Mr. Campbell points out that a yet more important factor is that which refers to the legal period within which a work may be deposited. "No person is entitled to a copy- right," says the American law, "unless he shall . . . not later than the day of publication thereof . . . deliver . . . copies of such copyright book, &c." In this country, however, the law allows a wide margin of time, and the result is, says Mr. Campbell, that— Whereas in America they have the possibility of initiating a perfect system of periodical subject-catalogues up to date, we cannot do so until the law is altered. This would be no hardship to the publishers, as the issue of periodical subject-catalogues suggested would serve to advertise the publications considerably. And of course it is inferrred that the author and the bookseller would in the same way benefit from such advertisement of the publication. It is essential to the success of the scheme, says Mr. Campbell, that works to be copyrighted must be delivered at the national libraries on the day of publication. NOTES AND NEWS. THE following is another instance of the confusion of thought into which people fall in talking of literature. There are various confusions; the most common is that of mixing up the literary with the commercial value of a work. Here is a writer who complains to the Daily Chronicle that a circulating library will not take his work on account of a single paragraph alleged to be immoral; he asks whether a circu- lating library is to set itself up as a censor of literature. A bookseller, in reply, writes that he refuses to offer for sale any books which he con- siders prejudicial to morals. For instance, this offending paragraph, from his point of view, destroys the commercial value of the book. Observe that he does not touch on its literary value. Now, both sides are right. Conductors of the library, or any booksellers, have a perfect right to say, "Out of the great mass of new books offered to us we shall refuse any which we think open to charges of immorality. We shall do this for two reasons: our own reputa- tion, which means our success in business; and our own conscience. And we shall decide for our- selves what we consider immoral in reading or in, tendency, and we shall not argue about it or defend ourselves." Of course, a bookseller who would refuse, on these grounds, to procure a book in great demand might be liable to lose customers; but that is for himself to consider. On the other hand the author is quite right in protesting against any bookseller calling himself a censor of literature. This he cannot be, and cannot claim to be, because he is not, generally, a critic or a scholar. But does he, in fact, advance such a claim Y He says, on the contrary, this : " The book may be the finest work of genius ever produced. That has nothing to do with me. I say that I will not sell immoral books. I think that this is an immoral book; and I will not. sell it." Saying this is not constituting him- self a censor of literature, but a defender, up to his own powers, of public morals. If he chooses to exercise vigilance of this kind he may become, it is true, a great nuisance in being nasty-par- ticular, but he remains within his rights. More- over, there is a certain Act of Parliament which obliges a bookseller to be careful as to the books he buys and sells. If the aggrieved writer would take this view of the case he might perhaps alter the paragraph with as much protest, public or private, as he pleases. Surely, for a young writer it would seem well to accept a ruling which makes so great a difference in his access to the public. Let him reflect that the one thing essential to a young writer is access to a wide public; and there is no machinery which can do so much for the young writer in this way as a great circulating library. 3ij The confusion of literary with commercial value is one which is often shown in other ways. A certain writer, I read in a paper recently, received no more than so much for his latest work, " and that was more than it was worth." This phrase- is constantly occurring. Now, literature cannot be measured by any pecuniary standard; art of all kinds, painting, sculpture, poetry, the drama, fiction, belles lettres, may be bought and sold,, but no work of art can be appraised by any sum of money as representing its artistic and literary value. If all the world possessed perfect taste, then the commercial value might, in a certain sense, represent the literary value. As that can never be the case, the commercial value must always be kept separate from the other. If we do this we shall no longer think it necessary to be indignant because one writer, whose literary ## p. 85 (#113) ############################################# THE AUTHOR. 85 standard is low, circulates by the hundred thousand, while another, who produces literature of the highest kind, hardly runs through two or three thousand. _ o Here is a somewhat remarkable experience. Perhaps a similar application has been made to others. I received a letter written by a man of whom I know nothing: he stated that a certain man of letters, not an unknown writer at all, had sustained losses; he did not explain in what way these losses were incurred: he further stated that his friends were making up a purse to meet these losses: and he proceeded to demand from me a cheque for fifty pounds! I may add that the gentleman in question is not in any sense a friend of mine: T. have, however, conversed with him on two or three occasions. Fifty pounds I was called upon to pay down at once! There was, of course, no explanation of any authority by which the writer acted, nor can T believe that he was authorised by the gentleman concerned to ask for fifty pounds. He did not get that cheque. He then wrote asking how much I meant to give: assuming, you see, that one was in duty or honour bound to give, without any knowledge of the details, and being under no other obligation than belongs to membership in the same profes- sion. If every member of the Society of Authors were called upon to pay ,£50 to a member in trouble, that member would receive about .£70,000, which would keep him and his out of trouble for the third and fourth generation. Imagine, if you can, a barrister called upon to give £50 to another banister simply because he belonged to the Bar! I was weak enough to reply to this letter, and stated my intention of giving nothing. The writer of the letters replied as one might expect. He regretted that he thought I was one who would, &c, &c, Ac.: and it would be his "duty" to lay the letter before the gentleman on whose behalf he was writing. I suppose he has done so by this time: and I trust that he has learned, first, that if you want assistance, you must state your case fully: next, that you must not ask for impossible sums: thirdly, that you must not demand anything as a right. It has been suggested that the letter was a little trap. First, you tell a man to hand over a great cheque: you know that he will refuse: you then have an opportunity to tell people what a miserly, mean, uncharitable beast he is. I tell this little story because I should like to know if others have had the same kind of letter from the same person. Mr. Robert Sherard writes to th„ jifesttninster Gazette that Mr. Warren, for certain readers of the Author subscribed a small sum two months ago, is dying of dropsy in his eighty- fifth year. More and more it becomes imperative upon us to form a pension fund for men and women of letters. Some time ago, when the creation of such a fund was spoken of in these columns, a certain critic, or reviewer, or writer, in an evening paper, asked, with the bitterest contempt, if we were going to give pensions to unsuccessful novelists. It is a strange and mar- vellous thing to note the unreasonable jealousy with which anything proposed for the good of the literary profession is received by a certain class of writers. Of course the first and essential point about a pension fund is that it must be given to those who have been either wholly or in large part dependent upon literary work—which excludes all your unsuccessful novelists. Oh! for a man with leisure, and enthusiasm, and private means, who would take up this pension business, and work it! The following donations have been added to the Eliza Warren Fund since the publication of our two former lists:—■ Marshall, Miss ... Newbald, Miss ... Oetzmann, Messrs. Parr, Mrs o 10 Stables, Mrs 1 o £ s. d. o 10 o 050 220 £ s. Chapman, the Misses 2 o Editor of Book- bits (per) o 15 Harger, Madame.. 1 o Henderson.MisB... 05 The total amount received by Miss Masters is now £55 as. id. i--rT It is stated that Mr. David Douglas, publisher, of Edinburgh, has issued a reprint of the addresses delivered by Lord Kosebery, at Dum- fries, on the Burns "Centenary of July 21. I have sent for a copy, which costs no more than sixpence, and is worth—but, as was advanced above, its worth cannot be translated into six- pences. . Why are American magazines devouring and destroying our own? The contents do not seem to be more readable or interesting: yet ours— except the Pall Mall and some of the so-called "popular " magazines—seem affected with a kind of dry rot. Here is one feason which, I think, will be acknowledged by ^veryone. In America magazines are cavried throv^—v. QjB'jort-omoe at one cent, per lb. wei&i t The A $.AcaJB. ^to^rVetor can, therefore, recefc£ 0. avAs^f „xi ww^ftl *nffing, ^ f^eta r j55 to o-O^postage ?° Hi that VW I» Z&i agents, >tj \^V* ^ ^v0 ## p. 86 (#114) ############################################# 86 THE AUTHOR. or "jd. a month against the American's n\d. Now an increase of $d. in each copy when you multiply by thirty, or even ten, thousand is enormous. It means the power of getting the best work from the best writers at the highest prices: the power of engaging the services of the best editors, their whole time, their whole thought. In short, it means the substitution of a prosperous magazine such as are many of the American organs, for a half starved, inefficient journal such as are some of ours. Will Mr. Henniker Heaton tak* this grievance in hand? TO AUTHORS—Plots, Novels, and Short Stories, fo Sale j uniqueness and originality guaranteed; terms from 2s.; advice given; stories revised. The above advertisement is cut from an impor- tant provincial paper. Perhaps the address of the advertiser, for certain reasons, is best with- held. There must be, one supposes, some persons who answer such an advertisement, otherwise it would not be repeated. It may be asked why, if a person can construct a plot, he does not also write the story. Perhaps it is conceivable that one may devise a fable, fit it with the situations which belong to it, and even make characters for per- forming in them, yet be unable to write the story. In such a case the deviser or inventor might be a collaborator. Instead of parting with the plot for two shillings he should boldly place his name upon the title page as one of the authors. On the other hand, when a man offers a play, a poem, a story, to the public, he is practically assuring them that he is himself the deviser or inventor of the fable. In the case of a historical novel this assurance is not needed, because the source of his story is known to everybody. In the case of a story laid in the last century, for instance, that may also, since a past time can only be recovered from its documents, be taken from some event of the time. Thus, I have myself taken the motif of a story in two cases from writings of the eighteenth century. But a modern plot, a modern fable, presented by a writer is accepted by the public as of his own devising. If it is not, then, surely, the transaction is dishonest. There is, however, no evidence of any buyer, so that the advertisement is perhaps only a temptation to dishonesty in the abstract. One may, however, imagine the aspirant who wants nothing but imagination to conceive and eyes to see, attracted by such an advertisement. It is like the mysterious wrapper in a Holywell-street shop, offering things of mystery and containing a tract. He finds two shillings: he sends a postal order: he gets back a plot, both original and unique. "A. loves B. A. has neither birth nor fortune. B. is a rich heiress, an only child, of high rank. A., presuming to speak, is kicked out by B.'s father with violence. He goes away. Years afterwards he saves B.'s father from a mad bull: he is rewarded with the hand of A." You cannot have a better plot. Hundreds of quite interesting stories have been written with a mad bull, or a pair of runaway ponies; the aspirant gets it for the ridiculous sum of two shillings. It may be supposed that this is the common variety of plot; but there is a dearer and a more subtle kind. The would-be author may go, perhaps, as high as five shillings. When one thinks of it, there are many new novels which must be constructed on a five-shilling plot. They are those which are published at the author's own expense, with a con- siderable lump thrown into the estimate. Places talked about at the time come into them: new inventions: sham science: spiritualism: fads and fancies: if the author knows nothing about the army, he will probably lay his scene in a barrack. Alas! the hand of the advertiser might be discerned everywhere: it must mournfully be acknowleged that plots may be bought like the paper and the pens with which they are written. In the notice of "Literature and the Perio- dicals" there is reference to a paper by Paul Shorey in the Atlantic Review. He is said to regard, as one of the obstacles to the writing of books that will live, the exhaustion of available motifs in the higher fields of literature. But I do not think that, the available motifs can ever be exhausted. First, every generation will always insist upon the representation of its own passions —which are common to every generation—in its own language, and with its own habits and customs. Love, jealousy, hatred, ambition, sorrow, despair, envy, disappointment, wealth, poverty, pain, joy, youth, age, growth, decay, death—all these demand, in every generation, the poet. They must be put on the stage in the fashion of the day. These passions are new with every generation, yet always the same. Does a young man find love stale and exhausted because his father was in love before him? FEUILLETON. The Reputation of Ripplington. L EIPPLINGTON-ON-SEA is not regarded— except, of course, by its own inhabitants —as a place of any great pretensions. The county guide-book dismisses it briefly in a ## p. 87 (#115) ############################################# THE AUTHOR. 87 couple of lines as " a small sea-side town, pictur- esquely situated; there are some interesting brasses in the church, and the register dates back to 1625." It would be quite imprudent, however, even to hint to the residents (who affect for the most part to prefer its appearance in winter) that Rippling- ton is ever dull. Is there not Badminton— delightful game!—in the assembly rooms once a week? Are there not frequent tea-parties, at any one of which you will meet precisely the same dozen persons? Is there not a club, in which you may take part in a rubber played on principles apparently coeval with the "parish register "? At the same time I confess to a fondness for the Uttle place. It is peaceful and tranquil; one forgets all about time there; no one is ever in a hurry at Ripplington. The shopkeepers, the fishermen, and the postman join in taking life with philosophic ease, and a sojourn among them teaches you at least that the word " directly " has a very different meaning here from that which you would attach to it elsewhere. Then, if there are absurd little jealousies between the insignificant cliques into which the gentry are divided—if there is more gossip and tittle-tattle retailed iu the club and over the tea-cups than the rigid moralist would approve—if, in a word, the place is exceedingly provincial, this need not greatly concern the visitor, who may possibly reflect that ill-natured small-talk is not absolutely unknown even in London itself. Perhaps it was this sapient conclusion, or pos- sibly the lack of any better engagement, that led me, a few months ago to run down and spend a week at the house of General Barford, an elderly uncle of mine, who, after many wanderings, has pitched his tent in Ripplington, where he is regarded with no small respect. Arriving at his house in the afternoon, I scarcely required to be told by the butler that he believed his master to be at the club. To play his daily whist in the card-room with certain other retired warriors is a duty which no claims of hospitality could induce the General to forego. Accordingly, having shaken hands with Mrs. Barford in the drawing-room, I strolled down through the town and along the esplanade, until I arrived at the little club-house, with its familiar white front, bow window, and green Venetian blinds. Making my way upstairs I found, to my great surprise, that both the card-room and the billiard-room were deserted. And when I had come downstairs again and opened the door of the library, the sight that met my eyes was as strange as it was unexpected. Standing on a chair in the mid^ f the room was my uncle, brandishing in his hand a maga- zine, from which he was apparently reading aloud, while his other fist was tightly clenched. Round him was an attentive circle of listeners, among whom I recognised almost all the regular liabitues of the place—Mr. Pember, the Vicar, Colonel Dixie, Mr. Lavington, of the Hall, little Doctor Bennet, and others. The General stopped short as I entered the room, and descended, from his perch to shake my hand. When we had assured each other that we were tolerably well, a pardonable curiosity led me to ask for an explanation of this extraordinary scene. "Don't let me interrupt you, pray," I said, "You were giving a—a recitation, I think?" My uncle's usual expression of good-natured calm gave way with alarming suddenness to a look of the fiercest indignation. "A recitation! No, sir. I was reading aloud extracts from an article in this month's Penwiper!" I was more surprised than before; never had I suspected my uncle of such perfervid enthusiasm. "Oh, I see. And who is the fortunate author, may I ask?" "Fortunate author!" spluttered the angry man. "He'd be precious unfortunate if he showed his face in Ripplington, I can tell you! I'd horsewhip him on the spot!" His audience growled its approval of this bloodthirsty sentiment. "What on earth is the matter?" I inquired. The General thrust the magazine, somewhat crumpled by his treatment of it, under my nose. "The matter? Why, look at this! In this dirty publication there's an article which libels every person in Ripplington! But the rascally editor is very much mistaken if he thinks we shall let it pass unnoticed!" "If I may say so," added Mr. Pember, sadly, "although I must deprecate any—ah, personal violence, I quite agree that some amends must be insisted on—yes, insisted on." My surprise only became greater; I knew the Penwiper very well by reputation. So far from deserving my uncle's description of it as a " dirty publication," it was an old-fashioned family magazine; its columns were the last place in which one would expect a scurrilous libel. "What does the article &a.v r" I asked. "Well, you can read j^" f°r Iowse^> later," said the General, "It's Q^AVeo-' Seaside Fossils,' and is simply a series of v^^w^Vf. V;ats at ^° expense 1 Colonel worse, author's na- ## p. 88 (#116) ############################################# 88 THE AUTHOR. of anonymous spite. The only question is, What steps had we better take in the matter?" "' Seaside Fossils,' indeed!" cried the General; "I'd fossilise the man if I had him here! I'll write to the editor to-night, and demand the writer's name. And then, by gad, we'll make things unpleasant for him. Come along, James; we may as well be getting home now." As we walked back to the Grange together I managed to elicit a few more details. It appeared that it was quite by chance that the obnoxious article had come under the General's eye. His wife had purchased this copy of the Penwiper to beguile the tedium of a railway journey. The General being something of a geologist, the title of the fatal article had caught his attention as the magazine lay on the drawing-room table; as a rule he was not a student of light literature Conceive what were his feelings at discovering, in place of the scientific essay for which he had looked, a flippant description of the residents in a seaside town. Instead of throwing it aside, however, he read steadily on; and as he did so he felt a suspicion, which soon amounted to a certainty, that an enemy had done this thing— that this was, in fact, a venomous and spiteful, but still a recognisable, caricature of Ripplington and of those who dwelt there. The vicar, the doctor, the meetings in the club, the tea- parties—all were alluded to in the most shameless way. On our return the General sent off an in- dignant letter to the editor of the Penwiper, demanding to be informed by return of post of the name of the writer of this article. I had my own opinion as to the likelihood of any answer being made; but this I prudently kept to myself. There was a dinner party at the Grange that night, and the infamous paper again formed the main topic of conversation, especially when the ladies had withdrawn. At Ripplington this interval is still of some length. The modern custom of a single glass of wine, quickly followed by a sip of coffee and a cigarette, would bo regarded as a sacrilegious innovation by the General and his friends. Nearly every man present, with the exception, by the way, of little Wilson, the curate—had his own theory about the source of the article. One or two maintained that it was evidently the work of a woman, and more than one hinted that Mrs. Bennet was the culprit, much to her husband's indignation. Someone else suggested Miss Simkins, the young lady who wrote poetry in the Ripplington Gazette. But how could a woman, the others objected, have described the interior of the club so faithfully? "For myself," observed Colonel Dixie, with much dignity, "there is little that I can object to personally in it; but its treatment of you, Doctor, and of you, Mr. Pember, is most insolent." "Nonsense!" cried the Doctor, sharply. "There's not a word in it that anyone would construe as referring to me! But it calls you all sorts of names under the guise of 'Major Bradshaw'—unless I'm very much mistaken. You're quite right as to Pember—the rascal might as well have mentioned him by name!" "Really, I cannot agree with you," remon- strated the cleric. "The gross caricatures of Colonel Dixie and of you, Doctor, are unmistake- able. But only—ah, the merest spite could pre- tend to identify me with any of the characters in the article." "Well, it's no use quarrelling about it," inter- posed my uncle. "The thing's an outrage any- how. We shall learn the name of its perpetrator in a day or two. And now, perhaps, we may as well join the ladies." II. Several days passed; but, as I had expected, the General received no answer to his letter. Then he wrote a second and still more peremptory one; but that, too, failed. In the meantime, every- one in Ripplington discussed the article in the Penwiper; but, though many persons fell under suspicion, no real clue as to its authorship was discovered. Personally, when I came to read "Seaside Fossils" for myself, I was rather surprised at the stir which it had excited. It described with a good deal of levity some of the commonest types to be found among the inhabitants of a small sea- side town; but I had no reason to believe that these were peculiar to Ripplington. As far as I could see, it would be no less easy to identify "Shermouth," the name given by the writer to his imaginary home, with any one of a hundred other places with just as much show of reason as with Ripplington. Indeed, I ventured in an ill- advised moment to suggest this view to my uncle. "Nonsense, sir," he said, curtly. "There's no mistaking what place the rascal meant; it all fits too well. He talks about the club—isn't there a club in Ripplington? He sneers at the esplanade —' that spacious promenade quite a hundred yards long,' he says. Haven't we an esplanade just that length? And he even alludes to the Red Lion Inn by its real name. No, sir! there is no possibility of mistake, and this attempt to throw dust in our eyes is suspicious—highly suspicious, sir." ## p. 89 (#117) ############################################# THE AUTHOU. 89 I did not grasp his meaning at the time; but later in the day, when several of my acquain- tances had returned my greetings with the coldest of bows, the truth flashed across me. The General had come to the conclusion from my attempted defence of the article that I had written it myself! However, I managed to disabuse him of this idea by declaring solemnly that never in all my life had I contributed a single line to the Penwiper. He apologised pro- fusely, and took good care that everyone else did so too. However, we came no nearer to the solution of the mystery. On Sunday Mr. Peinber dwelt significantly on " hatred, malice, and all unchari- tableness" in the Litany, and preached an eloquent sermon, bidding us bear the malicious shafts of anonymous spite with as much Christian composure as we could muster. While we were at breakfast on the following morning we were suddenly startled by a visit from the Vicar himself, who, I grieve to say, showed very little composure indeed—in fact, he was in a state of the greatest excitement. "Good morning, General," he began, breath- lessly, quite ignoring Mrs. Barford and myself. "I determined not to lose a moment in coming to you for your advice. I have just made a most horrible discovery." The General does not like Ix-ing disturbed at his meals. "Indeed?" he said, shortly. "Sorry to hear it. If you can call later -" "No, I really must tell you at once. It's about that Penwiper article—I've found out that my curate—that Mr. Wilson—wrote it!" "The deuce he did !" cried my uncle, springing up from his chair. "What proofs have you got?" "Why," the Vicar replied, producing a piece of paper from his pocket, this. After service last night I asked Wilson in the vestry for the names of some children in his district who wished to be confirmed. He wrote them down on a piece of paper—this piece of paper, in fact. This morning I happened to look at the other side— here it 13!" We crowded round eagerly. It was an ordi- nary half-sheet of notepaper, on one side of which was the pencilled list of names. Then we turned it over, and our astonished eyes saw the following printed line. "Cheque enclosed with the compliments of the Editor of 'The Penwiper,' " and, above it, "The Eev. J. Wilson," written in ink. "Well, I'm dashed!" the General exclaimed. "That Wilson of all people—come alon", Pember; we'll have it out with him at once.*' I made bold to accompany aI1j before long we had reached Mr. Wilson's lodgings, and walked into the room where that mild little man was eating his solitary breakfast. He looked considerably' astonished at our visit, as well he might. The General opened fire without delay. "Good morning, Mr. Wilson," he began. "This is an early hour for a call, perhaps. But we felt bound to lose no time in—in congratu- lating you upon your unsuspected literary talent!" Mr. Wilson simply stared at us in open- mouthed astionishment. "Yes," continued the General, "Thanks to a fortunate accident, we have been enabled to identify the author of a certain unsigned article in this month's Penwiper. Need I add that we hasten to express our gratitude for it?" Mr. Wilson still seemed considerably puzzled. "Oh, that thing of mine in the Penwiper / Glad you liked it so much—I confess I shouldn't have thought it would have interested you!" "Interest me?" shouted the General, his ponderous sarcasm giving way to his anger— "interest me? A string of dirty personalties, every one of which is libellous, a venomous" The curate shook his head sadly. "Dear me, either you or 1 am mad, it's quite clear. May I ask for a specimen of the personalities you men- tion?" "Why, it's alive with them, sir. Look at the title—' Seaside Fossils.'" "What?" cried Mr. Wilson. "I didn't write that—my paper in this month's number is called 'Some points connected with the Mozarabic Liturgy.' I know nothing about the other thing —I haven't even read it." Rarely have I seen two men look so foolish as did the Vicar and my uncle at this moment. The latter, however, rallied nobly to the attack. "A likely story, sir! And you mean to say that you didn't write this attack upon Rip- plington?" "I am not accustomed to having my word doubted," said Mr. Wilson, coldly. "But if you will open that drawer just behind you, you will find the MS. of my article, which came back with the proof." The General did as he was bid, and then, look- ing extremely crestfallen, marched to the door- way. There he turned round and delivered a parting shot. "Well, sir, all I can \s, \hat I am aston- ished that a geiv^cman—1^ AoOR a clergyman— (tan think it to c*v vJfo^ wq^amg—n matter on wh- ■ • - as the Penw and out we No sooner 1 ^0 ^W*. va^ Wte ## p. 90 (#118) ############################################# 90 THE AUTHOR. fell violently upon the Vicar for having made a fool of him. Why the dickens parsons never could mind their own business—and so on. And so, in the very worst of tempers, the General and the Vicar returned to their respective homes. Indeed, my uncle's condition was so volcanic during the rest of that day, that I decided to cut my visit short, and to return to town at once. Before leaving Ripplingtou, however, I had the grace to call on "Wilson and to apologise for my share in the invasion of his rooms. At the same time I explained how he had unwittingly laid himself open to suspicion. He smiled good- naturedly. "It was entirely my own fault," he said. "In future I shall be careful to sign all my articles. And it will teach the Vicar and General Barford not to jump at conclusions." Next morning I returned to London; but letters from Ripplington during the next few weeks informed me that the real culprit remained undiscovered. "But he cannot hide in obscurity much longer," wrote the General. He was quite right, though the truth was made known hardly in the way which he anticipated. Happening to glance at the next month's number of the Penwiper, I met with something which caused me to send a marked copy to the General by the next post. The passage which I had emphasised was an " Editorial Note," which ran as follows :—■ "We accidentally oinitted to mention in our last number that the sketch entitled 'Seaside Fossils,' appearing in it, was an early work, hitherto unpublished, of that talented writer Mr. Thomas Nutley Johnson, whose death we had recently to deplore. That it excited no little interest was proved by the number of inquiries as to its authorship which we received. And, indeed, although it was written nearly thirty years ago, it displays much of that ready humour and happiness of phrase which earned so well- deserved a fame for the later works of its brilliant author." Anthony C. Deane. MONSTERS IN FICTION. THE human imagination, when its excesses have not been checked by science, has a curious tendency to create fabulous monsters. We have examples of this in the man-bull of the Assyrians and the Centaur of the Greeks. Gustave Flaubert, in " La Tentation de Saint Antoine," introduces a number of deformed beings, supposed at one time to have lived on the earth in a state of imperfect organisation: the Nisnas, an animal with one eye, one cheek, one hand, half a body, and half a heart; the Blemmyes, headless things with enormous shoulders, "who reduce digestion to thouglit "; the Sciapades, whose flowing locks as long as creeping plants keep them attached to the ground ; the Sadhuzag, a large black stag with a bull's head, with seventy-four antlers hollow as flutes, from which issues an indescribably sweet music; the Mantichor, a gigantic red bon with a human figure and three rows of teeth; the Catoblepas, a black buffalo with a pig's head falling to the earth and connected with his shoulders by a slender neck, long and flabby as an empty gut; and the Astomi, which pass like air-balls across the sun, composed of breezes and perfumes—" a little more than dreams, not entirely beings." The very names of these imaginary entities seem like inventions; and yet Flaubert probably found them all in the course of his omnivorous reading; for he was one of those writers who are always searching for " quaint and curious volumes of forgotten lore." Shakespeare has presented us with a type of the human monster in Caliban, which, to many readers, suggests some difficulties; for this crea- ture is not a savage, but a bestialized man, who has still many of the characteristics to which we apply the word " civilised." The ingenious Renan has endeavoured to elucidate the Shakespearean conception in a philosophical drama, purporting to show that Caliban is a human being entirely unenlightened by science and culture, by whose agency, however, he might become a perfect man. Most people have heard of that quaint old novel "Peter Wilkius," but comparatively few have read it. It relates the mythical history of an adventurous traveller who made the acquaintance of a flying woman, and married her. According to a theory which has recently been broached, the inhabitants of Mars are winged. If there be any foundation for the hypothesis, perhaps Mrs. Peter Wilkins ought to have been born in that planet, and to have in some unaccountable fashion, found her way to the earth. Everyone is acquainted with "Gulliver's Travels," in which we are introduced to the Liliputians and the Brobdingnagians. This, after all, is only another version of the Giant and the Dwarf—a fable almost as old as the world itself. That giants once dwelt upon the earth may be taken for granted. Goliath of Gath, for example, was no myth; nevertheless it is possible that he was not a being of stupendous proportions, but a very big man with six fingers on each hand—by no means an uncommon phenomenon even in modern times. ## p. 91 (#119) ############################################# THE AUTHOR. 9» The race of dwarfs may be regarded as more interesting than the colossal types of humanity, for there is something exceedingly remarkable in arrested physical development. There can be no ■doubt that in mediaeval days dwarfs were actually manufactured for the purpose of being used to form appendages to Royal Courts. Grinning buffoons were also thus produced for the amuse- ment of the populace. The strange passage in "Victor Hugo's "L'Homme qui rit" describing the Comprachicos or Comprapequenos is not mere fiction but authentic history. The Compra- chicos were "buyers of children" (this is the literal meaning of the Spanish word). They traded in infants, whom they converted into monsters by a process of mutilation. The un- happy hero of this romance laughs involuntarily, because his face had been cruelly carved into a hideous laughing expression in his childhood. How far human beings may acquire the attri- butes of the lower animals is one of those curious questions which perhaps might fairly be dealt with in a psychological—or should we call it physiological ?—novel. In "Elsie Venner" Oliver Wendell Holmes attempted to grapple with the problem; but his suggestion that a snake-bite might affect a young girl's nature certainly appears rather far-fetched. As a rule novelists have fought shy of monsters, and Sir "Walter Scott's partiality for dwarfs—he introduces two in "Peveril of the Peak," and calls one of his shorter tales " The Black Dwarf" —does not seem to have infected many of his successors. We cannot find a single dwarf, or any other example of physical deformity, in Thackeray's works. George Eliot's genius was too catholic — in the best sense of the word— to concern itself about the characteristics of abnormal human beings. Even Bulwer Lytton— in spite of his love of the phantastic—has no partiality for monsters. Robert Louis Stevenson has analysed moral monstrosity in "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde." He does not, however, present us with physically abnormal characters, unless the possession of a wooden leg be considered abnormal. Until the eighteenth century, however, the subject of monsters had not begun to be scientifi- cally studied. During the present century it has been, however, elaborately investigated by Meckel, in Germany, and Geoffrey St. Hilaire and his son Isidore in France. Perhaps the time is at hand when we shall find literature assisting science in throwing light on the question. In an age which has given birth to such books as Max Nordau's "Degeneration," nobody need be surprised to find the prohJ of monstrosity forming a new and star+lii » 10 in the modern novel. D. »i !»UD? featU^ BOOK TALE. THE life of the Kent peasant has attracted Miss Lilian Winser, who has made it the theme of a series of songs and lyrical stories, connected by dialogue and pleasantries, about to be published by Mr. Elkin Mathews under the title " Lays and Legends of the Weald of Kent." Mr. F. M. Hueffer announces that he and his wife have been engaged for the last two years collecting materials for just such another work. The Queen has commanded Sir Arthur Bigge to thank Mr. Arthur A. Sykes for the copy of "The Coronation Cruise of the Midnight Sun," presented to Her Majesty. We understand that " Martin Pritchard," the author of "Without Sin," a novel which was published some time ago, and has evoked remark- able criticism here and in America, is a Loudon lady, namely, Mrs. Augustus Moore. Mr. Arthur Paterson has produced a new novel called "For Freedom's Sake," which is to be published at an early date by Messrs. Osgood. A volume of autobiographical reminiscences of the late Mrs. Rundle Charles, the author of the "Schonberg Cotta Family," is about to be pub- lished by Mr. Murray under the title " Our Seven Homes. Mr. R. D. Blackmore has concluded arrange- ments with Blackwood's Magazine for the serial publication of his story entitled "Dariel: A Romance of Surrey." It will begin in the October number. Among forthcoming verse will be a volume of lyrics by Mrs. Hinkson (Katharine Tynan), entitled "A Lover's Breast Knot," to be pub- lished by Mr. Elkin Mathews; and " The Bothie and Other Poems," by Mr. Arthur H. Clough, which will appear in Mr. Walter Scott's series of Canterbury Poets. Mr. Henley is just about clear of his labours on the Centenary edition of Burns, which he and Mr. T. F. Henderson have edited, and the first volume of his edition of Byron will be in the hands of the booksellers very shortly. The poems are being arranged as nearly as possible in a chronological order A new literary ma&a • » ;§ about to be inaugu- rated by Mr. William * a pVfs of the Hull and London firm of puKv"^ oi ^ ^e Temple Magazine i& H&W. rti * sapetvs^ !$!9"^ ## p. 92 (#120) ############################################# 92 THE AUTHOR. moreover, that the publishing house of Hutchin- son is contemplating the issue of a new monthly in October. Admirers of the late Mr. Joseph Thomson, the African traveller, will be glad to hear that a biography is already being prepared by his brother, the Rev. J. B. Thomson, of Greenock. All the six expeditions which Thomson led will be sketched in detail, and contributions of his life and work will find a place in the volume from the pens of Mr. J. M. Barrie, Dr. Gregory, Mr. Scott Keltie, Mr. E. G. Ravenstein, and others. A translation of Signor Sinigaglia's book on the Dolomites is about to be published by Mr. Fisher Unwin. There will be illustrations in it by Signor Sella, who it will be remembered also illustrated the two huge volumes on the Caucasus by Mr. Freshfield which were recently published. Another, and most likely a very important, mountaineering and exploring book will be the outcome of an expedition about to be undertaken to South America, if it should prove successful. The head of the expedition is Mr. A. E. Fitz- gerald, who recently wrote a large volume on "Climbing in New Zealand." He will endeavour to scale Aconcagua, the highest climb ever attempted. Miss Julia Dow has written an account of a tour to the English cathedrals, which will be published by Messrs. Macmillan under the title " A Cathe- dral Pilgrimage." Mr. William Le Queux has two volumes of fiction in the publishers' hands—namely, "A Secret Service," to be published soon by Messrs. Ward and Lock, and an African romance entitled "The Great White Queen," which will appear from Messrs. F. V. White's next month. Mr. William Archer's translation of the biography of Nausen, by Bnigger and Rolfsen, will be ready shortly. There will be drawings in it by leading artists of Norway, and also maps and illustrations from photographs. Mr. Rudolf Lehmaun has in preparation a collection of portraits and sketches of exceptional interest. It comprises a long series of portraits of notable men and women who have sat to him between the years 1847 at)d 1895, who include H.R.H. the Prince of Wales, the late Emperor Frederick, the Right Hon. W. E. Gladstone, Pope Pius IX., Cardinal Manning, Lord Tennyson James Russell Lowell, Liszt, Chopin, George Henry Lewes, Mr. G. F. Watts, Mr. W. S. Gilbert, and a host of others—" in fact," says the prospectus, "scarcely a domain of life is un- represented." The volume, which will be pub- lished by Messrs. Bell and Sons at three guineas, in an edition of 500 copies, will contain twelve photogravures from paintings and about seventy facsimile reproductions of the drawings in half tone, some of them printed in colours. Mr. H. C. Marillier will write an introduction and short biographical notices. Mr. Clement Shorter is busy preparing his work on the Brontes for publication in the autumn. An article in one of the magazines some time ago foreshadowed what the character and trend of the book will be. He does not agree with Mrs. Gaskell and other Bronte students in their estimate of the brother, about whom he will have new material to offer. Mr. Nicholls, the husband of Charlotte Bronte, has assisted Mr. Shorter by giving him MSS. and several personal interviews on the controversial questions dis- cussed. Mr. Pett Ridge is issuing, through Messrs. White, a short story called "An Important Man." * A biography of Sir Kenelm Digby, who occupied such a prominent and adventurous posi- tion in the social, literary, and political worlds during the reigns of James, Charles I., Cromwell, and partly of Charles II., is about to be published by Messrs. Longmans, Greeu and Co. Digby's Memoirs were not published until 1827, but these did not cover his whole career; while subsequent writers have not, it is believed, covered the events of his life and times so entirely as the forthcoming work. Mr. Bret Harte will be well to the front with books this autumn. Besides his new volume of poems, which is being prepared for issue, the three short stories, "Devil's Ford," "Snowbound at Eagles," and "A Millionaire of Rough and Ready," will appear in one volume; a collection of new stories under the title " Barker's Luck" will see the light, and will contain illustrations by A. Forestier, Paid Hardy, A. Morrow, and T. Julich. Apart from these, his publishers, Messrs. Chatto and Windus, will have out within the next few days the ninth volume of the collected edition of Mr. Harte's works, containing thirteen stories. Mr. Lang's Christmas book for children this year is to be " The Animal Story Book." Several important biographical works are to be published during the autumn season by Mr. John Murray. They include "The Life of the Rev. Benjamin Jowett," by Evelyn Abbott, M.A.. and the Rev. Lewis Campbell, which will be in t wo ## p. 93 (#121) ############################################# THE AUTHOR. 93 volumes; "Life and Letters of Samuel Butler, D.D., Bishop of Lichfield," by his grandson, Samuel Butler; "A Memoir of Sir John Drum- xnond Hav, some time Minister at the Court of Morocco," which is based on his journals and correspondence, and will have a preface by General Sir Francis de Winton, KC.M.G.; and "The Life of Brian Hodgson," by Sir William W. Hunter, K.C.S.I. Mrs. Lynn Linton's new novel, "Dulcie Everton," will appear this month, in two volumes published by Messrs. Chatto and Windus. Mr. Du Maurier's new story, " Martian," will be begun in Harper's for next month. "The Charm" is the title given to the volume of eight drawing-room plays upon which Mr. W. H. Pollock and Sir Walter Besant have l>een engaged, at intervals, for some years. In the introduction to the volume, which is to appear early this autumn, the question of the difference between a stage play and a drawing-room play is discussed. The book is to have the illustra- tions by Miss Chris Hammond and A. Jule Goodman, which appeared in Pearson's in the serial form. A new story by Mr. Eobert Barr, entitled "Revenge," is announced for publication by Messrs. Chatto and Windus in a few days. The idea of bicycle-exercise injuring the reading of novels was lately paragraphed industriously in the papers. It was suggested that the one form of recreation was being found more healthy than the other. If that be so, the fact of Messrs. Chapman and Hall being about to issue a series of novels specially adapted for the cyclist to carry and read while he is on tour, may possibly be looked upon as a suggested rapprochement. The first of this series is by Mr. Charles James, and called "Two on a Tandem;" that being followed by "On the Down Grade," by Miss Winifred Graham. Another novel has been written, in collabo- ration, by Mrs. L. T. Meade and Dr. Clifford Halifax. The last was called " The Diary of a Doctor;" the title of the forthcoming story, which will be issued by Messrs. Chatto aimost immediately, is " Dr. Ramsey's Patient." Mr. Austin Dobson is issuing a third group of "Eighteenth Century Vignettes," and has written a poem called "An Epistle to a Friend," as a prologue to the volume. A new sixpenny weekly journal ig announced by Mr. Horace Whitcomb, lately Q0aaected with the Saturday lievieic. It is to be , New Saturday. ™eU Dr. Parker's forthcoming volume is to be entitled " Might Have Been: Some Life Notes." The book (6s.) is to be published by Messrs. Chatto and Windus early in the autumn. It will contain unpublished letters by John Bright, C. H. Spurgeon, Henry Ward Beecher, John B. Gough, and Henry White, of the Savoy Chapel. There will also appear in it Dr. Parker's Eulogy on Beecher, and his critical estimates of Sir Henry Irving, John Oliver Hobbes, C. H. Spurgeon, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and many others. The book is to be dedicated to Sir Wemyss Eeid, "in appreciation of the spirit and genius which have marked his brilliant professional career." Mr. Charles Bright, F.E.S.E., civil engineer and writer on electrical subjects, has recently completed an elaborate treatise on submarine telegraphy, being the first English work on this subject. As a two-guinea venture it is being brought out by subscription, and orders should be sent in to Messrs. Crosby, Lockwood, and Son, the publishers, at 7, Stationers' Hall-court, E.C. After publication the price will be raised to three guineas net. Miss Harcourt Roe will produce next month a novel treating largely of Portsmouth and of naval affairs and officers. It will be called " The Romance of Mr. Wodehouse." The publishers are Messrs. Hutchinson "Denounced," Mr. John Bloundelle-Burton's new novel, which has now concluded its serial stages, will be published shortly by Methuen and Co., in London, and at the same time by Appleton and Co., of New York, both of whom published, last spring, his " In the Day of Adversity." Miss Edith Kenyon's new novel, " The Squire of Lonsdale," will be brought out by Messrs. F. Warne and Co. It may be remembered by some of our readers as having appeared in several newspapers last year. Devonshire folk and their descendants must take notice that Mr. Charles Worthy, author of "Devonshire Parishes," "Practical Heraldry," &c, has just published a work of importance to them in his "Devonshire Wills." Everyone knows the flood of light that is poured upon ancient manners and customs as well as f aunty history and genealogy by u^s, This book con- tains a collection of a,-^ tate^ testaxxy^taxy abstracts, together with fa,t<^ ^Wrj genealogy of many of tk Vv>5 «A V***8* in the West of Engl*^ fg^ Bemrose and Sons, 23, <V -ACV . A —Heavitree, Exeter—■OST^1^ subscribers. 0 ## p. 94 (#122) ############################################# 94 THE AUTHOR. The prospectus of a new edition of Carlyle's works is before us. It is proposed to complete the whole, with a volume of unpublished essays in thirty volumes large square crown. The pub- lished price is 3s. 6d. a volume: the editor is Mr. H. O. Traill, D.C.L., and the publishers are Messrs. Chapman and Hall. Miss Browning's promised volume of Travels in Hungary will appear this month. It is illus- trated partly from sketches made by the author, by Miss May Maguire and Miss Rose Le Quesne. The publishers are Longmans. LITERATURE IN THE PERIODICALS. Literature and Trade. Correspondence by ZZ., Retired Bookseller, and R. H. Daily Chronicle for Aug. 19, 20, and 21 respectively. Publishers and Booksellers. Official Correspond- ence in Publishers' Circular for Aug 22. The Catalogue of English Literature Scheme. Henry R. Tedder. The Library for August. The New Watchword of Literary Criticism. Saturday Review for Aug. 22. Novels without a Purpose. Grant Allen. North American Review for August. Present Conditions of Literary Production. Paul Shorey. Atlantic Monthly for August. A Claim for the Art of Fiction. E. G. Wheel- wright. Westminster Review for August. Cosmopolitanism in Literature. The Speaker for Aug. 15. Days with Mrs. Stowe. Annie Field. Atlantic Monthly for August. Letters of D. G. Rossetti. IV.—Goorge Birkbeck Hill. Atlantic Monthly for August. Eugene Field and his Work. Atlantic Monthly for August. An Unworked Field of Romance. Atlantic Monthly for August. The Power of the British Press. Henry W. Lucy. North American Review for August. Sir John Seeley. Herbert A. L. Fisher. Fortnightly Revieiv for August. The Ethical Impulse of Mrs. Browning's Poetry. T. Bradfield. Westminster Review for August. Political Conception. Spectator for Aug. 8. and letters of Professor Courthope and V. W., Aug. 15. Ivan Turueniev. Maurice Todhunter. Westminster Review for August. Living Critics. VIII.—Professor George Saints- bury. Arthur Waugh. Bookman for August. The Poetry of the Psalms. Spectator for Aug. 22. The Posthumous Verlaine. Spectator for Aug. 22. The Gospel According to the Novelists. IV.— Robert Louis Stevenson. W. J. Dawson. The Young Man for September. Notable Reviews. Of Berdoe's " Browning and the Christian Faith." Speaker for Ang. 1. Of Professor Crawshaw's "The Interpretation of Litera- ture." By Professor Hugh Walker. Academy for Aug. 22. "Z. Z." protests against Messrs. W. H. Smith and Sons' treatment of his novel. It has been three months on sale among their customers, and now Messrs. Smith discover that it is unfit for them to sell or circulate. The omission of one paragraph, "Z. Z." understands, would remove their objection, but he humbly refuses to consent to "this tyranny." Nor is it consistent, he argues, for them—" whose vast power practically gives them an artificial censorship "—to exclude a book which is at least a serious attempt to depict character, and yet parade on their stalls flippant weekly papers which continuously debase the moral currency with an inexhaustible outpour of innuendo. Finally, is it fair, he asks, that the last novel by a great master, against which even many of the Tatter's admirers protested, should be circulated by Messrs, Smith without restriction, while this book by a young writer is boycotted. To remove the paragraph "would have been to admit the right of booksellers to edit what they exist merely to sell." "Retired Bookseller" promptly questions this "monstrous doctrine," and opposes to it his own theory that a bookseller has a conscience as well as an author, and that he is under no obligation to sell what he thinks is pernicious. "R. H.," on the other hand, says this is going too far in the direction of self-deception on the bookseller's part. The reader, he says, applies to the bookseller to pro- cure for him a certain article, and the bookseller procures it for a consideration. Were a book- seller to give himself out as the seller of " good books", the reader would have a right to return a book which he found bad. Mr. Grant Allen refers to the novel without a purpose as "that inartistic and jejune gaud," and says the twentieth century will outgrow it, and will be right in doing so. The process of purpose has been a constant progression, beginning in England with " Sandford and Mertou " and Miss Edgeworth's stories, and in France with Voltaire and Rousseau, and continuing by way of Charlotte Bronte, George Eliot, and even Hugo, to Zola, Meredith, and other present-day writers, being only replaced in the early half of the century by the purposive poetry of Shelley, Keats, and Wordsworth. He surveys the progress of litera- ture from its outset to show that every literature as it progresses grows deeper, more purposive. "We start, in all with sagas, stories, folk-songs, miirchen. We progress to the drama and novel of character; we end with the Euripideses, the Ibsens, the Merediths." (Do we end with these ?) To be considered really first-rate, a work in literature must not merely please, but teach us somewhat. Yet the novel without a purpose will continue to be written, no doubt, "for the ## p. 95 (#123) ############################################# THE AUTHOR. 95 younger generation and the inferior minds," but in the next century the educated public will demand purpose even more than in this one. Meanwhile the Saturday owns itself confounded by the various views set forth upon the conditions and prospects of modern fiction. It reverts to an article by Mr. Hall Caine in the Contemporary some time ago, but as it cannot make out what some writers have meant by their definitions of trie words "idealism and realism," it gives a definition of its own: That Realism includes all those novels—be they what they may in other respects — which, in Mr. Podsnap's phrase, " are calculated to bring the blush of shame to the cheek of youth :" and that Idealism embraces that very considerable body of fiotion which the modern young lady can with little or no hesitation put into the hands of her brother, or even her father. And it is convinced that the British public will refuse to read works which seem to them to be immoral, even though they be works of genius, as long as the British public's "very rudi- mentary sense of artistic beauty is so completely in abeyance to their somewhat stunted sense of moral fitness." Mr. Wheelwright thinks that in the generality of fiction of the present day the sense of the beautiful is seen to have fallen into decay; rever- ence for women has become out of date; false ideals are cherished. He cannot consider as literature that what puts theory for fact and harsh effect for beautv, and he laments that the constantly recurring theme of modern fiction shows a feverish desire for novelty, with morbid psychology and ill-digested ethics. The new or unworked field of romance which is mentioned in the Atlantic is that of classical life, Greek or Roman. Why is it impossible to write such a story as will not be a mere hand- book of antiquities? asks the writer. On the question of the present conditions of literary production, Mr. Paul Shorey regards the temptation to intellectual dispersion and hasty premature production as one of two classes of obstacles to the writing of books that will live. On the slightest indication of talent a young writer's name is heralded to the four quarters of the globe; he is interviewed; his copy is eagerly competed for; and he is a celebrity when hardly out of his teens. This commercialism of the newspaper age has a good side, because it is pleasanter for the author than the old alternative of Grub-street or the patron, and the spur of ambition is probably helpful to a certain kind of craftsman. "But it is more hostile than penury, dependence on a patron, or the exercise of a regular profession, to the slow, concentrated brooding necessary to the production of permanent world-books." The other and more serious class of obstacles is the temporary exhaustion of avail- able motifs in the higher fields of literature. The realisation of all the dreams of modern science have been discounted in advance; and even in poetry no new contrivance of inventive ingenuity can surprise the poet who has already seen "the nation's airy navies grappling in the central blue." Another factor has to be taken into account besides the temporary failure of inspiration for poetry and philosophy, or the growing tyranny of the realist novel—namely, the influence of the great Universities (Mr. Shorey is, of course, writing of America) in creating a criticism based on fuller knowledge, in diffusing a truer appreciation of the heritage of 3000 years of European culture, and in establishing a rational adjustment of the claims upon our attention of the present and the past. America is now at last prepared, says Mr. Shorey, to enter upon this inheritance, and to reinterpret the past in relation to the present:— We shall soon have, to counter-balance our flourishing local fiction and the pretty bric-a-brac of the magazines, a vigorous and readable literature of scholarship, history, literary interpretation, and criticism—a literature not with- out interest and use for the present, and not without promise for the future. For the literature of the future, whatever else it may be, will not be based on ignoranoe, nor will it contract to the trivialities of the hour, the horizon of the being that looks bofore and after. Mr. Lucy says that not all the newspapers in the kingdom will force a hook into favour with the public; but given merit or capacity, recognition in the press is of inestimable value. In the personal article on the late Mrs. Stowe, the writer remarks that she was not a student of literature, and that a study of the literature of the past as the only true foundation for a literature of the pre- sent , was outside the pale of her occupations, and, for the larger portion of her life, outside of her interest. Mr. Tedder wants the Library Associa- tion to grant ,£200 or £300 to provide a rough catalogue of English literature as the basis for more serious supervision. CORRESPONDENCE. I. — To be Returned within a Certain Time. HAVING been time ^ tter time annoyed and mulcted of time ^ a r&oue? Y>y t^o^ editors retaining ^ wrested from a publisher-^*V5 hasten to hand on to niy ^V9 # esSac*^ 1 ,0 should never leave an L^JP^^^^N^ ## p. 96 (#124) ############################################# 96 THE AUTHOR. said, " without stipulating that it should be read within a certain time." Since then I have got on so very much better with the disposal of my MSS., that the hint has proved most valuable to me. A Poor Author. II.—Injury by Detention. Extract from a letter. "Messrs. A. B.'s editor hindered me tremen- duously by detaining for six or seven months the copy I was offering to the editor. I wrote Xo him again and again. I called again and again. He sat over it like a dog over a bone, and when I called, beseeching him to make haste and decide, he would lay his hand on the MS. which was on the table by his side, and would beg for a little more time. Finally, when it was too late for any one else to publish it immediately after its appearance in the newspapers, he returned it, declined with thanks and regrets." III.—The Title. "Tyro," in your August issue, propounds a rather difficult question. With all the care in the world it is sometimes impossible to avoid collision with the choice of a fellow-writer. I have found the best method to be an exhaustive search, for several years back, through Mudie's and Smith's catalogues, which are (or were) kept bound in the circular receptacle in the centre of the British Museum reading-room. If, after examination, the selected title is not discovered therein, I should think "Tyro" would be pretty safe in appropriating it. At any rate the plan possesses the advantage of being as simple and expeditious as auv other. Old Bird. Author's Club, S.W. IV.—Literary Grab-alls. Mr. Honey Seabrooke, in his letter on this subject, thinks my experience unique ; but I fancy many writers, if they liked to own up to it, could substantiate it with their own experiences. As justice is due even to niggardly editors, I have to report that the 3s. for the poem was eventually increased to 5*.! and the 12s. 6d. for the storv to 21s.! It was thus in accordance with the spirit of this economic era, a case of hard bargaining. In reply to Mr. Stephen's letter, the editor of this journal, to whom I communicated them, has the names of these liberal journals. On the other side of the question, writing for payment to an editor for a short story which had been published in his paper, I was requested to name my price; accordingly I rated it at ,£5 5s., which was promptly sent me. I think the Author might be of great service to literary men by publishing the names of all the journals and magazines in relation to their treatment of MSS. and payment of accepted ones, of course excluding the lights of literature, who can presumably make their own terms. Such a compendium would not only be useful to all those who want to live out of this precarious profession, but it would also prove my contention, that this is not a golden time for authors. The data for this list could be furnished easily by those who read and write for this journal. My own is at its service. Lunette, V.—Criticism from a Commercial Point of View. The following remarks were suggested by an incident that recently came under the writer's notice. A lady was reading a well-known paper, when she came across some disparaging remarks on the works of Miss Marie Corelli. Throwing down the journal, the reader, a warm admirer of the authoress, exclaimed, " I shall no longer take in this paper." Now, I am not acquainted with the writings of Miss Corelli, and so am not in a position to say whether the criticism was just or not; but I have no hesitation in affirming that any paper which sneers or carps at a widely popular author com- mits a fatal mistake from a commercial point of view. For one subscriber who is attracted by stabs and sneers at an established author ten sub- scribers are lost. People who have given a novelist their favour —a liking so strong that sometimes it amounts to personal affection, which may have lasted for years—do not like to be flippantly told that they are fools, and are apt to think that a journal, which they find antagonistic to them in literary matters, will also be opposed to them in their political and social views. If I had my capital invest«d in any paper where such a criticism appeared, I would not only sack the young critic but the editor as well. I say young critic advisedly, for I think an old one would have more sense than to quarrel in this way with his bread and butter, and would reserve his virulence for young and struggling authors. My advice to the proprietors of journalistic ventures is this: "If your critic cannot speak well of a popular or long established author, see that he holds his tongue, or assuredly you will suffer in pocket." Michael Ross. ## p. 96 (#125) ############################################# AD VER TISEMENTS. iii Crown 8vo., cloth boards, price 6s. HATHEESAGE: A Tale of North Derbyshire. BT CHARLES EDMUND HALL, Author of " An Ancient Ancestor," &e. London: Horace Cox, WindBor House, Bream's-buildings. E.G. Crown 8vo., cloth boarls, 3s. 6d. Crimean & other Short Stories. BY WILLIAM J^DZDXSOICT. CONTENTS. — An Adjutant's Adventure: an Episode of the Crimean Campaign—From an TJuseen World—Characteristic Stories of Eoyal Personages—The Tsar's Axe—An Indian Legend Modernised —A Love Test—Atta; or, The Circassian's Daughter—Father Con- fessor—Bis "Word of Honour (from the German)—Dearer than Life— A Polish Princess—The Evil Eye: a Story of Superstition—The Parson's Daughter—Old Love Never Busts. London: Horace Cox. Windsor House, Bream's-buildings, E.C. RECENT VERSE. LYBICS. By Dr. J. A. GOODCHILD. Cloth lettered, price 5a. NOBTH COUNTRY BALLADS. By HENRY TODD, Price 6s. TALES IN VERSE. By Dr. J. A. GOODCHILD. Cloth lettered, price 5s. SONGS OP THE CASCADES. By ERL VIKING. Fcap. 8vo., cloth boards, 3s. fid. SONGS OF THE PINEWOODS. By ARTHUR CAMP- BELL. Price 3a. 6d. THE FAIREST OF THE ANGELS, and Other Verse. By MABY COLBOBNE-VEEL. Fcap. 8vo., cloth boards, 3s. 6d. "Some of the shorter lyrics are much above the average, being clear in thought and musical in expression. The merits of the collec- tion are considerable."— The Bookman. THE WANDERER IN THE LAND OF CYBI, and other Poems (1886-93). By CLIFFOBD BBOOKS. Fcap. 8vo., cloth boards, 3s. 6d_ POEMS. By THOMAS BARLOW. Crown 8vo., bevelled boards, gilt edges, price 5s. POEMS. By LEWIS BROCKMAN. Crown 8vo., cloth boards, 5s. "The ballads are full of the spirit and directness of style proper to the ballad."—Saturday Review. "Mr. Brockman is a writer of good poetic mettle, and no doubt the reading world will hear more of him yet."— Glasgow Herald. 11 The graceful smoothness of Mr. Lewis Brockman's poems."— Daily Trltgraph. "He is decidedly inventive, and often highly imaginative The element of originality pervades the book. . . . His long poem, * Bonald"B CroBs,' is well sustained . . . it is like the plaint of the 'Mariner,' and it holds us."—Queen. "A reader who values cultured sentiments and flawless versifica- tion will find much to admired—Scotsman, London: Horace Cox, Windsor House, Bream's Buildings. E.C. Demy 8vo., with Map and Illustrations, price 10s. 6d. AN AUSTRALIAN IN CHINA: Being the Narrative of a Quiet Journey Across China to British Burma. By G. E. MORRISON, "Mr. Morrison is an Australian doctor who has achieved probably the most remarkable journey through the Flowery Land ever attempted by a Christian ... Ho was entirely unarmed and unaccompanied, save for the coolies who carried his baggage. Such a journey—three thousand miles in length—could not fail to present many curious customs and as many curious people. But it is owing entirely to Dr. Morrison's graphic manner of description, and his acutely keen observation, that his travels are such a reality to the reader. This portly volume is one of the most interesting books of travel of the many published this year. It is frank, original, and quite ungarnished by adventitious colouring."—St. James's Budget. "One of the most interesting books of travel we remember to have read."—European Mail. "A very lively book of travel. . . . His account of the walk of 15u0 miles from Chungking to Burma, over the remotest districts of Western China, is full of interest."—The Time*. "Dr. MorriBon writes crisply, sensibly, humorously, and with an engaging frankness. . . . There ia not a page he haa written that is not worth the perusal of the student of China and the Chinese."— The Scotsman. "By far the moat interesting and entertaining narrative of travel in the Flowery Land that has appeared for several years."—The World. London : Horacr Cox, Windsor House, Bream's-bulldingB, E.C. Royal 8vo., price 16s. net. Sporting Days in Southern India: BEING REMINISCENCES OF TWENTY TRIPS IN PURSUIT OF BIG GAME, CHIEFLY IN THE JrlADRAS PRESIDENCY. BT Lieut -Col. A. J. 0. POLLOCK, Royal Scots Fusiliers. WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS BY WHYMPER AND OTHERS. CONTENTS.—Chapters I., II., and III —TheBear. IV. and V.—The Panther. VI., VII., and VIII.—The Tiger. IX. and X.—The Indian BlBon. XI. and XII —The Elephant. XIII.—Deer (Cervidro) and Antelopca. XIV.—The Ibex. XV. and XVI.— Miscellaneous. London; HORACR Cox, Windsor Houro, Bream's-bulldintrs. E.C. Royal 8vo., cloth, profusely illustrated, price 12b. fid. net. TEXAN RANCH LIFE; WITH Three Months through Mexico in a " Prairie SohoOXxet." By MARY w London Hoeaob Oox, win*6^^-/^^^^^^V\^'i>,"1J ## p. 96 (#126) ############################################# iv AD VER TISEMENTS. THE WEST KENSINGTON TYPE WHITING AGENCY. ESTABLISHED 1893. MISS E. M. SIKES. 13, Wolverton Gardens, Hammersmith, W. Authors' MSS. carefully and promptly copied, 1b. per 1000 words. Duplicate copy half price. Legal and General Copying, l£d. per folio. Typewritten Circulars, Notices, &c., by special copying process. Terms on application. References kindly permitted to authors. TI C.K.P.H. AST PAS T: EST I.C.K.S. WANTED, "DOSITION as SECRETARY to a Lady, by an English- 1 woman, of 21. Speoial training. Qualifications: French (State certificate); Italian; some Latin; Type- writing; Shorthand. Highest personal recommendations from teaohers. Address "K.," care of Mme. Veuve Speakman, 38, Rne du Luxembourg, Paris. AGENT WANTED. LARGE PRINTING OFFICE WANTS AGENT to COLLECT ORDERS from Authors who have their books produced at their own cost. Fair commission paid. Good opportunity for Lady or Gentleman who has relations in the literary world. Apply to— F. HEEREN, Esq., 117, PAULET ROAD, CA.MBBRWBI.Ii. s.e. TYFE-WBITING. RAYNE AND CO., EXPERT LITERARY AND SCIENTIFIC 1, ARUNDEL STREET, STRAND, W.C. Highest References. Established 1892. THE ENGLISH SCHOOL of JOURNALISM. Principal: D. F. BANKING, M.A., LL.D. Offices: 441a, STHAND, W.C. The curriculum embraces a full course of practical stndy in Journalism, including Press Illustration. The Autumn Session commences Sept. 26th. Address for Prospectus (2 stamps), Sydney Payne, Secretary. Now ready. Second Edition, Revised and Enlarged. Crown 8vo., limp cloth, 2s. Od. net; postage, 3d. extra. THE PRINCIPLES OP CHESS IN THEORY AND PRACTICE. JAMES MASON. CONTENTS. — 1. Elements of Chess. 2. General Principles. 8. Combination. 4. Exposition of Master Play Complete. London: Horace Cox, Windsor House, Bream'B-buildlngs, E.C. MRS. n-TT.T. TYPE-WBITING OFFICE, 35, LUDGATE HILL, E.C. (ESTABLISHED 1883.) Authors' MSS. carefully copied from Is. per 1000 words. Duplicate copies third price. Skilled typists sent out by hour, day. or week. French MSS. accurately copied, or typewritten English translations supplied. References kindly permitted to Sir Walter Besant: also to Messrs. A. P. Watt and Son, Literary Agents, Hastings House, Norfolk-street, Strand, W.C. MESDAMES BRETT L BOWSER, TYPISTS, SELBOENE CHAMBERS, BELL YAED, TEMPLE BAR. Authors' MSS. carefully and expeditiously copied, from is. per iooo words. Extra carbon copies half price. Refer- ences kindly permitted to Angnstine Birrell, Esq., M.P., and "Anthony Hope." ECLAIR TYPEWRITING COMPANY, GRANVILLE HOUSE, ARUNDEL STREET, STRAND. Typewriting, Copying, and Translating carefully and expeditiously executed. References kindly permitted to Sir Frank Lockwood, Q.C., M.P., T. P. O'Connor, Esq., M.P., and E. A. Fardon, Esq., Middlesex Hospital. THE AUTHOR'S HAIRLESS PAPER-PAD. (Thk Leadenhall Pbess Ltd.), 50, Leaden hall St reet , London, E.C. Contains hairless paper, over which the pen slips with perfect freedom. Sixpence each: s«. per dozen, ruled or plain. 32, GIRDLEBS BOAD, BROOK GKEEN. W. MISS CLAXTON (a correct and clear TYPIST) will (be glad to type Authors' MSS., Ac., and to meet with a lady who will join her in opening an office for typewriting in a suitable neighbourhood. Now ready, demy 8vo., cloth boards, price 10s. 6d. IN NEW SOUTH AFRICA. Travels in the Transvaal and Rhodesia. With Map and Twenty-six Illustrations. By H. LINCOLN TANGYE. CONTENTS. Introductory. PART I. Chapter I.—The Land of Gold and the Way there. ,, II.—Across Desert and Veldt. ,, III.—Johannesburg the Golden. IV.—A Transvaal Coach Journey. ,, V.—Natal: the South African Garden. ,, VI —Ostracised in Africa. Home with the Swallows. PART II —RAMBLES IN RHODESIA. Chapter I.—Eendragt Maakt Magt. ,, II.—Into the Country of Lobengula. „ III.—The Trail of War. ,, IV.—Goldmining, Ancient and Modern. „ V.—Sic Transit Gloria Mundi. VI —To Northern Mashonaland. VII.—Primitive Art. The Misadventures of a Wagon. Index. Loudon: Horace Cox, Windsor House, Bream's-bujldings, E.C- Printed and Published by Horace Cox, Windsor House, Bream's-buildings, London, £.0. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Author, Vol. 07 Issue 04 (September 1896) Subject The topic of the resource The Author, Vol. 07 Issue 04 (September 1896) Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015049239455" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015049239455</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Publication Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 1896-09-01-The-Author-7-4 publications The Author https://historysoa.com/files/original/5/293/1896-08-01-The-Author-7-3.pdf d59be7c87fe545d6d18c9b2dc4967684 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 The Author Description An account of the resource A digitised run of the Society of Authors' monthly periodical, The Author, 1890–1914, made available together for the first time. Currently users can browse issues and <a href="https://historysoa.com/items/browse?search=&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bjoiner%5D=and&advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=51&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Index&collection=&type=&tags=&exhibit=&date_search_term=&submit_search=Search+For+Items&sort_field=Dublin+Core%2CTitle">indices</a> (not available for all volumes). Full text search for all issues, and other additional search functionality, will be added in 2022. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1890–1914 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context The-Author-Issues Publication Date The date of an event (in YYYY, YYYY-MM or YYYY-MM-DD format) 1896-08-01 Volume 7 Issue 3 Pages Page range in volume 49–72 Ngram Date Version of the date in YYYYMMDD format for use by the Ngram plugin 18960801 Ngram Text Version of the text with no HTML formatting for use by the Ngram plugin XL he Hutbor* (The Organ of the Incorporated Society of Authors. Monthly.) CONDUCTED BY WALTER BESANT. Vol. VII.—No. 3.] AUGUST i, 1896. [Price Sixpence. CONTENTS. Warnings and Notices Literary Property— 1. At Belfast 2. After Belfast 8. With the Dai!]/ C/ironicle .. 4. Coat of Advertising 5. Cost of the Small Fdition.. 6. Cost of Production 7. Matters for Consideration.. The Berne Congress PAOE ... 49 ... SI .. 5i . M .. 55 . .'5 .. 55 . 55 ... 56 New York Letter. L June 12. II. July 13 Notes and News. By the Editor The Book and the Bookseller Literature in America. By Mon^ure Conway Dinner of the Authors' Club What is Good Literature? Book Talk Correspondence—1. Delayed Publication. 2. Literary Grab-alls. 3. Our Censors. 4 The Titlo Literature in Journals r\OB . 56 . 60 . 61 . 63 . 66 . 66 . 67 70 71 PUBLICATIONS OF THE SOCIETY. 1. The Annual Report. That for January 1896 can be had on application to the Secretary. 2. Th.6 Author. A Monthly Journal devoted especially to the protection and maintenance of Literary Property. Issued to all Members. Back numbers are offered at the following prices: Vol. I., 10*. 6d. (Bound); Vols. II., III., and IV., 8s. 6d. each (Bound); Vol. V., 6s. 6d. (Unbound). 3. Literature and the Pension List. By W. Morris Colles, Barrister-at-Law. (Henry Glaisher, 95, Strand, W.C.) 3*. 4. The History Of the Societe des Gens de Lettres. By S. Squire Sprigge, late Secretary to the Society, is. 5. The Cost of Production. Iu tliis work specimens are given of the most important forms of type, size of page, &c, with estimates showing what it costs to produce the more common kinds of books. Henry Glaisher, 95, Strand, W.C. 2s. 6d. 6. The Various Methods of Publication. By S. Squire Sprigge. In this work, compiled from the papers in the Society's offices, the various forms of agreements proposed by Publishers to Authors are examined, and their meaning carefully explained, with an account of the various kinds of fraud which have been made possible by the different clauses in their agreements. Henry Glaisher, 95, Strand, W.C. 3s. 7. Copyright Law Reform. An Exposition of Lord Monkswell's Copyright Bill now before Parlia- ment. With Extracts from the Report of the Commission of 1878, and an Appendix containing the Berne Convention and the American Copyright Bill. By J. M. Lely. Eyre and Spottiswoode. i*. 6d. 8. The Society of Authors. A Record of its Action from its Foundation. By Walter Besant (Chairman of Committee, 1888—1892). 1*. 9. The Contract of Publication in Germany, Austria, Hungary, and Switzerland. By Ernst Lunge, J.U.D. zs. 6d. ## p. 48 (#72) ############################################## AD VER TISEMENTS. ^fye ^ocicfp of Jluf^ors (gncotporcttefc). Sir Edwin Arnold, K.C.I.E., C.S.I. Alfred Austin. J. M. B aerie A W. a Beckett. P. E. Beddard, F.E.S. Robert Bateman. Sir Henrt Bergnx, K.C.M.G. Sir Walter Besant. Augustine BlRRELL, M.P. Bev. Prop. Bonnet, F.B.S. Bight Hon. James Bryce, M.P. Bight Hon. Lord Burghclere, P.C. Hall Caine. Egerton Castle, F.S.A. P. W. Clatden. Edward Clodd. W. Morris Colles. Hon. John Collier. Sir W. Martin Conwat. F. Marion Crawford. A. W. A Beckett. Sir Walter Besant. Egerton Castle. W. Morris Colles. Messrs. Field Solicitors f M< [a. PRESIDENT. GEOBQE MEKEIDITII. COUNCIL. The Earl of Desart. Austin Dobson. a. conan dotle, m.d A. W. Dubourg. Sir J. Eric Erichsen, Bart., F.B.S. Prof. Michael Foster, F.B.S. Richard Garnett, C.B., LL.D. Edmund Gosse. H. Bider Haggard. Thomas Hardy. Anthony Hope Hawkins. Jerome K. Jerome. Budyard Kipling. Prof. E. Bay Lankester, F.B.S. W. E. H. Lkcky. J. M. Lely. Mrs. E. Lynn Linton. Eev. W. J. Loftie, F.S.A. Sir A. C. Mackenzie, Mus.D. Prof. J. M. D. Meiklejohn. Counsel — E. M. Underdown, COMMITTEE OF MANAGEMENT Chairman—H. Bider Haggard, Hon. John Collier. Sir W. Martin Conway. Anthony Hope Hawkins. J. M. Lely. Boscoe, and Co., Lincoln's Inn Fields. Herman C. Merivale. Bev. C. H. Middleton-Wake. Sir Lewis Morris. Henry Norman. Miss E. A. Ormerod. J. C. Parkinson. Bight Hon. Lord Pirbright. Sir Frederick Pollock, Bart., LL.D. Walter Herries Pollock. W. Baptiste Scoones. Miss Flora L. Shaw. G. B. Sims. S. Squire Sprigge. J. J. Stevenson. Prof. Jas. Sully. William Moy Thomas. H. D. Traill, D.C.L. Mrs. Humphry Ward. Miss Charlotte M. Yonge. Hon. Q.C. Sir A. C. Mackenzie, Mus.D. Henry Norman. S. Squire Sprigge. Herbert Thrino, B.A., 4, Portugal-street, W.C. Secretary—G. Herbert Thring, B.A. OFFICES: 4, Portugal Street, Lincoln's Inn Fields, W.C. IP. WATT &c S0 3ST, LITERARY AGENTS, Formerly of 2, PATERNOSTER SttUARE, Hive now removed to HASTINGS HOUSE, NORFOLK STREET, STRAND. LONDON. W.C. WINDSOR HOUSE PRINTING WORKS, Offices of "The Field," "The Queen," "The Law Times," &e. Mr. HOBACE COX, Printer to the Authors' Society, takes the opportunity of informing Authors that, having a very large Office, and an extensive Plant of Type of every description, he is in a position to EXECUTE any PBINTLNG they may entrust to his care. ESTIMATES FORWARDED, AND REASONABLE CHARGES WILL BE FOUND. ## p. 49 (#73) ############################################## XL he Eutbor, (The Organ of the Incorporated Society of Authors. Monthly.) CONDUCTED BY WALTER BESANT. Vol. VII.—No. 3.] AUGUST 1, 1896. [Pbice Sixpence. For the Opinions expressed in papers that are signed or initialled the Authors alone are responsible. None of the papers or para- graphs must be taken as expressing the collective opinions of the committee unless they are officially signed by G. Herbert Thring, Sec. THE Secretary of the Society begs to give notice that all remittances are acknowledged by return of post, and requests that all members not receiving an answer to important communications within two days will write to him without delay. All remittances should be crossed Union Bank of London, Chancery-lane, or be sent by registered letter only. Communications and letters are invited by the Editor on all subjects connected with literature, but on no other sub- jects whatever. Articles which cannot be accepted are returned if stamps for the purpose accompany the MSS. GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS. THEBE are several methods of publishing by agree- ments. Thus (1) an author may sell his work for a sum of money down: (2) he may take a share of the profits: (3) he may accept a royalty. The first method is the readiest and, where a proper price is paid, perhaps the best. It involves a certain amount of risk or doubt as to the result on the part of the buyer, and a certain amount of hesitation on the part of the seller. The author would do well to sell through an agent. But let him beware as to his choice of agent. At a time when the production of new books involved great risks and where the possible circle of purchasers was very small, the publishers, joining together, took half the profits as a return for their risk and services. At the present time in many cases, where there are no risks, they often take two-thirds and even more of the profits, and that after setting apart a large sum for "office expenses," allowing the author nothing at all for his office expenses. In other words, it is as if a steward were to charge first for his office and desks and then to take half or two-thirds of the remainder for himself as steward's fee. Thereiore the author must in every case ascertain carefully, before signing the agreement, what proportion is appropriated nnder its clauses by the publisher for himself. If the author is in doubt, let him submit the agreement to the secretary, or to one of the VOL. VII. literary agents recommended by the secretary. Above all things he must remember that in any business transaction the one who accepts an agreement in ignorance will quite certainly get the worst of it. The folly of signing in ignorance is the main cause of half the quarrels between author and publisher. In the case of profit-sharing agreements, remember that very common form of getting the better of an author is the practice of advertising the book in the publisher's own organs, very likely magazines of small circulation. Sometimes, also, he " exchanges " advertisements with other magazines, and charges the author as if he had paid for them. In this way the publisher may put the whole profits of a book in his own pocket. One way to prevent this sharp practice is to insert a clause to the effect that advertisements shall only be charged at the actual price paid for them. A better way, however, is to agree beforehand upon the papers in whioh advertisements may be inserted. As regards the right of inspecting the books, that neoo not be claimed, because it exists as the right of every partner, or joint venturer. You have only to demand the inspection of the books by your solicitor, your accountant, or the secretary of the Society. If the book is a first book, or one that carries risk, it is fair to make an arrangement for the first edition and another for the second, and following, if any. The publisher confers so signal a service upon the young author by producing his work at all—i.e., by giving him the chance he desires above all things—that it seems fair in such a case to yield him the larger share. In a profit-sharing agreement do not let the cost of rc duction form a part of the agreement, otherwise you wi be unable to contest it afterwards. It will be wisest never to enter into relations with an publisher unless recommended by the Society. There are many other dangers to be avoided. Seria! rights: stamping the agreement: American rights: futurt work: cession of copyright—these things cannot possibly be attended to by the young author. Therefore his agree- ment should always be shown to the secretary. It has been objected that these precautions presuppose *» great succes for the book, and that very few books indeed attain to this great success. That is quite true : but there in always this uncertainty of literary property that, although the works of a great many authors carry with them no risk at all, and although of a great many it is known within a few copies what will be their minimum circulation, it is not known what will be their maximum. Therefore every author, for every book, should arrange on the chance of a Buccess which will not, probably, come at all; but which may come. The four points which the Society has always demanded from the outset are :— (1.) That both sides shall know what an agreement means. H 2 ## p. 50 (#74) ############################################## THE AUTHOR. (2.) The inspection of those ocoount books which belong to the author. We are advised that this is a right, in the nature of a common law right, which cannot be denied or withheld. (3.) That there shall be no secret profits. (4.) That nothing shall be charged which has not been actually paid—for instance, that there shall be no charge for advertisements in the publisher's own organs and none for exchanged advertisements; and that all discounts shall be duly entered. If these points are carefully looked after, the author may rest pretty well assured that he is in right hands. At the fame time he wDl do well to send his agreement to the secretary before he signs it. HOW TO USE THE SOCIETY. I. "T7WERY member has a right to ask for and to receive advice upon his agreements, his choice of a pub- lisher, or any dispute arising in the conduct of hie business or the administration of his property. If the advice sought is such as can be given best by a solicitor, the member has a right to an opinion from the Society's solicitors. If the case is such that Counsel's opinion is desirable, the Com- mittee will obtain for him Counsel's opinion. All this without any cost to the member. 2. Remember that questions conneoted with copyright and publisher's agreements do not generally fall within the experience of ordinary solicitors. Therefore, do not scruple to use the Society first—our solicitors are continually engaged upon such questions for us. 3. Send to the office copies of past agreements and past accounts with the loan of the books represented. This is in order to ascertain what has been the nature of your agree- ments, and the results to author and publisher respectively so far. The Secretary will always be glad to have any agreements, new or old, for inspection and note. The infor- mation thus obtained may prove invaluable. 4. If the examination of your previous business trans- actions by the Secretary proves unfavourable, you should take advice as to a change of publishers. 5. Before signing any agreement whatever, send the pro- posed document to the Society for examination. 6. The Society is acquainted with the methods, and—in the cose of fraudulent houses—the tricks of every publish- ing firm in the country. 7. Remember always that in belonging to the Society you are fighting the battles of other writers, even if you are reaping no benefit to yourself, and that you are advancing the best interests of literature in promoting the indepen- dence of the writer. 8. Send to the Editor of the Author notes of everything important to literature that you may hear or meet with. 9. The committee have now arranged for the reception of members' agreements and their preservation in a fireproof safe. The agreements will, of course, be regarded as con- fidential documents to be.read only by the Secretary, who will keep the key of the safe. The Society now offers:—(1) To read and advise upon agreements and publishers. (2) To htamp agreements in readiness for a possible action upon tbem. (3) To keep agreements. (4) To enforce payments due according to agreements. THE AUTHORS' SYNDICATE. MEMBERS are informed: 1. That the Authors' Syndicate takes charge of the business of members of the Society. That it submits MSS. to publishers and editors, concludes agree- ments, examines, passes, and collects accounts, and, gene- rally, relieves members of the trouble of managing business details. 2. That the terms upon which its services can be secured will be forwarded upon detailed application. 3. That the Authors' Syndicate works only for those members of the Society whose work possesses a market value. 4. That the Syndicate can only undertake any negotiations whatever on the distinct understanding that those negotia- tions are placed exclusively in its hands, and that all communications relating thereto are referred to it. 5. That clients can only be seen by the Director by appointment, and that, when possible, at least two days' notice should be given. 6. That avery attempt is made to deal with all communi- cations promptly. That stamps should, in all cases, be sent to defray postage. 7. That the Authors' Syndicate does not invite MSS. without previous correspondence; does not hold itself responsible for MSS. forwarded without notice; and that in all cases MSS. must be accompanied by stamps to defray postage. 8. That the Syndicate undertakes arrangements for lectures by some of the leading members of the Society; that it has a "Transfer Department" for the sale and purchase of journals and periodicals; and that a " Register of Wants and Wanted" is open. Members are invited to communicate their requirements to the Manager. Thore iB an Honorary Advisory Committee, whose services will be called upon in any case of dispute or difficulty. It is perhaps necessary to state that the members of the Advisory Committee have no pecuniary interest whatever in the Syndicate. NOTICES. THE Editor of the Author begs to remind members of the Society that, although the paper is sent to them free of charge, the cost of producing it would be a very heavy charge on the resources of the Society if a great many members did not forward to the Secretary the modest 6s. 6d. subscription for the year. The Editor is always glad to receive short papers and communications on all subjects connected with literature from members and others. Nothing can do more good to the Society than to make the Author complete, attractive, and interesting. Will those who are willing to aid in this work send their- names and the special subjects on which they are willing to write? Communications for the Author 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. Members and otherB who wish their MSS. read are requested not to send them to the Office without previously ## p. 51 (#75) ############################################## THE AUTHOR. 5' communicating with the Secretary. The utmost practicable despatch is aimed at, and MSS. are read in the order in which they are received. It must also be distinctly under- stood that the Society does not, under any circumstances, undertake the publication of MSS. The Authors' Club is now open in its new premises, at 3, Whitehall-court, Charing Cross. Address the Secretary for information, rules of admission, Ac. Will members take the trouble to ascertain whether they have paid their subscriptions for the year? If they will do this, and remit the amount, if still unpaid, or a banker's order, it will greatly assist the Secretary, and gave him the trouble of sending out a reminder. Members are most earnestly entreated to attend to the following warning. It is a most foolish and may be a most disastrous thing to enter into an agreement binding for a term of years. Let them ask themselves if they would give a solicitor the collection of their rents for five years to come, whatever his conduct, whether he was honest or dishonest? Of course they would not. Why then hesitate for a moment when they are asked to sign them- selves into literary bondage for three or five years? Those who possess the "Cost of Production" are requested to note that the cost of binding has advanced 15 per cent. This meanB, for those who do not like the trouble of "doing sums," the addition of three shillings in the pound on this head. In other words, if the cost of binding is set down in our book at eight pounds, to this must now be added twenty-four shillings more, so that it now stands at £g 40. The figures in our book are as near the exact truth as can be prooured; but a printer's, or a binder's, bill is so elastic a thing that nothing more exact can be arrived at. Some remarks have been made upon the amount charged in the " Cost of Production" for advertising. Of course, we have not included any sums which may be charged for inserting advertisements in the publisher's own magazines, or in other magazines by exchange. As agreements too often go, there is nothing to prevent the publisher from sweeping the whole profits of a book into his own pocket, by inserting any number of advertisements in his own magazines, and by exchanging with others. Some there are who call this a form of fraud; it is not known what thoBe who practise this method of swelling their own profits call it. LITERARY PROPERTY. I.—With the Booksellers at Belfast. THE following passages are extracts from the speech made by the editor of this paper before the delegates of the Booksellers' Union at Belfast:— "He had to begin with a confession of neglect— with a confession of not understanding the whole problem. He meant this: Ten or twelve years a<,ro, when he, with some other persons, friends of his, founded a society, they did not include in their scheme that solidarity of the book interest which he perceived now they ought to have done. For twelve years past they had been working perhaps self shly and entirely for themselves, and for their relations with the publishers, which, as they knew, had been by no means satisfactory. The authors had improved their owu position to a very considerable extent, but he thought they should long ago have adopted this principle—viz., to take a book as a unit, as a common object of interest to all who were engaged in producing it, creating it, and selling it. "Meantime, he thought they had done something for the booksellers. Some six or seven years ago they produced an important volume, entitled ' The Cost of Production.' "For the first time that volume showed every- body who thought of buying it what a book really cost to produce—he meant to print, bind, publish, and advertise it. "With the cost of production must be taken the price to the trade and the selling price. Let them take a 6*. book for consideration. It was sold for 4*. 6d. The publisher got, on an average, 3«. bd. The cost on editions of 3000 and up- wards of an average book as defined in the ' Cost of Production' would be about is. On an average the author, unless he was a popular author, would receive I*., the publisher it. 6d., and the book- seller is." (Cries of " No, no.") Here many of the delegates got up and called attention to the fact that it was only by ordering a dozen books at a time that they could get them at so low a price as 3*. 6d. They mostly ordered single copies, for which they had to pay 4s. 2d., leaving only 4</. for their profit to include office expenses and living. "Well, let these figures be taken. Suppose the bookseller to get only this miserable 4c?. and the author his is., what did the publisher get out of the transaction 'i What did they think of that? (Shame.) These facts were not believed in by half the j)eople in the world, but they were per- fectly true. (Hear, hear.) In reply to these facts the publisher put forward the question of risk. Well, he had gone into that question, and no doubt there might be serious risk when publishers started new magazines, or expensive encyclopaedias, but as regarded current litera- ture, there was, as a rule, little or no risk what- ever. What he wanted them to observe was, that as regarded every branch of literature, whether they took fiction, poetry, history, essays, or, above all things, educational books, there were hundreds of authors whose works carried no risk, and whose name on the title-page was a guarantee at least of a certain amount of success. (Applause.) Then the publishers talked of the enormous amount of advertisements, but they would be surprised to learn that the i«. he put down very often covered the cost of advertise- ments as well. Considering the course of action of authors in the past, he said the publishers would have been more than hum iu if they had. not ## p. 52 (#76) ############################################## 5* THE AUTHOR. taken advantage of the opportunities that had been afforded them. Why, with absolute power in their hands, they had actually given the book- seller $d. and the author is! It might have been much worse, for they might have given the book- seller 2d. and the author nothing, and nobody could have stopped them if they had done it. "Sometimes he had been called a dreamer of dreams, of which one or two of the more impos- sible had come off; he wou'd just lay before them a little dream he had about themselves. He thought they were all gathered together, four thousand strong in that building, and there stood a man in front of them and congratulated them on their strength, and he said in his dream 'Four thousand is a large number—an army; with four thousand you should do what you bke;' and they replied in the same strain. He then asked what they proposed to do, and why didn't they act, and they replied 'How are we to act? What are we to do?' Then this impossible dreamer said, 'Why don't you begin by publishing for yourselves, by yourselves, the more popular part of the books you sell?' If they did that they would increase their profit by 40 per cent, on their investments. He laid that down as a proposal for the booksellers to consider. Let them not do anything to which anyone could object. Let them just add one more to the numerous publishing houses already in existence. The proposal, he held, was perfectly feasible for them and the public, and as to how far it might be developed he would leave that to them to decide. It might be said that the question of risk came in, but when their numbers ran into thousands there was no risk—not a penny. Let them take authors, who were timid and bad business people, into their partnership in the fullest and freest manner, and if the authors saw they were carrying out the principle they had laid down in a loyal and true spirit, as he had no doubt they would, they would be attracted—yes —all the best authors in the country." II.—After Belfast. We have had, in consequence of the foregoing address, another of those periodical attacks in which our figures are assailed. Yet they remain. Nothing is more certain to me than the fact that the kind of book which we called an average book; that is, exactly defined, as a book of 320 pages, with about 258 words to the page, can be produced in large quantities at less than a shilling. Nothing is more certain than the fact that the average price paid by the trade for a 6s. book is 3*. 6d. in quantities of a dozen and over; and 4.V. 2f/. in single copies. Nothing is more certain, therefore, than the fact that 2*. 6d., in one case, and 3*. 2d., in the other, remains over, which should be the author's property, out of which to pay the services of the publisher. As for the question of office expenses, I do not think any one will again advance the preposterous claim that publishers alone have any office expenses to be considered. The office expenses, if they are divided over every book issued by publisher and bookseller are estimated by some of the latter at about 16 per cent, of their receipts: by some of the former at 10 per cent, of their expenses. I do not know how much the author should reckon—in many cases, of course, his expenses can never be covered by any return that the book could yield, even if he had all. Such a case as the accumulation of a library; the work of years; the copying of MSS.; travelling; all to make a history; cannot ever be repaid: yet they are genuine office expenses: even the rent of his house, which is his workshop, should be con- sidered. Suppose, however, that all the three persons concerned were to take each 10 per cent, for office expenses. How would the matter stand? I take the price to the bookseller to be 34. 6c?., and the cost of the book to be is. They all take 10 per cent., i.e., 4'2d., not quite \\d. —say ^d. —for office expenses. That reduces the said 3*. 6d. to 2s. 6d. The cost of production reduces it to i*. bd., of which a fair division would perhaps be i*. to the author and 6d. to the pub- lisher. The question of advertising is always coming up. Do we count that in the shilling? Un- doubtedly we do. I suppose it will be allowed that the advertising is spread over the whole of the editions. Now, an edition in large numbers, of such a size as we have assumed, may cost under gd. a copy. Every £ 10 spent in advertising means 2\d. for 1000, i-fad. for 2000, %d. for 3000, for 6000. In other words, a book which sells 6000 copies may have =£50 spent in advertising it for 2d. a copy. When we treat of small editions, the book itself must cost, as is care- fully shown in the "Cost of Production," a good deal more than a shilling. The question how much advertising a book may bear is often an anxious one. Here every publisher follows his own plan. That some plans are unwise—that much money is wasted in advertising — one who stands behind the scenes and compares accounts as rendered by different firms cannot but understand so much. Three or four years ago the accounts of a book ## p. 53 (#77) ############################################## THE AUTHOR. 53 costing about js. 6d. were sent in. The sum of over =£200 was set down for advertising. A detailed list of papers and dates was sent in: apparently every little journal in the country had been enriched : the list was verified here and there, and seemed to be correctly drawn up. Another case occurred the other day where a book whose sale was no more than 170x3 copies was loaded with advertisements to the tune of .£96! This charge was also verified, and was, no doubt, perfectly correct—but the wisdom of spending so much on a book impossible to make popular seems doubtful. As a general rule the money spent in advertising the great mass of books is very small, for the simple and sufficient reason that the public would not buy them if we placarded the whole west front of St. Paul's with their advertisements. Here is a new point to be considered, A corre- spondent says: " In estimating the subject of cost there is a point which seems to have escaped you. It is the advantage enjoyed by the great houses. They can keep going a whole army of printers: they can order cloth for binding by the acre: they can order paper by the square mile. There- fore they get everything cheaper than the small publisher who sends in a book here and a book there, orders his cloth for binding by the yard and the paper by the ream." The correspondence about the Belfast meeting has ended, so far, in the following letters :— To the Editor of the Westminster Gazette. Sir,—An additional fact of considerable interest, whioh has just come to my knowledge, is my only exouse for addressing you again on this subject. 1. In bis letter to you of July 8 Mr. R. B. Marston made the following statement: "A 6s. novel is sold to the trade at one-third off less 10 per cent., thirteen copies being reckoned as twelve; this brings the amount received by the publisher to 3s. 4<J., leaving him lod." These, he states, are the terms " to the trade." 2. This statement is quite clear and distinct. 3. Very well. A few days after this statement was thus publicly made a circular was issued by the firm of Sampson Low and Co., addressed "To the Trade." This circular being marked "Private," my solicitors, Messrs. Field, Boscoe, and Co., asked Messrs. Sampson Low and Co. if they would permit me to publish it. They object to its publication. 4. I can therefore only inform your readers that in this circular "the Trade" are cautioned by Messrs. Sampson Low and Co. not to expect the terms which one of their directors has assured the public are given to them. 5. With this circular before me, I can repeat, even more eonfiflently than before, my assertion that the price of the 6>. book to the bookseller, with all discounts and allow- ances, is js. 6d. If any people object, I shall refer them to Messrs. Sampson Low and Co. My previous assertion th»t single copies pay 4». 2d. has never been denied. The prioe . asked by publishers, therefore, varies from 4s. 2d. to 3«. 4<Z., which is apparently the price to distributors. The average price obtained by the publisher I shall still pnt at 38. 6d.— Your obedient servant, Walter Besant. Frognal, Hampstead, July 23. To the Editor of the Westminster Gazette. Sir,—Sir Walter Besant now state.-s in your columns that "the average price obtained by the publisher I shall put at 38. 6(2." This is only 2d. more than my estimate, but it is 8d. less than the figures given to the meeting at Belfast. Sir Walter says that we objeot to the publication of a private circular addressed to the trade, but he does not mention the reason we gave, viz., that booksellers have written to us oomplaining of trade discounts being pub- lished at all. If this correspondence should lead towards the abolition of the present stupid system of oalling the retail prioe of a book 25 per cent, more than anyone can buy it at it will not have been in vain.—Yours faithfully, B. B. Marston. St. Dunstan's House, Fetter-lane, London, E.C. Let anyone compare my letter with this answer. In my letter I show that a definite statement of figures publicly advanced was secretly denied by the same firm. I also point out that my original statement of the 4*. 2d. remains the same. Yet Mr. Marston pretends that I have reduced my original statement as to the 4*. 2d. by 8d. The end of the thing is that I come out of it with my own figures supported by this secret document letter for letter. The history in brief of the row: 1. The booksellers declare that the so-called trade price of 3*. 6d. is no use to them, because they cannot order copies by the dozen. 2. They further declare that for single copies, which they have to sell at 4*. 6d., they have to pay 4j. 2d. 3. Enterprising publisher, drawing a herring across the real grievance by questioning the alleged trade price of 3*. 6c?., declares that it is 3«. 4rf. 4. Enterprising publisher's firm send out a secret circular to the trade warning them that they must not expect to get their books at the price of 3*. $d., as publicly stated by their partner. 5. Another enterprising publisher enters the arena and tries another herring, denies that the book put forward as average (i.e., a book of 320 pages with 258 words to a page) can be produced at a shilling even in large editions, says that the average is 352 pages, and then shows in triumph that the Society's figures are wrong. 6. The person attacked exposes the public allegations with the secret denial, and shows that he has been right throughout; that the charge of the 4»- 2d. has never been denied, and that the ## p. 54 (#78) ############################################## 54 THE AUTHOR. average return to the publisher is taken at 3s. 6d. 7. The person exposed brings along another herring and pretends that the charge of the 4*. 2d. has been withdrawn in favour of the 3*. 6d. This is the common course of all these con- troversies: a charge advanced: a herring: then another: then a third: at last the original charge remains. III.—The "Daily Chronicle" on the Controversy. The Daily Chronicle publishes a column of notes from publishers. I. Mr. Oswald Crawfurd made three statements, all of them in error. a. That I say there is no risk in publishing. I have never said anything of the kind. I say that the risk in producing the current literature of the day, considering the custom of making the new author pay for producing his own work, is so small as not to be worth considering; and this I maintain. /3. That I propose to abolish the publisher. It is impossible to abolish the publisher. As well try to abolish the capitalist. But there is not the least reason why booksellers should not print for themselves some of the popular books of the day. The great literary enterprises, the important works, will be left for the great merchant adventurers in literature. y. He says that I ought to practice what I preach. Well, I am willing to do so. But I am not a bookseller. If the bookseUers do what I have suggested I will offer them a story with the greatest pleasure. II. Mr. Heinemann says that my figures have been demolished by Mr. Marston. Really! This is indeed ingenuous! Mr. Marston advanced figures, truly, in the Westminster Gazette, but his own firm next day sent out a private circular to the trade telling them that they could not expect to get their books on those terms. The figures given in that circular were exactly mine, viz., 3«, 6d. when a dozen copies are ordered. III. Mr. Sonnenschein talked good sense and spoke with truth and candour. Observe, however (1) that I have never said that there are no risks in publishing (see above), and (2) that I have never talked such nonsense as that all novels cost the same. I say that in large editions of a certain work assumed to be an average work, with a given number of sheets and a certain size page a book may be produced at a shilling a copy, and in subsequent editions much less. "With regard to the cost of production, I think it is a great mistake to talk as though all novels cost the same. Many can be produced at a shilling a copy if sufficient copies are printed. Others cost a great deal more. One might just as well speak of building a house without explaining whether it is a cottage or mansion. I am sorry for the decline of the country bookseller. Formerly he was a small speculator and extremely useful to publisher and author. Now in most cases he has declined into a mere distributor of books, exercising no control over their selection, and practically keep- ing no stock." IV. Mr. Alfred Nutt thinks that 75 per cent, of the new books do not pay, and that the loss in half the cases falls on the publisher. An opinion of this kind is valuable in propor- tion to the experience and knowledge of him who holds it. Mr. Nutt occupies a very respected position as a publisher. I would accept any opinion of Mr. Nutt's which is based on personal experience so far as that can be taken, but the valuable works which Mr. Nutt issues can scarcely be called popular. V. Mr. Hutchinson says that he cannot produce a 6s. novel in an edition of 3000 copies at 1*. He does not, however, say that he cannot produce the assumed average book of twenty sheets which we have advanced. All books are not the same length. He says they frequently spend ,£75 in advertising a book. He also trots out the office expenses, saying nothing about the booksellers' or the authors' office expenses. VI. A bookseller, Mr. Collier, of Stanford, writes sensibly: "My own opinion is that the bulk of booksellers buy on the single-copy terms after the first subscription, and often then, and that they don't get more than 5 per cent, extra discount in any case, if so much. A bookseller with an open window who makes cheap fiction his leading trade, and gives it great publicity, pro- bably always gets his 6s. books for 4s. But not so the majority of the trade. He is able to buy in large quantities because he make that his business, but the average man who keeps an all- round stock of books—the average bookseller, that is to say—buys in small quantities. Argu- ments on the whole question ought fairly to be based on the terms usually in operation, and those terms are roundly 30 per cent, off the published price, which means getting a 6s. novel for 4s. 2«?. It is not a fair argument on the part of the publisher to take purchases in exceptionally large numbers as the basis. I judge that in any trade an exceptionally large buyer would com- mand an extra discount, especially if he had his money in his hand, but his case would not illustrate the general custom in his trade." ## p. 55 (#79) ############################################## THE AUTHOR. 55 VII. Lastly, if it is lastly, another bookseller says in the Daily Chronicle: "The contention between the retail booksellers and the publishers is simply this—the retail trade say that $d. a copy profit on each 6*. book they sell is not enough. The publishers, represented by Mr. Marston, say 4</. a copy is not all you get. Now it happens that when Mr. Marston's letter appeared my quarterly account was just due, and uii seeing his letter I naturally concluded that he meant what he said, and that he did supply retail booksellers on the terms he mentioned. Now his account against me contained several 6*. books, which were charged so as to allow me only 4(1. a copy profit. I therefore deducted the differ- ence between the price he says publishers charge and what his firm were actually charging me, and sent him a cheque. This he promptly returned as being insufficient to settle the account, and at once confirmed Sir Walter Besant's statement.— I am, yours faithfully, "July 27. "A West End Bookseller." IV.—The Cost of Advertising. The cost of advertising is, I repeat, in- cluded in the cost of production. How is it, then, that in estimating (see " Cost of Produc- tion,'' p. 31) the cost of an edition of 3000, even when making allowance for the reduction in ■ the cost of paper, there is left so small a margin for advertising? The answer is this: A book which sells 3000 copies will certainly go on selling. The next edition of 3000 costs under lod. a copy. Now, the cost of advertising for an edition of 3000 is as follows. Every =£10 spent in advertising means four-fifths of a penny per copy. If, therefore, ,£25 be spent in advertising that means 2d. a, copy. But for a sale of 6000 copies, every Jiio means two-fifths of a penny, and an expenditure of £40 means i%d. per copy. It is easy, therefore, to understand how the cost of advertising is included in the shilling. It must always be understood that this does not include the publishers' own organs, for which they has no right to charge anything, except by special agreement; nor exchanges, namely, advertisements inserted, and probably paid for, in other pub- lishers' organs on the understanding, tacit or expressed, that advertisements shall be sent in return to their organs. V.—The Cost of the Small Edition. When complaints are made that a book cannot be produced at the figures given in the "Cost of Production," it is always assumed that those figures are put forward for every kind of edition- VOL. VII. Thus it is ignored that (see page 31) the number of sheets, the size of the page, the number of words in the page, and the kind of type are all given. It is also ignored (see page 26) that the small edition is very carefully considered. Thus it is stated that a six shilling book printed in small pica, at 258 words to the page, and in seventeen sheets or 272 pp., would cost for 500 copies, 2*. 8d. a copy; for 1000 copies, is. ioirf. a copy. It may also be calculated from the detailed figures that for 2000 copies about i*. "jd. a copy may be reckoned. The history of a very large number of books is this. An edition of 2000 copies is printed, and the type distributed. Whatever is said about the uncertainty of the book trade, it is pretty certain that certain books of a kind very well known will never reach the end of their second thousand. As a matter of fact, many of them never clear the first thousand, leaving a small profit of about ,£40 or X'50. If the author is to have a shilling royalty out of this, the publisher manifestly has nothing. Therefore, the author cannot have a shilling royalty. But that is no reason why the pub- lisher should cry out upon the "Cost of Produc- tion" and the figures put forward in that invaluable book. If, however, the book sells 1800 copies—a very fair measure of success with such books, and the author has his twopence in the shilling, the figures stand thus, always taking the length of the book as above: Cost of production, £132; author, i'yo; pub- lisher, =£93. So that it is quite evident that a very limited sale may produce quite substantial results. VI.—The Cost of Production. 1 have in my hands the catalogue of a certain public library. It is four times the length of the average six-shilling book; it con- tains, in fact, about 300,000 words in 264 closely printed pages; it is bound in plain boards only, but it employs different kinds of type, which adds greatly to the expenses of composition. The librarian says, "You are interested in the cost of production. This book, of which 7500 were printed, cost to produce, as nearly as possible, 9jrf. a copy." Yet a weekly paper was some time ago persuading its readers that nothing short of an edition of 30,000 copies would enable the average six-shilling book, which contains about 80,000 words, to be produced for a shilling a copy. .,_ W. B. VII.—"Matters for Consideration." I am glad to report that, as one result of exposing certain facts in regard to agreements, 1 ## p. 56 (#80) ############################################## 56 THE AUTHOR. a publisher who was referred to in these columns has so far modified his offers concerning agency business that be now proposes to give the author 90 per cent, instead of 50, his former custom. In other words, he proposes to be a literary agent in such matters in the same sense as the genuine literary agent. But the literary agent must always stand apart from the publisher. In my opinion it is a great mistake for the author to look to the publisher for agency work. G. H. Thbing. 10. The relations of authors and editors, M. Eugene Pouillet. 11. Registration, M. Lucien Lay us. 12. Legal protection of artistic heritages, M. Maurice Bekaert. 13. Public rights (after the lapse of author's rights) in artistic and literary works, M. E. Mack. 14. The proprietorship of stereotype or other plates for reproduction, M. Davanne. EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE INTER- NATIONAL LITERARY AND ARTISTIC ASSOCIATION AT BERNE. Programme. THE eighteenth Congress of the International Literary and Artistic Association will take place at Berne, from the 22nd to the 29th of August. The following is the official list of subjects proposed for consideration: 1. Report on the work done by the association between the Berne Convention (1886) and the Paris Conference (1896), M. Jules Lermina. 2. Paper on the Paris Conference, M. Georges Maillard. 3. Means of assuring the application of the Berne Convention in the countries which have joined the union: (a) Literary works, M. Paul Ollendorf. (6) Dramatic works, M. A. Beaume. (c) Musical works, M. Victor Souchon. (<7) Painting, sculpture, and engraving, M. Georges Floury. (e) Architectural works, M. Charles Lucas. (f) Photography, M. Andre Taillefer. ((/) Compliance with conditions and formalities in countries belonging to the union, M. Ernest Rothlisbcrger. 4. Legislation in countries belonging to the uuion. Germany, M. Albert Osterrietli. Italy, M. Tito Ricordi. 5. Copyright of contributions to journals, M. Jules Lermiua. 6. The means of obtaining the adhesion of new countries to the Berne Convention: Europe, M. Maurice Mauuoury. America, M. A. Darras. 7. Collaboration, M. G. Harmand. 8. The rights of the creditors of authors, M. A. Vaunois. 9. Proposals for a law on the rights of authors, M. Georges Maillard. NEW YORK LETTER. I. New York City, N.Y., June 12. HAMLIN GARLAND, the most prominent new writer of the Western States, is now at work on a different kind of work from any he has heretofore attempted. His reputation as a short story writer has become firmly estab- lished in the last few years ; this year he made his first experiment in novel writing with " Rose of Dutehers Cooley," which showed some power, and now he has nearly finished a piece of his- torical work for S. S. McClure and Co., a Life of Grant, which is to begin in serial form very soon. He has done a great deal of study for the sub- ject. He intends to treat it graphically and to make it read as much as possible like a novel, although it is to be exact. Mr. Garland is not only the strongest of the young writers of Chicago, to which city he now belongs, but he is the one of prominence who believes most firmly in the future of that city as a literary centre. It is already the city to which the country people of the Western States look for careers, as is graphically told in "Rose of Dutehers Cooley," which is supposed to be largely autobiographical. Mr. Garland himself has spent most of his life in the country, and, although he now lives in Chicago, spends much of his time on a farm. It is a common thing to hear it suggested that he needs to go to more cultivated places to work out a talent which is probably the most real of auy produce) within the last few years in the west, and it is said that he himself feels a certain danger in being as conspiciously the leader as he is, but his loyalty to Chicago and his belief in its future are ardent. As surely as Mr. Garland is the strongest, Henry B. Fuller is the the cleverest of the Chicago writers. The book published here by the Century Company in May and by John Lane in London, shows that Mr. Fuller's mind has taken a new turn. He first attracted attention with a story largely ## p. 57 (#81) ############################################## THE AUTHOR. 57 of fancy, "The Chevalier of Pensieri-Vani," but his reputation has been made mainly on two stories of severe realism, "The Cliff Dwellers" and "With the Procession." "The Puppet Booth" is, on the other hand, entirely symbolic and largely in the manner of Maeterlinck. A few of the little plays are obvious parodies, but most of them arc serious efforts that seem to show a new turn of his talent. He is probably, however, doomed to failure in this line, and it is the general expectation that he will return to studies of Chicago life, though probably they will be less insistently realistic than they were before. Mr. Fuller is the only one of the Western writers of importance who does not like the life in which he is placed. A few days ago he said in a letter to a newspaper: "The trouble with life in A merica is that it. is uninteresting, and it is uninteresting largely because it has been so unsuccessful in voicing itself: 70,000,000 of us, mostly inarticulate ; it is a mortifying reflec- tion. I agree with you that every native peep, if authentic, should be encouraged to go on peeping; then, some day our needs in art, in literature, in music will be met not approximately, by the handiest foreign importation, but absolutely, by productions of our own people. The twitterings of the new brood of magazinelets seem to herald the coming dawn." He has never been fond of the crude and enthusiastic city, but he has a certain loyalty to it and is interested in its future. A story by a Chicago woman, which, whatever its other qualities, smells of the soil, is the last novel of Lillian Bell, called "The Under Side of Things." She is the author of " The Love Affairs of an Old Maid." No Chicago author is more like Chicago. The novel is handled in England by Sampson Low, Marston and Co. Everybody in the literary world in Chicago is rejoicing just now that the dissolution of the firm of Stone and Kimball does not mean one less publishing house in the city. Mr. Stone has organised a new firm, H. S. Stone and Co., which, besides issuing the Chap Booh, is to go on with the publication of books, beginning with the second series of Richard Le Gallienne's Prose Fancies, a translation of the novel of "Annunzio," and two works of more local character. "Checkers," a story by Henry M. Blossom, jun., claims little merit other than a faithful reproduction of the slang of Chicago, which has not yet found its way into books, although it has into the newspapers. The story is at least amusing. More under- standing of the city and more vividness of expres- sion will be found in "Stories of the Streets and of the Town," by Geo. Ames, a young nmn whose work on the Chicayo Record has attracted attention for a number of years. All of those books will probably be issued before fall. Rudyard Kipling's story of 50,000 words dealing with Gloucester fishermen, has been sold in its serial rights for England and American for 240 dollars a thousand words to McClure. The book is not arranged for, but it is said that, the MacMillans have made an offer for it. Chas. Scribncr's Sons have just bought 'The Sense of Beauty," by George Santayana, a young man who has thus far published one book, a volume of verse brought out by Stone and Kimball. What essay work has appeared in the magazines has been brilliant. Dr. Santayana has been teaching sesthetics and philosophy at Har- vard University, to which he will return in 1897, spending this year in England. Among the other books which the Scribners expect to bring out in fall is " The Sprightly Adventures of Marsac," by Miss Eliote Sewall, which is a New York Herald prize story, and will be brought out with illustra- tions by G. Berbeck, known from his connection with Le Chat Noir, the Courrier Franrais, and other French papers. Although both the author and illustrator are Americans the study of Bohemian Life in Paris is an interesting one. "My Village," a sketch of life in a French village near Paris, where the author lived for five years, with illustrations by the author, E. Boyd Smith, has an intimate charm. The Scribners have just announced Max Beerbohm's works, which are thus far very little known in this country. The Century Company in the fall will publish a story of Quaker life by Dr. Weir Mitchell of Philadelphia. Crowell and Co. will bring out in the fall a five volume edition of Fennimorc Cooper's Leather Stocking Tales, handsomely illustrated, with an introduction by Brander Mathews. Stephen Crane's new novel "Dan Edmonds," which was expected in June, will not be ready until the autumn. Edward Arnold has just pub- lished " George's Mother," a story which is much inferior to the "Red Badge of Courage." The first edition is 10,000. The Appletons publish "Maggie, a Girl of the Street," which Mr. Crane wrote some years ago, and which is weaker than "George's Mother." Even in these two books, however, there is some of the power which was proved by the "Red Badge of Courage," and good work in the future from Mr. Crane is looked upon as a certainty by most of the critics here. Sarah Orne Jewett is editing the two volumes of Mrs. Thaxter's poems and prose works, which will prevent her bringing out a new volume of stories this fall. She is a writer who is likely to be better known in England as time goes on. ## p. 58 (#82) ############################################## 58 THE AUTHOR. The fact that "Madelon," Miss Wilkins' first attempt at a novel, is sold in England, and that Miss Jewett is almost unknown there, shows that the relative merits of the two writers are not understood. They occupy a field of their own, the study of New England life, and neither stands first in this country; Miss Jewett, with more delicacy, has scarcely less power than Miss Wilkins. Miss Wilkins is not at her best in "Madelon," although the story has much strength. Tt is published by Harper and Brothers. Miss Jewett's last volume of stories called " The Life of Nancy," is published by Houghton, Mifflin, and Co. H. C. Bunner, the poet, who has just died in America, is to be honoured by a Bunner memo- rial, a medal to be awarded annually at Columbia University, to the student who submits the best essay on American literature. It is in charge of Laurence Hutton, Brander Matthews, and H. G. Paine. The American branch of the Macmillan busi- ness has been changed to a corporation, and called the Macmillan Company, but the manage- ment remains the same. G. P. Putnam's Sons announce for immediate publication in book form under the name of "The United States and Great Britain " three of the best addresses that have been delivered here during the recent international troubles; "The Relations between the United States and Great Britain, by David A. Wells; "The True Monroe Doctrine," by E. S. Phelps, formerly Minister to England, and " Arbitration," by Carl Schurtz. "By Oak and Thorn," by Alice Brown, pub- lished by Houghton, Mifflin, and Co., a series of sketches of English country, is a disappointment. Her work in New England fiction has given promise that she might sometime stand next to Miss Jewett and Miss Wilkins, but this book is deplorably weak. N. H. n. New York, July 13. One of the most interesting books to be published next, fall is a temptation to say something about a distinctive feature of current, criticism in America, and especially in this city. Our most valuable contemporary critics are not those who are known in England, for an obvious reason. What Mr. George Bernard Shaw said of himself some time ago, that he wrote for the paper which would pay him most, is of course true of our literary men on the whole, and as the newspapers and the cheap periodicals pay the best prices, and pay them not for as sound work as is demanded by a number of the leading English periodicals, but for either noto- riety or a style that will appeal to the mass of half-educated readers who give to our newspapers and magazines their immense circulations, the critics most widely known are men whose best work is in other fields of literature, and who enter criticism because their prominence makes their opinions sought. Curiously enough, at first sight, some of the solidestand subtlest criticism we have in America deals with the arts which are most inchoate here. There is no literary critic, no dramatic critic, no musical critic whose style and treat- ment are more distinguished and fertile than are those of several who write mainly of the plastic arts. This is due partly to accident, partly to the fact that the public recognises its ignorance of the plastic arts, and therefore cares more for expert criticism than it does in the case of comment on literature and the drama, where it is best pleased to see its own opinions immediately reflected. The existence of a demand for expert comment on arts which are rapidly growing in general interest has led to a great amount of writing among the New York artists, and some of them are at least as skilful with the pen as ■ ith the brush. The book which will support these remarks is to be publshed by the Century Company in the fall. It is a book about French artists written by American artists, to be illus- trated by the leading engravers, Cole, Wolfe, and Kingsley. The mumber of volumes is, I believe, still undecided. The idea originated with John C. Van Dyke, the author of "Art for Art's sake," "Principles of Art," "A Textbook of the History of Painting," and other criticism, Pro- fessor of the History of Art in Rutger's College, and on the whole the critic whose point of view is most satisfactory to the painters themselves. His work all has really one object, to explain to intelligent novices the standpoint of the artist. He is eminently sane and competent, but he has no graces or powers of expression. Before passing on to the painter critics, whose work is illustrated in this collection, a word should be said for completeness of two writers who do not appear there, since it happens that the two contemporary American writers who have made the most interesting books on art are not artists. Second to no American critic of the day for the soundest literary merit is Mrs. Schuyler Van Rensselaer, the author of a work on the Eng.ish cathedrals, one on landscape gardening called "Art out of Doors," a, book on painters called " Six Portraits," other bound volumes, and a great many magazine and newspaper articles 011 art, as well as some on politics, some on literature, and a little fiction. She is one among few of our writers who have cared a great deal for style ## p. 59 (#83) ############################################## THE AUTHOR. 59 in its subtler qualities. For the years that she has been writing it has always improved. Culti- vated, personal at once and reserved, at the beginning, it has steadily gained in harmony, suppleness, and finish, while keeping the earnest- ness and solidity which were its merits from the start. She lives among society people, among artists, among politicians, and among the poor of the East side, a leader in almost every branch of New York life, and it is the breadth of her personality as well as her warmth of sympathy and her thorough study of her subjects that makes her style, which has no qualities that are showy or take a superficial attention at once, one that can well stand judgment on high standards. She writes for the general public, not the specialist, but she writes her best always. She, more than any other one writer, led to the recognition among Eastern critics of the architectural merits of the buildings at Chicago in 1892-3. W. C. Brownell, for some years a literary critic, now the reader for Scribners' publishing house, has lately written much on art, part of which appears as a book " French Art." He is seen at his best in this and in " French Traits." In the kind of criticism which is purely intellectual, where critical acumen for almost everything, Mr. Brownell stands first, in spite of the small amount of his collected work. In subtlety, sharpness of dis- tinction, preciseness of statement, logical coherence, individuality of vocabulary, and brilliancy of characterisation verging on epigram, he easily leads our critics. He is too intellectual for the public and frankly writes for a few. A inong the painter critics the only one of pro- minence who does not appear in the Century collection is John La Forge, and he writes not of contemporary work, but of art principles in general. "Considerations on Painting," pub- lished this year by Macmillan, although some- what elementary in style in its long explanations, has much sound thought clearly and firmly stated. Coming to those painters who do appear as writers in the Century book, several combine the technical with the literary point of view success- fully. Kenyon Cox, who does the articles on Puvis de Chauvannes and Baudry, writes mainly of technical qualities, but treats them broadly as well as strictly, and writes with uncommon vigour, certainty, and clearness. He is very well known here as an anonymous reviewer, and he has a quality rare among the writers who have personal acquaintance with the men they write of perfect straightforwardness in the treatment of fault8- W. A. Coffin, who does Kosseau ^, ~ na,n- Bouveret, also combines literary Q ~ Da£ 1 the knowledge of a practical pa in te^^ ties * "T best work was done for the Nation 3' gome #f l^8 VOL. VII, \tbe?*m Exhibition of 1889. In one of his papers to the nation, by the way, Mr. Coffin speaks of Theodore Robinson as the best of the present American impressionists, and many of the New York artists agree with him. Robinson, who died last April, has two articles in the present collection, one 011 Monet, which has already appeared in the Century, and one, which at his death he left practically complete, on Corot. With a few slight revisions by his intimate friend, A. P. Jaccaci, the art editor of Scribner's Magazine, the article reads smoothly, and it shows a most attractive side of the young painter, whose admiration for Coret was high, and whose love of literature was strong and made him write well. He died while his art was still changing, and hardly anyone could be more missed. Gerome and Bontet de Monvel are done by Will H. Low, popular as a writer on art, who now has a series of articles running in McClure's Magazine. Bonnat and Laurens are done by E. H. Blashfield, one of our most prominent painters, who is a ready and intelligent critic. Gh P. R. Healey, the portrait painter, writes on Conture, Beckwith on Carolus Duran, H. W. Watrons on Meissionier, Arthur Horber on Diaz, W. H. Howe on Troyon, D. W. Tryon. one of our most delicate landscape painters, on Danbigny, Wyatt Eaton on Millet, and S. Isham on Bastien Lepage. In this connection, a book just published by C. A. Ellis, by the most prominent of our musical critics, W. F. Apthorp, should be mentioned. The volume of nearly 900 pages has analytic programmes of the twenty-four concerts given in Boston last season by the symphony orchestra of that city. Mr. Apthorp has not only commented on 105 pieces by forty-six composers in an interesting and scholarly way, but has a number of entre-actes treating of various subjects in musical history. The present interest in music, shown by Paderewski's immense success and the increasing support of the orchestra in New York, Boston, and Chicago, as well as of the opera, finds a minor illustration in the publication by the Scribners of a little book called " Delivery in the Art of Pianoforte Playing." There may be a temptation later to speak of dramatic criticism, which is at a low ebb in all our cities. As an illustration of the bad effect of cheap magazines and newspapers on literary criticism a gross instance may be cited from Munsey's Magazine, which has the largest circulation of any monthly magazine in the country. The literary critic of that periodical says: « Mr-Harold Frederic , g made his debut as a novelist with a book titled ' The Damnation of -T^eron Ware.' Mr. 0** jeric is favourably kno^v^ ^0 us by his foreign ## p. 60 (#84) ############################################## bo THE AUTHOR. letters to the .New York Times, and those who have followed his work closely will not be sur- prised to find in his first novel proof that he is entitled to high rank in literature." As Mr. Frederic's stories of American life have long had a very high place in general estimation the absurdity of the remark is more than ordinarily salient. Norman Hapgood. NOTES AND NEWS. THE present number of the Autlurr is almost made up of the booksellers' grievance. It is a subject which, as is argued in another place, most materially affects us all. We must have centres of distribution and exhibition. Whether we care about books being sold or not, we care greatly about their being seen and read. The circulating library cannot take the place of the book shop: that is quite certain. It is a stupid policy and a blind policy to sweat the bookseller out of existence, Meantime it must be observed that in the whole of the contro- versy my original charge, that of making the unfortunate bookseller pay 4*. 2d. for a book which he has to sell for 4*. 6d. has never been denied, or excused, or explained away. It remains. _ The "New York Letter" of last month, which arrived too late, appears in this number with that of the present month. I am happv to inform our readers that Mr. Sherard, who has been much occupied with law work of a disagreeable kind, hopes to resume his letter from Paris next month. o<_ Lord Bosebery's eulogy on Robert Burns, pro- nounced at the recent Centenary Celebration, deserves to be reprinted separately as an oration of the highest literary order. I doubt if there is a single man among the whole of the literary profession who could write—not to say deliver— a tribute to the memory of a poet with so much appreciation, so much grace, so much felicity of phrase, so much originality, and in language so well sustained, and in parts, so noble. The address reminds us that the literary gift, the power of expression, is not confined to those who follow the literary profession. I hope that the address will be issued in a form more durable than that of the morning paper. The following sums have been received by Miss Ellen T. Masters, of 4, Mount Avenue, Ealing, on behalf of Mrs. Eliza Warren since the publica- tion of the former list, making a total of ,£46 12.5. id. :— £ t. d. £ »■ d. Anon 0 1 6 Page/Warden, Esq. 0 10 0 Cooke, the Misses 0 10 0 Toplis, Miss Grace 0 5 0 Hilton, E. E 1 0 0 S. B 0 5 0 In the list published in our July number, for " A Poor Old Woman," is., read 1*. id.; for Mrs. F. G. Smart, 5*., read £5 ; and for Miss G. Michell, 10*., read icw. 6d. gi_ Mr. Moncure Conway's paper on "Literature in America" reopens the question whether, in 1891, we were right in accepting without a protest the Copyright Act as it stood, with its mis- chievous clauses. We did so on the under- standing that, but for these clauses, this Act would not be passed. We accepted the pro- verbial half loaf rather than no bread. The English grievance, as advanced by Mr. Conway, is that the author invariably loses his first work in America; at the same time, he nearly always loses his first work in this country. One does not pity him very much, because to every author the first step necessary is the publication of his first book. That is, if he is a poet, a dramatist, a novelist, or an essayist; in other words, if he is embarking upon a life of literature, the first step is the most difficult; for that first step the author must be grateful, whatever terms are offered him. The American grievance is that of his current literature of the day, 60 per cent, comes from abroad, and is obtained for nothing. This is not a good thing for American litera- ture; and, in the long run, cannot be good for American publishers. It seems a matter entirely in the hands of the American authors. And it remains to be seen whether they can be powerful enough, united enough, and independent enough, to demand the abolition or the modification of the " manufacturing clauses." Stamp your agreements. This is a warning which we are always repeating. Give them to our secretary, who will get them stamped for you and keep them for you in a fireproof safe. It will cost you sixpence or thereabouts. Now on July 9 a case came before the Lord Chief Justice: Author v. Publisher. After the opening of the case the judge asked to see the agreement. It was handed up to him. He gave it back. "There is no contract," he said, "this piece of paper is worthless." The plaintiff might have taken his agreement to be stamped, on payment of a penalty of £10. But he did not. The case was taken out of court and settled somehow. Of course one is not suggesting that the plaintiff was right or the ## p. 61 (#85) ############################################## THE AUTHOR. 61 defendant wrong; but the former, at any rate, failed to get his case heard because he had for- gotten to stamp his agreement. Edmund de Goncourt "uttered," according to Zola's funeral oration, "the sublime cry that the earth will one day crumble, and that his works will no longer be read." It lingers long, this ancient belief in literary immortality. The plain, broad facts stare one in the face: it seems impos- sible to ignore them: poets, dramatists, novelists, essayists, critics, historians, flourish, and achieve their name and fame in every generation: new poets, especially, and new novelists spring up every year: to this year's cinacle last year's is out of date: when they die or cease i o exist, what becomes of them? With the rarest exceptions, they are speedily forgotten, except by the student. Consider the enormous production of verse and fiction during the last hundred years: how many survive of that immense army of writers? The «arth has not crumbled. Yet they are no more read. How many works achieve a great and widespread popularity, yet are never read after the first year of their success? Think of the popular novelists who have gone on writing year after year giving good work to the world. Now, their books stand unbought, unread, not asked for in the libraries. They still retain, some of them, old disciples: these drop out, one by one: then they are remembered by one or two, at most, out of all their books. Some, less fortunate, are not remembered at all. For example, Anthony Trollope, Wilkie Collins, Charles Reade—great writers all—yet, how many readers ask for them at the library? How many buy their books? For one book of each, however, if not more known than one, these writers will be remembered. So far they are raised above the common run, even of successful writers. As for living writers, one must not inquire into the possible or the probable limitations of their endurance. Yet—one may ask—is it not so great a thing to succeed in moving and holding his contemporaries that a writer should be content with having achieved so much? An actor, a singer, a preacher, a violinist, even a statesman, thinks only of pleasing, or instructing, or advancing his own generation. Why should the author expect, or ask for, more? 'Ideal,' for that, and beauty, and pathos all lie in the simply natural. . . . Let your moral take care of itself, and remember that an author's writing desk is something infinitely higher than a pulpit. ... As for orthodoxy, be at ease. Whatever is well done the world finds orthodox at last. . . . Whatever creed may be true, it is not true, and never will be, that man can be saved by machinery. . . . Let yourself go without regard to this, that, or the other." The following note may perhaps be taken, like a second-hand book, with all faults. We do not find Dr. Johnson ordered to get up and ring the bell. Yet the writer was a man of some distinc- tion in his day, though he is lost and forgotten by this time. The passage occurs in a novel of the year 1786. • "As a literary man I was invited to the houses of many respectable personages, but, proud as I might be of the honour, I met with little there but mortification. I was placed at the lower end of the table; helped to an ordinary part; not attended to, perhaps, when I spoke; requested occasionally to rise and ring the bell; not suffered to cut in at the whist table; and such other slights. As I considered myself, if not of equal rank in life with the rest of the company, yet, as having more knowledge and more abilities, and of course equally entitled to respect, I must own it hurt me. But why, if I disliked it, did I go into the way of it? Because I thought to benefit by their acquaintance." In another column will be found the programme of the Eighteenth Congress of the International Literary and Artistic Association to be held at Berne from the 22nd to the 29th of this month. It is very much to be regretted that the committee have so far been unable to find a member willing to become a delegate representing this society. Walter Besant. THE BOOK AND THE BOOKSELLER. ABOOK is without question the property of the author who creates it. As he cannot administer his own literary estate without considerable personal trouble, and, in most cases, without loss, he gives it to another person to distribute, collect, &c., araong the booksellers, ^rbo distribute it among the people. There The following advice to an author has been sent to me. It seems worth the attention of all young writers. It is contained in a letter from J. R. Lowell to Mrs. Beecher Stowe, dated J^b. 4, 1859. "Follow your instincts. . , , .„e r—r— — —j --, u„« — nature, and avoid what people cok, • StlC* S° K0 author, as very frequently happens, sells ins ie thus, between the owuei 0f the property and the P^pk wh° buy it, ^w0 middlemen. If ## p. 62 (#86) ############################################## 6a THE AUTHOR. property, then there is only one middleman between the owner and the public. That middleman is the bookseller. Let us, as men and women of letters, put before ourselves the functions discharged by the book- seller. He is a centre of exhibition and distribu- tion: on his counter should be seen the new books which are advertised and reviewed: for the honour and dignity of letters, his place cannot be too stately and too well furnished: it should be everywhere the resort of all the reading public. No free library or circulating library can take the place of the old bookseller's shop: in any con- siderable town there should always be a flourish- ing substantial bookseller, and his position should be, in a time when the production and the purchase of books are so enormous, one of profit and credit. What is it? A position precarious, pinched, and anxious. Since the recent conference at Belfast a great many letters have been published on the subject; and it is clear, indeed, that unless authors themselves make some attempt to improve the booksellers' position they will speedily cease out of the land—except in London. This destruction of a once prosperous trade will be the greatest misfortune possible for literature from any point of view. If authors desire, in the high Parnassian vein, nothing but the reading of their books they will not get it, because there will be no one to present t^em to the public. If they desire that the commercial side should be looked after as well they will fail again, because there will be no one to sell the books. It is actually said that 70 per cent, of the country booksellers have gone out of the trade in the last few years. The causes of this decay may be reduced to one. Booksellers will not stock new books, and they therefore fail to attract the public eager for novelty. They will not stock their shops, because they cannot afford to do so. They cannot afford to do so because they are compelled to pay such high prices by the publishers. Take the evidence of the Edinburgh Branch of Retail Booksellers. Their Hon. Sec. writes: "There are upwards of 130 members in the Edinburgh Branch, but out of these only one can buy in thirteens." Other booksellers speak to the same effect. As for prices. Consider the 6*. book. The cost, in large editions, may be set down, approxi- mately, at is. The author may perhaps receive 1*. The bookseller pays 4*. 2d. for it in single copies, and 3s. 6d. (approximately) at thirteen to twelve. Now, consider the profits of the three persons concerned in the business, taking the assumed average book in large editions. First, single- copies— Author, 1*. Publisher, 2$. 2d. Bookseller, 4c?. If he can manage to sell his book for 5*. he gets \od. Next, copies at 4*. 2d., thirteen as twelve, with discounts, meaning 3*. 6d. Author, 1*. Publisher, is. 6d. . Bookseller, is. The publisher says that he has had office expenses. He actually has had the impudence in some cases to speak as if he alone can claim office expenses. Where are the office expenses of the author? Where are those of the bookseller? The office expenses of the publisher are some- times estimated, rightly or wrongly, at 10 per cent, of the proceeds. Those of the bookseller are estimated, according to some of the letters, at 16 per cent. But will anyone tell the world why the pub- lisher should get a profit of 2s. 2d., where the author gets is. and the bookseller 4<f.? As regards other prices, the following is a list sent up by a country bookseller showing the published price, the trade price, and the price paid by the public. Price published Trade price Price paid by the public Profit for bookseller... 1 0 1 G 2 0 2 fi 8 « 8 0 8 0 0 8J 1 1 1 5 1 9 2 6 8 7 4 2 0 0 1 u 1 6 1 10) 2 71 8 9 4 6 0 5 0 J 0 10 lj 1 0 1J 0 2 0 4 And out of these half-pence the bookseller has to pay rent and keep up his house! One would reckon, approximately, the pub- lisher's profit compared with the bookseller's at about six to one all through." Here are more notes on prices: A law bookseller, who takes off 20 per cent, to his cash customers, divides publishers into three classes, (1) Those who charge 4*. 6d. for a 6s. book, but, if "subscribed," i.e., two or more copies taken when first issued, at 4s. 2d. (2) Those who give the above terms with 5 per cent. cash. (3) Those who give the above terms with six months' credit. He instances the purchase of a single book pub- lished at 3s. 6d. He gave 2s. 6d. and if he had bought it to sell again he would have made 2d. profit. "The other day," he says, "I bought seven copies of a book published by Messrs. . They ## p. 63 (#87) ############################################## THE AUTHOR. 63 supplied us, seven copies being as six and a half, at 2.i. 6d. less 5 per cent., that means 28. 2\d. For further copies they will charge thirteen as twelve and a half, at 2s. 6d. less 5 percent., which is • half a copy ' dearer or 2s. ^d." Why, it may be asked, should there be all these complicated discounts and per centages if you buy this way or that way? Why cannot there be a fair price agreed u]>on and enforced? Why, to repeat, should the publisher get this vast slice of profit? They used to plead that it was on account of the risk. This they cm no longer do as regards current literature. Con- sidering that the really risky l>ooks are nearly always paid for by their authors: that in every branch of literature there are scores and hundred of authors whose books carry no risk at all: that every well-known firm can always place a certain number of books brought out by them: it is ridiculous to speak of the enormous risks. Let us, however, define risk more closely. The risk of a book is generally assumed to be the cost of production. This, however, is by no means the case. Every house of standing can subscribe at the outset a certain number of every book which it produces: probably an experienced publisher knows pretty well beforehand, that is, within certain limits, how many will be subscribed at the outset. The risk is therefore the difference between the actual liability for printing, &c. (most to be paid in six months), and the amount cleared by subscription. If the cost of production is wholly covered, there is no risk properly so called. But the publisher has given his services which include his establishment. There must be some m.rginto cover this: the risk therefore may be allowed to include this margin, generally reckoned at 10 per cent, of receipts. Only in the distribu- tion of the proceeds the author's office expenses and the bookseller's expenses must be equally considered. With this definition of risk we are enabled to consider the case of a book which carries no risk: that is to say, a book which is certain, unless unforeseen accidents occur, to circulate well over the margin above-named. The problem is this: Given such a book: What should the bookseller give for it? What should the author give the publisher? What would remain to him the creator and owner of the estate 'i We may be nearer a practical answer to these questions than is suspected. So far the only answer that we have received is an attack on our figures, which does not touch the principle. We have advanced the oi.fhors' siiares in their own property very larg^i , y will certainly go up still more larg0j <•'» &nd j'1 J come to understand more and more ^ ag wi'i^rS of figures. But the advance of royalties is not the main object. It is the emancipation of literature from the middleman that we want, a recognised system in which neither author nor bookseller shall have to be a suppliant, or ask the publisher for terms, but in which both author and publisher will know that they are dealing with a book on terms which are recognised as fair and shall have proper access to those books and accounts which concern their own business. And, I repeat, we may be nearer to that solution than is susj>ected by the friends who are con- tinually declaiming . against our wicked mis- representations, while taking the greatest care to keep their own figures as dark as possible. W. B. LITERATURE IN AMERICA. By Monouke U. Conway. (Reprinted by the author's perminsion from the Chicigo Open Court.) MR. LECKY, in his new work, " Democracy and Liberty,'' has a passage on Literature in America, which is all the more impor- tant, because in the same book he has strained every point, and even the facts, to place our country politically in the most favourable light. He admits, with friendly reluctance, that in the nineteenth century America has not, in literature, produced "anything comparable to what might have been expected from a rich, highly educated, and pacific nation, which now numbers more than sixty million souls, and is placed, in some respects, in more favourable circumstances than any other nation in the world." He quotes Sir Henry Maine as saying, in his work on "Popular Government," that the want of International Copyright has crushed authorship in the Ameri- can home market by the competition of the unpaid and appropriated works of British authors, and "condemned the whole American community to a literary servitude unparalleled in the history of thought." Mr. Lecky says there is much truth in this, but. adds that "Democracy is not favourable to the higher forms of intellectual life." He rightly ignores our so-called Interna- tional Copyright Act of 1891, being too polite to pronounce it the sham it is. It is very easy to answer these criticisms with the triumphant retort of the Hon. Elijah Pogram, the original jingo portrayed by Dickens, "My bright home is in the set tin' sun." But no patriotic outburst can (rive us a fair literary rl/;C>rd for the centurv no^ting its close. It pot be said that Euj>iHU,\ has neglected C*P erican authors. Irving, I^gteUow, Bancroft, ## p. 64 (#88) ############################################## 64 THE AUTHOR. Emerson, Bryant, Motley, Holmes, Hawthorne, Lowell, Thoreau, Mark Twain, Walt Whitman, Henry James, Bret Harte, Howells, to name authors that occur to me, have received full recognition and substantial royalties in England. I do r.ot underrate our list of nineteenth ceutury American authors; in some of them are signs of an original genius rarely visible in Europe; but gather up all their productions, and how small is the harvest compared with those of England, France, and Germany! Why is this 'i Is it due to "Democracy" that many of them were for years parted from the undowered hand of litera- ture and driven to seek livelihood in custom houses, clerkships, professorships, consulates, legations? Is it because their country cares nothing for literature that our great authors in the past have so few successors 'i At the close of the American Revolution, Thomas Paine wrote: "The state of literature in America must one day become a subject of legislative conside'ation. Hitherto it has been a disinterested volunteer in the service of the revolution, and no man thought of profits; but when peace shall give time and opportunity for study, the country will deprive itself of the honour and service of letters, and the improvement, of science, unless sufficient laws are made to prevent depredations on literary property." A hundred and fourteen years have passed since Paine so wrote, and the sufficient laws have not yet, been enacted. In the earlier part, of the present century there was perhaps more excuse for this national neglect, yet we cannot fail to feel some scandal at seeing early Americans of genius coming over to England for professional education, for culture, for recog- nition. Darwin was not four years old when a South Carolinian made the discovery of natural selection, which he announced in the Royal Society in London. "In this paper," savs Darwin, " he (Dr. W. C. Wells) distinctly recog- nises the principle of natural selection, and this is the first recognition which has been indicated." After being knocked about in America—now running a theatre, now a newspaper—Wells came in advanced life to find honour and resources in England. That was a long time ago, but how much better is it now, when the nation is wealthy, and can astonish the world with its exhibition of unparalleled prosperity and material progress? There is as much cultui-e and genius in America as in any other country. No one can mingle with the youth and the teachers in American colleges without knowing that there is many a Wells who, had he any fair opportunity for the play of his powers, might achieve as much as any foreign author—probably more. It is a scandal that while writers like Lecky, Morley, Bryce, Balfour, and others are summoned with enthusiasm to help direct the Government of England, the American nation should find no use for a literary man except occasionally to send him out of the country to some foreign court or consulate; but it is not only a scaudal, it is an outrage, that in pretending to make a law for the protection of Uterary property owned by foreign authors it should really enact one legalising the piracy of 60 per cent, of the books annually issued in Europe. For at least 60 per cent, of European authors are unable to fulfil the monstrous condi- tions imposed by the Act of 1891 on copyright, and their works are made lawful prey. These are the first productions of new authors whose names are not marketable until the first work has reached success. Could the young English author offer his first book to an American publisher along with Press reviews of it, and proof of its success in his own country, he could command a fair price; but the American pub- lishers have provided against that fairness by a Bill making it necessary to publish his book simultaneously with its publication in Europe. The negotiation must precede any possibility of a success that might determine the real value. And this fraud the typographers and publishers together made absolute by the provision that such simultaneous publication should involve the complete manufacture of the book in America. So the young author must either pay for manu- facturing his book in America, or take any pittance a publisher may offer, or forfeit all copy- right in America. He may make something by his second work, but his first one is at the mercy of the American publisher. But, as Montesquieu said, man never puts a chain around his brother's neck without the other end coiling around his own. The wrong done by the Act of 18g 1 to the foreign author weighs equally, or even more, on the American author; for, as I have said, only 40 per cent., at most, of Eurojxjan authors can afford to fulfil the pecuniary conditions of copyright in America, and our American writers have to compete with the remaining mass, whose appropriation can no longer be even branded as "piracy," since it is now legalised. And, although I have ascribed this fraudulent measure to certain trade interests, it could not have been enacted but by the fault, of eminent American authors who allowed their names and inlluence to be used for the Act without examining it. Mr. Lowell was president of the Copyright League, and sounded the honourable watchword, "There is one thing better than a cheap book, and that is an honest ## p. 65 (#89) ############################################## THE AUTHOR. 65 book "; but unfortunately he not did say to his League, "There is one thing better than a copyright law, and that is an honest law." It was largely his influence that drew authors into a blind alliance with keen-eyed trade unions in passing a law which authorises the " dishonest" books deplored by Lowell. His voice was assumed to be that of English authors also; and his noble labour is now covering an adidterated mixture for the foreign author, and a poison for American literature. It is probable that Congress passed it, and President Harrison signed it in ignorance of its real character. The President offered its "advantages " to England on condition that she would " reciprocate," in evident ignorance that English copyright had long been as open to foreign as to British authors. If England had really "reciprocated," and passed a law requiring every book published in London to be manufactured there, and forbidding importations of sheets or plates, Americans might have been brought to their senses or to their integrity. An American may print his book at home, send a dozen copies to England, and his work is safe from all encroachment until he chooses to send over more copies. The book's success in America becomes his marketable pro- perty in England and in every European nation. This is civilisation. The American Act is un- civilised. The just principles of literary property are perfectly settled; since the Berne Congress they have become the common law of Europe. In America these laws of literary j>roperty are acknowledged in principle by every man of common sense. The Act of 1891 has never been defended in America, except by the disgraceful plea that certain selfish trades had to be com- promised with—that half a loaf is better than no bread—and so forth. This is mere surrender to a tyranny admittedly without principle. The United States has lately menaced three mon- archies in three months, and it is to be hoped that after the presidental election is over (of course!) our American government's attention may be directed to the manufacturing monarchy in our own borders, which has placed our country outside the honourable Republic of Letters. But this oppression will not end until American authors inaugurate their revolution, form their Congress, pass their Declaration of Independence, and frame their Constitution on the principles of equity acknowledged by all honest and intelligent ]>eople and adopted by all civilised nations except our own, which above all other nations requires their adoption, any adequate develojmient of literature in America being iinpossifo] j tb« present conditions. Under THE AUTHORS' CLUB. TI^HE Authors' Club gave their first ladies' I dinner on Thursday, July 17th. The chair was taken by Mr. Oswald Crawford, C.M.G., the president of the club. The guest of the evening was Mrs. Hodgson Burnett. The speeches were by the Chairman, Mrs. Hodgson Burnett, Lord Crewe, and Mr. Justin McCarthy. Mrs. Hodgson Burnett spoke as follows (the report is taken from the Queen): "Mr. Chairman, Ladies, and Gentlemen,—The first pioneer who enters a new country must, I am sure, reflect with some seriousness as to how he shall approach the native holders of the laud, whether with rich offerings of gauds and orna- ments, or with useful implements — such as fire- water—or with the explosion of great guns to till them with awe. To-night 1 am a pioneer in a new country, and I have been wondering what the etiquette of an occasion like this may be—I mean what it expects of the first woman guest of a society of distinguished men. I have asked myself if such etiquette would insist that it is my duty, in thanking my hosts for their hospitality, to draw comparisons, painful or encouraging, between the two sexes. I am not quite sure that it would—I am inclined to hope it would not, as I am afraid I am not at all clever at that kind of thing. Drawing comparisons never seemed to me to advance matters much. As a method I should say it was a little obvious and inadequate. "Then there is another thing. In the course of what occasionally appears to me a somewhat protracted existence, I have never yet discovered a good quality or a bad one which seemed to have a gender. I have found, for instance, that if a man can be selfish, a woman—by paying strict attention to business—can be selfish also; that if a man can break his word, there are women who do not always keep theirs—to the letter; that if there are women who are weak and illogical, there exist men who do not exactly embody perfect strength of mind and infallibility of reason. And I have found just as many men who keep all the Commandments at once, and live simply and truly according to the teachings of the Sermon on the Mount—just as many men as women, and just as many women as men. This is as far as somewhat careful observation has been able to lead me, and decisions so limited naturally leave one rather out of the running in any discussion as to what strengths and weaknesses are pecubarly jjjjisculiue or entirely femiunie. As to one's cCess in the work one does gutelv that is not a sl1 egtion of gender either. ?j^e big world settles ## p. 66 (#90) ############################################## 66 THE AUTHOR. that. If a man or woman has something to say the world wants to hear it will stop to listen, and if the thing one says does not ring clear and true, aud does not concern the world or interest it, it will not pause even for a moment—for man or woman—for woman or man. It has too much to do, too much to think, too much to suffer. "Mr. Oswald Crawford has spoken most kindly of a woman for whom I care very much. Her name is Clorinda Wildairs. To me Clorinda Wildairs implies a great deal, and I am always glad when she is understood. Not long ago a lady—not an Englishwoman—reproved me for her. 'Why,' she said, 'I think she is just dreadful. She uses such bad language.' 'Yes,' I said, 'she does. They did in those days — and what is more, they did not call it bad lan- guage. They regarded it in the light of spirited colloquialism.' 'Well,' she replied. 'anyhow, I think she was real unprincipled to kill that man.' 'What,' said I, 'you think it unprincipled to kill a man! I have been gathering the impression lately that societies were to be formed to make that kind of thing a sort of religious observance.' Another lady wrote to me from America, not so much to reprove as to remonstrate. She asked ine what Little Lord Fauntleroy would think, and begged me to tell her what I meant. I have not had time to reply yet, but when I have I shall respond that in my sanguine moments I had hoped that the book itself might chance to explain what I meant, but it this hope was founded on an error of judgment, I can only say that I meant by it exactly what I meant by Fauntleroy and many other things, that after all good is stronger than evil, that love is greater than hate, and that surely somewhere—somewhere there is a Power more just to the atoms it has created than those atoms have yet learned to be to each other. It is not necessary to explain here what I meant, but if I were called upon to put its mean- ing into the briefest form, I think I should say it was this, 'To err is human—to retrieve Divine.' "I wonder if I am optimistic in saying that I believe the world is a more intelligent place than i t used to be V It is not appallingly intelligent yet, but of course a world is a thing which lays itself open to criticism. When one has nothing better to do, one can always criticise the universe and particularise the improvements it requires. I have done it myself, for hours at a time, though I have never observed that it seemed to make any difference, or that any of my little hints were taken. Still, I believe people are more logical and just-minded than they used to be—in the time, for instance, when they burned each other alive for differences of opinion, religious and otherwise. They use their brains more; and the more human beings use their brains, the more just and fair they are likely to become to each other in their efforts to solve the problem of life. In thanking my hosts for the kindness of the compliment they have paid me, I will express a thought which came to me yesterday. It is this: "I think it probable that, say a hundred years from now, a woman may stand as I do, in borne such place as this, the guest of men who have doue the work all the world has known and honoured, and she will be the outcome of all the best and most logical thinking of all the most reasonable and clear-braiued men and women— women and men—of these seething years. She will know all the things I have not learned, and she will be a woman so much wiser and more stately of mind than I could ever hope to be— she will have so much more brain, so much more fine and clear a reason, that if we were compared we should scarcely seem to be creatures of the same race. And of this woman I say 'Good luck to her, great happiness, fair fortunes, and all the fullest joyousness of living; all kind fates attend her, all good things to her-—and to the men who will be her friends.'" Mrs. Burnett sat down amid a storm of cheering. WHAT IS GOOD LITERATURE? f |"\HE following is quoted from a lecture deli- I , vered at Berkeley Lyceum, New York, by Mr. Sherwin Cody. Communicated to the Author by the lecturer:— "And what is good literature? It certainly is not literature written under the tyranny of the motto, 'Art for art's sake.' In a commonplace age, when crudity and vulgarity were the rule of the day, the literary men of the country might adopt such a motto. But the motto on which true literature is produced is 'Art for the revela- tion of the secrets of the heart.' Art exists for man, not man for art. The truest art is that which disappears, which conceals itself, because the thought that is conveyed is so much more entrancing in its interest than the mere verbal expression can ever be. Literature with a pur- pose—a purpose of discussing theology, sociology, or even ait itself—is no true literature. But art must have a purpose, nevertheless, above and beyond itself, the purpose of touching and feed- ing the human heart. The intellect belongs to science and theology and philosophy. But the heart belongs to art, and art belongs to the heart, ## p. 67 (#91) ############################################## THE AUTHOR. 67 and that is the truest art which makes the heart thrill most vividly. The infamous doctrine that literature should be documents in the history of the race, that fiction should be a record of the manners and dress and tendency of a time, that philosophy should chronicle the latest ism, that poetry should be shrine of local colour, must be swept clear of the boards before one line of true literature can exist for the public. Mr. Crawford says he classifies novels of local colour in his library under the head of travel, not fiction. He is right. "I do not despise art, far from it. Three men whose names I might mention as most full of promise among the younger men, and one of older fame whose work so largely accomplished already I should class with them, are eminently scholars in their art, though two of them be young scholars and two of them be old scholars. They are not ditch diggers turned poet in a day, claiming that after all the less knowledge of art a young writer has the better seem to be the practical results. They have given years to the study of language and literature, and years of enthusiasm and toil. "Instead of despising literary art, rather I am the irrevocable foe of the literary artists of the day who never learned any literary art, and the young man or young woman who may come to me with a spontaneous production of literature, out of a full heart and utter lack of training, will find no consideration. We enshrine that of which we know least. We worship what is to us a mystery. The literati of the day who worship art for art's sake bow down to an idol veiled by thick curtains, and behind the curtains there is in reality—nothing. "But art must be forgotten before it can be useful. There are two perfect artists — the innocent and unconscious child (who is but the hand of divine intelligence) and the trained man of letters to whom art has become a second nature. Art does not exist for the sake of the artist any more than for its own sake. It is but the fluid medium through which heart speaks to heart. To represent men as you see them, to draw life as it is—all that seems to me aside from the question. I would speak that which I do know from within me; I would coin my heart's blood into the universal coin of the realm of heart. I have lived and toiled and suffered—may I not say died as who of us has not ?—and I would trans- mute my pain into life for others. Literature is for the heart to live by. What matter if the heart be clothed in a jester's gaudy tj ,, t^e correct costume of the gentleman 0Y. f,> „ \raar tr—1- - >• .1 ^- • 1 lady of ~ York fashionable society. One js the white shirt front and the beggar's grimy coat, and in literature why not strip off both the grimy coat of the beggar and the white shirt front of the man of society, and present hearts in whatsoever costume imagination may supply, so that the beggar, if he take the heart to hinnelf, may not be afraid of soiling the fleckless linen, or the man of society wish to change his garments when he lays down the latest novel. Howells writes for the classes, Zola for the misses. I would that one might come who wrote for your heart and my heart, whatever garments covered it—some seer who should see so clearly that his eyes would pass through the garment as through a mist, and read the letters of eternal hope and eternal despair, eternal victory, and eternal defeat, both written side by side, and needing a seer to interpret their everlasting meaning. "That I or any one of my fellows be such a seer, is not for me to say. Whether we are or not is quite away from the point. Our hope lies not in any such fortunate possibility, but in the need of the people. When the people call for a prophet one will be given them. Do they call him now? Each reader must auswer that for himself. If he answers it loud enough, and does not forget to repeat his answer at least three times, an angel from above or an angel from below, whatever the call may be, will surely appear." Sherwin Cody. BOOK TALK. one is real, but the same heart t^Om^ntic REGINALD E. SAWLEY, author of "The Finger of Scorn" and "Ventured in Vain," has placed a new novel in the hands of Hurst and Blackett for publication in September. It is entitled " The One Alternative," and will appear in two vol. form. Some of our readers may be glad to hear that the first really scientific critical edition of Dante's "De Vulgari Eloquentia" has just appeared in Florence (Le Monnier). It is edited and anno- tated by Professor Pio Baina, whose vast learning and power of research have been already shown to the world in his monumental works: "Le Origini dell' Epopea Francese" and "Le Fonti dell' Orlando Furioso." Mr. Stanley Waterloo, the author of two much- discussed novels, " A Man and a Woman" and « An Odd Situation," is a candidate for the post f Game Warden of the fc^tate of Illinois (an mc& closely corresponding +0 that held by our °1, jjger of the New For-^8t). Mr. Waterloo ## p. 68 (#92) ############################################## 68 THE AUTHOR. is a famous hunter, who has fished and shot all over the Western States, from Colorado to Florida. A fountain in memory of Robert Louis Stevenson has been erected in San Francisco. One bookseller in that pleasant city of the golden gate has filled his windows with a permanent exhibition of Stevensoniana. Books about South Africa still continue to be very rife. A new one to appear shortly is by Messrs. W. P. Purvis and L. V. Biggs, and deals with the people, progress, and problems of the countries. There will also be included a bibliography of South African literature. The handbook will be dedicated to the president and members of the Anglo-African Writers' Club. The Earl of Ashburnham has commissioned Messrs. Sotheby to dispose of his celebrated library of printed books and MSS., at Ashburn- ham Place. The printed books will be sold by auction next season, unless a suitable offer for the whole collection is made to Messrs. Sotheby in the interval. The MSS. will not be submitted to auction, but the firm will treat privately for their sale en bloc. New editions of Dickens and Carlyle are being prepared by Messrs. Chapman and Hall, the former in 6s. volumes, and the latter in 3*. 6d. The collected edition, limited to 1000 copies, of Meredith, with revisions, is to consist of about thirty-four volumes at half-a-guinea each, to be issued at the rate of two per month, beginning at the end of September. An interesting announcement for musicians. It is the forthcoming publication of the autobio- graphy of Mrs. Charles Cowden Clarke, sister to the late Mr. Joseph Alfred Novello, the well-known music publisher. Mrs. Clarke is eighty-seven years of age, a fact which gives point to the title for the volume, namely, "My Long Life." She met Mendelssohn, Mahbran, Dickens, and a host more of people in artistic circles of past generations, many of whom gathered around her father — "the father of cheap music "—as writers, composers, or critics. There will be numerous portraits to surround these reminiscences. The Rev. Dr. Parker, of the City Temple, is writing a volume of recollection.*, "Miscellanea," which will appear this autumn. Eastbourne has adopted the Public Libraries Acts. Though located in small temporary pre- mises, a good beginning has been made, the Mayor presenting the books in the reference department. The library was formally opened on the 7th inst., by Mr. Hall Caine, a preliminary meeting being held in the Town Hall, when the author of "The Manxman" made a charming speech. Mr. Le Queux was also present, and several members of the town council and other prominent local gentlemen. The Grand Duchess of Saxe-Weimar, who takes such an active interest in the spread of Goethe literature, has been pleased to accept from Professor Buchheim copies of his editions of Goethe's and Schiller'3 works, published at the Clarendon Press. At the special desire of Her Royal Highness, the books have been deposited in the new Goetlie- und Schiller-Archiv. Mr. Arthur A. Sykes (of Punch, the Anglo- Russian Literary Society, Henry Blackburn's School of Art, &C.), will, in the course of a few days, publish a short account of the recent Coronation cruise of the Midnight Sun to Russia, containing forty-five illustrations (full page portraits, snapshots and sketches) by the author; humorous verses by Canon Rawnsley and others; two musical settings of the same by the Rev. M. F. Bell; and particulars of lectures, excursions, and other incidents of the trip. Sir Charles Gavan Duffy has written a history of Victoria, which will be on sale in the early autumn. The period of Sir Charles's connection with the government of the colony is discussed with much greater detail and intimacy than the rest. Mr. George Moore will probably take two more years for his novel "Evelyn Innes." Rather more than a third of the book is all that is yet written. Mr. Clark Russell's new tale of the sea is almost completed. "The Two Captains," as it is called, will first appear serially, and afterwards in book-form early next year. Mr. G. B. Burgin's new novel, entitled "Tomalyn's Quest," will be published in November by Messrs. Innes. This writer will also contribute the first story to a series called the New Vagabond Series, which he will edit. Mr. Kipling's new story is first to appear serially in the New Jteriew, beginning about the end of the year. It is called "Captain Coura- geous." Mr. George Somes Layard has written an account of "George Cruikshank's Portraits of Himself," which will be published by Mr. W. T. Spencer early this month. The volume will be ## p. 69 (#93) ############################################## THE AUTHOR. 69 illustrated with about forty drawings, many of which have not hitherto been published. "The complete and unbroken autographic record of the artist's personal appearance," says the prospectus, "from the early age of twelve to the time when he was preparing his never - to - be - completed autobiography, is unparalleled in the history of published art." A memorial edition of "Uncle Tom's Cabin" will be published by Messrs. Cassell in the early autumn, with upwards of 100 illustra- tions by a Scandinavian artist, Jenny Mystorm- Stoopendaal. Major Marriott, formerly of the Intelligence Department in the Admiralty, is preparing a volume on "England, Egypt, and the Sudan," in which he discusses recent events and the problems of the future in connection with these territories. The book will in part be based upon Major Wingate's work on Mahdism and the Sudan, and the latter's name will, therefore, appear as joint author. Messrs. Macmillan are the publishers. A work entitled "Choir Stalls and their Carving: Examples of Misericords in some English Cathedrals and Churches" will shortly be published at two guineas by Mr. Batsford. The author is Miss Emma Phipson, who has already written a book on the animal lore of Shakespeare's time. Three hundred examples will be given, on one hundred plates, and some of the most remarkable have been taken from West- minster Abbey. The works of a selected number of the modern poets of Wales are about to be issued in series. The first volume will be the complete poetical works of "Islwyn," which Mr. Owen M. Edwards, of Lincoln College, Oxford, has in the press. The life of Mr. Hain Friswell is about to be written by his daughter. Miss Friswell makes an appeal for the loan of any letters, which will be received by her at Aber-Maw, Wimbledon, or by the publisher, Mr. Fisher Unwin. A record price for an English binding has, according to the Athenmum, been made in the sale of the Bunbury copy of the seventh edition of Cowley's "Works," 1681, which realised £126 at Sotheby's the other day. "The work is un- doubtedly an elaborate and remarkable specimen of contemporary bibliopegy by an unknown craftsman, The old English morocco is covered with a blaze of gilt tooling in panels with designs of flowers and fruits, stars, and erpanpnts with centre and corner ornaments in „ esceB i blue." ^e"t>w and Miss May Bateman is to edit a Christinas book of stories and poems entitled "The Children's Hour," which is to appear in the autumn under the auspices of the Invalid Children's Associa- tion. Contributions to the volume have been pro- mised by Mrs. Hodgson Burnett, Lady Lindsay, Mrs. Molesworth, Mrs. Meade, Miss Alice Corkran, Mr. Justin McCarthy, Mr. Le Gallienne, and Mr. Oswald Crawfurd, C.M.G. The work is dedicated to the Duchess of York, and will be published by Messrs. Hatchard. The pensions granted under the Civil List during the past year—£1200—were apportioned as follows:—Mrs. T. H. Huxley (,£200), Mr. James Hammond (£120), Mr. Oliver Heaviside (£120), Mme. Louisa Bodda-Pyne (£70), Edith Mary Lady Barnby (£70), Mrs. Fanny Hind (£70), Miss Hannah Elizabeth Morris (£25), Miss Helen Francis Morris (£25), Miss Gertrude Morris (.£25), Mrs. Samuel Johu Varley (=£50), Miss Annie Walbank Buckland (£80), Miss Frances Elizabeth Dobson (25), Miss Mary Dobson (£25), Miss Julia Dobson (£25), Mrs. Margaret Anne Houghton (£50), Mr. J. S. Stuart Glennie (£100), and the Rev. Sir George William Cox (£120). The poor quality of paper used in American books is ascribed by Mr. George Haven Putnam to the fact that the number of Mohammedan pilgrims to Mecca has greatly decreased. He explains that everyone of the pilgrims was clothed in "flowing garments of finest white linen," and, as hundreds and thousands of them died by the wayside, it was at one time a profit- able business to strip these garments from the bodies, and send them to the large paper factories of Europe. Now, however, this source of supply is enormously diminished, and the quality of paper is accordingly inferior. The unpublished works of the historian Gibbon are to appear in the coming autumn, in three octavo volumes. In the first volume will be the six autobiographies, while the second and third will contain Gibbon's private letters to his father, his stepmother, Lord Sheffield, and others, written between the years 1753 and 1794. Lord Sheffield, who will contribute a preface, has disposed of the copyright of the material to Mr. Murray, the publisher. The manuscripts have been acquired by the British Museum. The Earl of Suffolk, Mr. Headley Peek, and Mr, F. G. Afflalo have accepted the editorship of an "Encyclopaedia of SpOTt," which Messrs. LaWrence an(* Mullen w^ shortly begin to issue in iu°°tbly parts- ## p. 70 (#94) ############################################## 7o THE AUTHOR. This year has already been uncommonly prolific in mountaineering books, and two more will be published very soon by Mr. Murray. The author of these is the well-known climber, Mr. Edward Whymper. They will be "Chamuni and the Range of Mont Blanc," and "Zermatt and the Matterhorn," and both will be illustrated. A volume of Lord Leighton's addresses to the students of the Royal Academy is about to be published by Messrs. Kegan, Paul, and Co. Mr. Clive Holland has written a number of short stories which will appear in a single volume shortly, entitled " A Japanese Victory, and Other Stories." Mr. William Sharp is writing a story entitled "Madge of the Pool" for a new series which Messrs. Archd. Constable and Co. have started. Mrs. Steel will follow with one called "In the Tideway "; and other contributors to the series, which is to be devoted to no one school, but will embrace examples of all, will be Miss Fiona Macleod and Mr. Charles Montague. Mr. William Archer has translated into English the biography of Dr. Nansen, by Rolfsen and Brogger. The publication will have illustrations, a.nd a poem by Bjornson. In last number, the books attributed to Mrs. Warren are not by the late " Mr. Whiteside Cooke," but by the late "Mrs. Whiteside Cook." CORRESPONDENCE. I.—Delated Publication. CAN any reader of the Author give a hint as to proving special damage by reason of de'ayed publication of a book? The work is a technical treatise which occupied me a long time; remuneration is by royalty, and the date fixed for publication, by a clause in the agreement, has long past; if not published soon the volume will be about as valuable as an old tourist guide or an out-of-date railway time table. T. C. B. [The writer should long ago have placed the matter in the hands of the secretary. What is the use of a society and a secretary who is also a solicitor if such cases as this are not submitted to him? Of course we know nothing of the ■details, and the publisher may be wholly within his rights, but as this question stands it seems eminently one for the legal advisers of the society.—Ed.]. II.—Literary Grab-alls. With regard to "Lunette's" letter in last month's issue of the Author. Surely his experi- ence as to payment is very unique? My own productions are not those of a genius, but I have never been offered the sums of 3*. or 12$. (yd. for them! I have received as much as .£3 for a short story in Hearth and Home, while almost any paper is willing to give £z 2s. for a story of short length. The Sun pays £1 is. for their short front-page story, ranging in length from three-quarters of a column to a column. This is surely not bad for a daily paper? Honey Seabrooke. Why cannot " Lunette " give us the names of the publications whose editors offer the prices he mentions. A statement of fact would surely do him no harm, and might save some of us. Riccardo-Stephens. 8, Coltbridge-terrace, Edinburgh, July 14. III.—Our Censors. Much has been said and written of late con- cerning the value of book criticisms. It is a most difficult question to tackle satisfactorily. I imagine, however, there are certain unfair methods of appraisement, as influencing success or failure, which deserve the fullest condemnation. Previously, in these appropriate columns, you were so friendly as to allow me to treat the subject of our critics' stock-in-trade of common- places. To-day, with your permission, I will enlarge my indictment against them. Foremost upon my black-list I would place the negligent, irresponsible reviewer. The pain and mischief occasioned by this individual is enormous. Surely the very pivot of honest criticism should be its thoroughness. How can aught save injustice result from cursory glances into any book? Better leave the investigation alone altogether than wrap up some hasty inaccurate judgment within the mean mantle of anonymity. Of course, there is no redress. There never is and never will be until signed opinions compel caution. As a victim to this inglo- rious plan, I feel keenly on the subject as no doubt many of those who may read these lines also do. The next delinquent is the fastidious, stand- offish censor whom nothing pleases in fiction. He has formed his own conception as to what a novel should be, resenting any attempt to upset his ideal. The effect of the proverbial red rag upon the bull is mild compared with the fury of this ## p. 71 (#95) ############################################## THE AUTHOR. 7i tetchy mortal under the influence of some bold "three decker" which may have chanced to intrude between the wind and his own respectability. This specimen chastises, as a rule, in the literary weeklies. His style being academic, the notices command attention, and, alas for the hapless author, no doubt influence the reading public materially. They are, to my mind, condemnable by reason of that lofty assumption of superiority over others, unbecoming even in the greatest. Moreover, the leaven of forbearance is altogether absent. Could this captious gentleman, we are disposed to ask, achieve his own standard of exellence in the line he scourges thus without mercy? Example number three—the facetious slater who, from under his cloak of humour, stabs more cruelly than even the haughty one aforesaid. Or, to coin a word, should I not write slateress? For a woman's pen is too often apparent in this description of review. We all know what the unbridled fancy of the fair sex can accomplish in print. When wit combines with ridicule the result is quite withering. If we get read after a perusal of such flashes, it can only be out of pity; and that sometimes is the unkindest sting of all. I have picked out the above as the most forcible instances wherewith to uphold my contention. There are many more ready to hand. But I must stable my lance, or I may run the risk of tilting even beyond the limits of your good nature. Grant me a final thrust. We have our review of reviews. Why not our censor of censors? With every allowance for the suscepti- bility of authors, it can scarcely be denied that the licence which obtains nowadays in the matter of book judgments is deplorable. Of course, as your journal has pertinently remarked, we must take the good with the bad. It is no use to draw in our horns like an aft'ronted snail and refuse copies. But let us in return, at least, receive that meed of justice and accuracy, which should be the mainspring of all that delicate machinery governing the world of lettess. Cecil Clarke. Authors' Club, S.W., July 17. IV.—The Title. I should feel very thankful, and I fancy the feeling would be shared by many of your readers, to know the simplest and most expeditious way for an author to ascertain whether a title he contemplates using is already appropriated. Tyeo. LITERATURE AND THE PERIODICALS. THE revival of the rural Scottish novel is hailed by the Edinburgh as a welcome sign of healthy reaction. For its paternity the writer goes back to Gait, the contemporary of Scott. Yet he hesitates to say that the popularity of the new Scottish novel will endure. "There is a certain picturesqueness in weaving thrums, and there is the sublimity of Highland grandeur in Drumtochty; but, after all, a novelist must rely upon human interest for his effects, and even genius must sooner or later exhaust the materials in a back-of-tbe-world industrial townlet, or secluded Highland glen." Moreover, there is the stumbling-block of the "semi-intelligible Scot- tish dialect," a moderate amount of which must go a long way with Southron readers, "and already we see signs that even the apostles of the new dispensation cannot repeat themselves with impunity." The National Observer sees the paper-bound book coming into vogue, and discusses the pratical philosophy of it. It admits that this cover may be objected to because it becomes dog's- eared and dirty. The book might not then be worth re-binding in more solid form, and, besides, doing this would take from it its identity. Better paper-bound than strongly but vulgarly. Mrs. Louise Chandler Moulton has been sayiug how satisfactory the Copyright Act is both to American and English, authors. "Before this Act passed," she says, "the prices of native American books seemed very high in com- parison with the pirated editions of English authors, for which no royalty had to be paid. The works of English and American authors are now sold at practically the same prices in the States, and in this way both have a fair chance." The casual contributor, says "An Editor," does not understand his true position. His demands are frequently unreasonable, and he receives more consideration than he deserves. All this, and much more, is in reply to " A Con- tributor's" strictures on editors in a previous number of the National Review. Are manu- scripts tossed aside without being read? On the contrary. "An attempt, at the least, is made to read the most ill-written manuscript; sometimes it is even sent to the printers in the faint hope that after they have wrestled with it, the meaning 0f the scrawl may be extracted." Besides, if a gjiuscript be rejected it ia ^variably returned the sender; but contributors " g° ^eyond a^ ## p. 72 (#96) ############################################## 72 THE AUTHOR. limits of reason" when they demand that the question of accepting or rejecting and returning their work shall.be decided within a limited time. On one point concerning the aspirant the two sides agree—namely, the undesirability of intro- ductions to editors; he should eschew introduc- tions "as he would poison." Perhaps the writer in Chambers's may be thought to sum up this whole matter exactly. "After all," remarks the latter, "editors make their living by accepting good manuscript." Factory boys read Penny Dreadfuls, and at least one individual cannot say that they are any the worse for it. This writer regards it as the natural thing for the boy at a certain age, say fourteen. Factory people, as a whole, do not overtax their mental powers by deep reading, we are told, but the writer is hopeful of a higher standard being attained as she contemplates the enormous circulation of good and cheap books at the present time. In discussing what makes a novel successful, "Claudius Clear" says that if a novelist, otherwise thoroughly equipped, is profoundly imbued with religious faith, he has an immense advantage. He knows nothing, too, which so sets up the back of the average reader as an assumption of superiority, allusiveness, talk about the secret of Hegel, and stuff of that kind. "A direct and fearless simplicity establishes the best terms from the first between author and readers." Mr. Gladstone warns the young verse-maker to look whither he is going. His experience leads him to believe that the supply of poetry, or verse assuming to be poetry, is more egregiously in excess of the demand than any other descrip- tion of literature. "The prose-writer commonly has something to present to the world besides his literary form. Except in the case of very high poetry, the poet has not, and cannot have." Mr. Gladstone is very strict on the general question of putting forth a book. "I suppose it to be true," he says, *' that no one ought to add to the mass of printed books already born in the world, unless he honestly believes that he is about to contribute some addition to the stories of useful literature." A book is either a burden or a benefit The Pall Mall Gazette is amusing on the ingredients and compounding of modern literature. The Saturday Review takes up the question of Miss Linley's letters published in the recent biography of Sheridan, urging that they are fabrications. A writer in Temple Bar is funny at the expense of " literary ladies," who as a class, he says, have emancipated themselves at last, but "their earnestness and undue seriousness come in a great measure from their newness." Authors, Publishers, and Booksellers. Letters in the Westminster Gazette (entitled "Walter Besant and the Booksellers"):—Mr. B. B. Marston, July 8, 15, 25; Mr. E. Marston, July 20; Mr. Arthur D. Innes, July 13, 20; Sir Walter Besant, July 10, 17, 24. Letters in the Daily Chronicle:—Mr. E. B. Marston, July 15; Walter Besant and Mr. E. Gowing-Scopes, July 16; "A West-end Bookseller," July 28. Interview with Walter Besant, the Daily Chronicle for July 14. Opinions of leading publishers, the Daily Chronicle for July 27. Authors and Publishers. M. Ferdinand Brunetitre's speech before the International Congress of Publishers. The Publishers' Circular for July 4. Recipes for Modern Literature. The Pall Mall Gazette for July 4. The Literature of Factory Workers. By One of Them. Good Words for August. Some Letters of Burns. H. Grey Graham. The Athenxum for July 25. The Death-Centenary of Burns. Articles in Strand Magazine for July, National Observer for July 25, Black- wood's for August. Report of Celebrations and of Lord Roseberry's Speeches, the Times for July 22. The Poet- Laureate's address at Irvine, the Glasgow Herald for July 20. Contributors. An Editor. National Review for August. The Return of the Rejected. How Editors Send Back Manuscripts. Chambers's Journal for August. Literary Ladies. Temple Bar for AuguBt. Oliver Wendell Holmes. By A. K. H. B. Longman's for August. By Leslie Stephen. Natio>ial Review for July. Man-making and Verse-making. Tho Right Hon. W. E. Gladstone. New Review for July. Talks with Tennyson. Wilfrid Ward. New Review for July. Dante Gabriel Rosse"T1. Quarterly Review for July. The New Scottish Novelists. Edinburgh Review for July. In Paper Cover. The National Observer for July 25. Notable Reviews. Of the Poems of Miss Rosetti and Mrs. Alexander. Lionel Johnson. Academy for July 25. Of Knowles's (compilation) "The Legends of King Arthur and His Knights. The Daily Chronicle for July 18. Of Mrs. Meynell's Essays. George Meredith. National Review for August. Of Dr. Wright's "Dialeot Dictionary." Tho Times for July 25. Of A. L. Housman's "A Shropshire Lad." National Observer for J uly 11. Of Mr. Fraser Rae's "Sheridan." Eduiburgh Review for July. ## p. 72 (#97) ############################################## AD VER TISEMENTS. iii Crown 8vo., cloth boards, price 6a. HATHERSAGE: A Tale of North Derbyshire. BT CHARLES EDMUND HALL, Author of " An Ancient Ancestor," &c. London: Horace Cox, Windsor House, Bream's-buildings, E.G. Crown 8vo., cloth boards, 3s. 6d. Crimean & other Short Stories. BY "willi-A-Im: j^iDiJisoisr. CONTENTS. — An Adjutant's Adventure: an Episode of the Crimean Campaign—From an Unseen World—Characteristic Stories of Boyal Personages—The Tsar's Axe—An Indian Legend Modernised —A Love Test—Atta; or, The Circassian's Daughter—Father Con- feasor—HiB Word of Honour (from the German)—Dearer than Life— A PolUh Princess—The Evil Eye: a Story of Superstition—The Parson's Daughter—Old Love Never BuBts. London: HeaiCB Cox, Windsor House, Bream's-buildlngs, E.C. RECENT VERSE. LYRICS. By Dr. J. A. GOODCHILD. Cloth lettered, price 5s. NOBTH COUNTRY BALLADS. By HENRY TODD, Price be. TALES IN VEBSE. By Dr. J. A. GOODCHILD. Cloth lettered, price 6b. SONGS OF THE CASCADES. By EEL VIKING. Fcap. 8vo., cloth boards, 3b. 6d. SONGS OP THE PINEWOODS. By ARTHUR CAMP- BELL. Price 3s. 6d. THE FAIREST OF THE ANGELS, and Other Verse. By MARY COLBOBNE-VEEL. Fcap. 8vo., cloth boards, 3s. 6d. 11 Some of the shorter lyrics are much above the average, being clear in thought and musical in expression. The merits of the collec- tion are considerable."—The Bookman. THE WANDERER IN THE LAND OF CYBI, and other Poems (1886-98). By CLIFFOBD BROOKS. Fcap. 8vo., cloth boards, 3s. 6d. POEMS. By THOMAS BARLOW. Crown 8vo., bevelled boards, gilt edges, price 5s. POEMS. By LEWIS BROCKMAN. Crown 8vo., cloth boards, 5s. "The ballads are full of the spirit and directness of style proper to the ballad."—Saturday Review. 44 Mr. Brockman is a writer of good poetic mettle, and no doubt the reading world will hear more of him yet."—Glasgow Herald. "The graceful smoothness of Mr. Lewis Broekman's poems."— Daily Telegraph. "He Is decidedly inventive, and often highly imaginative . • The element of originality pervades the book. . . . jjjs jou_ ^oem, • Ronald's Cross,' is well sustained . . . it is ]ike ,u ';,.,•„? %r the 'Mariner,' and it holds us."-«mct. P,au" "A reader who values cultured sentiments and «„ , •«„,,, tion will find much to admire."—Scotsman. u*We8S ver8inu»- London: Horace Cn.v, Windsor House, Breaj,,^ Demy 8vo., with Map and Illustrations, price 10s. 6d. AN AUSTRALIAN IN CHINA: Being the Narrative of a Quiet Journey Across China to British Burma, By Or. E. MORRISON, M.B.C.M. Ed in., EMi.Q-.S. "Mr. Morrison is an Australian doctor who has achieved probably the most remarkable journey through the Flowery Land ever attempted by a Christian. ... He was entirely unarmed and unaccompanied, save for the coolieB who carried his baggage. Such a journey—three thousand miles in length—could not fail to present many curious customs and as many curious people. But it 1b owing entirely to Dr. Morrison'B graphic manner of description, and hiB acutely keen observation, that his travelb are such a reality to the reader. This portly volume is one of the most interesting books of travel of the many published this year. It is frank, original, and quite ungarnished by adventitious colouring.'"—St. James's Budget. "One of the most interesting bookB of travel we remember to have read."—European Mail. "A very lively book of travel. . . . His account of the walk of 1*500 miles from Chungking to Burma, over the remotest districts of Western China, is full of interest."—The Times. "Dr. Morrison writes crisply, sensibly, humorously, and with an engaging frankness. . . . There is not a page he has written that is Dot worth the perusal of the student of China and the Chinese."— The Scotsman. "By far the most interesting and entertaining narrative of travel in the Flowery Land that haB appeared for several years."—The World. London: Horace Cox, Windsor House, Bream's-buildlngs, E.C. Royal 8vo., price 16s. net. Sporting Days in Southern India: BEING REMINISCENCES OF TWENTY TRIPS IN PURSUIT OF BIG GAME, CHIEFLY IN THE JWADRAS PRESIDENCY. BT Lieut.-Col. A. J. 0. POLLOCK, Royal Scots Fusiliers. WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS BY WHYMPER AND OTHERS. CONTENTS.—Chapters I., II., and HI.— The Bear. IV. and V.—The Panther. VI., VII., and VIII.—The Tiger. IX. and X.—The Indian Bison. XI. and XII.—The Elephant. XIII.—Deer (Cervlda!) and Antelopes. XIV —The Ibex. XV. and XVI.— Miscellaneous. London; Hobace Oox, Windsor House, Bream's-buildincs. E.C. Boyal 8vo., cloth, profusely illustrated, price 12s. 6d. net. TEXAN RANCH LIFE; WITH Three Months through Mexico in a "Prairie Schooner." By MARY J. JAQ.TJES j^r.don HuRacb Cox. Windsor HoU8„. BreauiVbuildings. E.O ## p. 72 (#98) ############################################## iv AD VER TISEMENTS. THE WEST KENSINGTON TYPEW KITING AGENCY. Established 1693. MISS E. M. SIKES, 13, Wolverton Gardens, Hammersmith, W. Authors' MSS. carefully and promptly copied, 1b. per 1000 words. Duplicate copy half price. Legal and General Copying, ljd. perfolio. Typewritten Circulars, Notices, Ac, by special copying process. Term* on application. References kindly permitted to authors. sun PASTE STICKS WANTED, POSITION as SECRETARY to a Lady, by an English- woman, of 21. Special training. Qualifications: French (State certificate): Italian; some Latin; Type- writing; Shorthand. Highest personal recommendations from teachers. Address "K.," care of Mme. Veuve Speakman. 38, Rue du Luxembourg, Paris. Crown 8to., limp cloth, price 2s. Od. J± HAUDBOOE (IK PROCEDURE OF THIS HOUSE of COMMONS, WITH SUGGESTIONS AND PRECEDENTS FOE THE USB OF PARLIAMENTARY DEBATING SOCIETIES, GEO. G. GRAY, Esq., LL D. (Loud.), J.P., Barrister-nt-Law, <tc. Author of "A Manual of Bankruptcy," a Treatise on '* The Bight to Support from Land and Buildings," Ac, Speaker of the Hastings Local House of Commons. London : Hobacf Cox, Windsor House. Bream's-buildings, E.C. Super-royal 8to., price "20s., post free. CROCKFORD'S CLERICAL DIRECTORY 1896. BEING A STATISTICAL BOOK OF REFERENCE Fur facts relating to the Clergy in England. "Wales, Scotland, Ireland and the Colonies; with a fuller Index relating to Parishes and Benefices than any over yet given to the public. Orockford's Clerical Directory is more than a Directory; it con- tains concise Biographical details of all the ministorsand dignitaries of the Church of England. Wales, Scotland. Ireland, and the Colonies; also a List of the Parishes of each Diocese In England and Wales arranged in Rural Deaneries. T W ENTY-EIGMTM ISSUE. Horace Cox, Windsor House, Bream's-buildings, E.C. Printed and Published by Horace Cox, MRS. GILL, TYPE-WHITING OFFICE, 35, LUDGATE HILL, E.C. (ESTABLISHED 1883.) Authors' MSS. carefully copied from Is. per 1000 words. Duplicate copies third price. Skilled typists Bent out by hour, day. or week. French MSS. accurately copied, or typewritten English translations Bupplfod. References kindly permitted to Sir Walter Besant: also to Messrs. A. P. Watt and Son, Literary Agents, HasttngB House, Norfolk-street, Strand, W.C. MESDAMES BRETT & BOWSER, TYPISTS, SELB0RNE CHAMBERS, BELL YARD, TEMPLE BAR. Authors' MSS. carefully and expeditiously copied, from l«. per 1000 words. Kxtra carbon copies half price. Refer- ences kindly permitted to Augustine Birrell, Esq., M.P., and "Anthony Hope." ECLAIR TYPEWRITING COMPANY, GRANVILLE HOUSE, ARUNDEL STREET, STRAND. Typewriting, Copying, and Translating carefully and expeditiously executed. References kindly permitted to Sir Prank Lockwood, Q.C., M.P., T. P. O'Connor, Esq., MP., and E. A. Fardon, Esq., Middlesex Hospital. THE AUTHOR'S HAIRLESS PAPER-PAD. (The Leadenhall Press Ltd., E.C.) Contains hairless paper, over which the pen slips with perfect freedom. Sixpence each: 5s. per dozen, ruled or plain. Pocket Size, price Gd.; bv post, 6jd. THE LAWS OF GOLF, As Adopted by the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of 8t. Andrews. Special RuleB for Medal Play. Etiquette of Golf. Winners of the Golfing Championship. Winners and Runners-up lor the Amateur Championship. London: Horack Cox, Windsor House, Brcam's-buildingB, E.C. Crown 8vo., limp cloth, 2s. 0d. net; bevelled hoards, gilt edges, price 5s. THE PRINCIPLES OP CHESS IN THEORY AND PRACTICE. JAMES ""lIVE ASOH. CONTENTS. — 1. Elements of Chess. 2. General Principles 3. Combination. 4. Exposition of Master Play Complete. London: Horace Cox, Windsor House, Bream's-buildings, E.C. Published every Friday morning; price, without Reports, 9d.; with' Reports, Is. THE LAW TIMES, the Journal of the Law and the Lawyers, which has now been established for over half a century, supplies to the Profession a complete Record of the Progress of Legal Reforms, and of all matters affecting the Legal Profession. The Reports of the Law Times are now recognised aB the . most complete and efficient series published. Offices: Windsor House, Bream's-buildings, E.C. Honee, Bream's-buildings, London, E.C. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Author, Vol. 07 Issue 03 (August 1896) Subject The topic of the resource The Author, Vol. 07 Issue 03 (August 1896) Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015049239455" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015049239455</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Publication Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 1896-08-01-The-Author-7-3 publications The Author https://historysoa.com/files/original/5/292/1896-07-01-The-Author-7-2.pdf 677cf872cb7d2bf6ba1dcafecddb54ae 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 The Author Description An account of the resource A digitised run of the Society of Authors' monthly periodical, The Author, 1890–1914, made available together for the first time. Currently users can browse issues and <a href="https://historysoa.com/items/browse?search=&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bjoiner%5D=and&advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=51&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Index&collection=&type=&tags=&exhibit=&date_search_term=&submit_search=Search+For+Items&sort_field=Dublin+Core%2CTitle">indices</a> (not available for all volumes). Full text search for all issues, and other additional search functionality, will be added in 2022. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1890–1914 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context The-Author-Issues Publication Date The date of an event (in YYYY, YYYY-MM or YYYY-MM-DD format) 1896-07-01 Volume 7 Issue 2 Pages Page range in volume 25–48 Ngram Date Version of the date in YYYYMMDD format for use by the Ngram plugin 18960701 Ngram Text Version of the text with no HTML formatting for use by the Ngram plugin TIbe Hutbot\ (The Organ of the Incorporated Society of Authors. Monthly.) CONDUCTED BY WALTER BESANT. Vol. VII.—No. 2.] JULY i, 1896. [Price Sixpence. CONTENTS. General Considerations, &c Literary Property— 1. A Modest Agreement 2. The Literary Agent 3. The Theatrical Agent 4. The Sir-Shilling Novel and the Trade . Matters for Consideration. By O. H. Thring. A Dialogue Note* and News. By the Editor PAGB ... 2<S ... 27 ... 27 ... 28 ... 28 ... 29 ... 36 ... 37 Australian Poetry. By H. G. K. A Leason from Nebraska ... Book Talk Literature in the Periodicals Correspondence— 1. Postage of ProofB ... 2. Literary Orab-Alls ... 3. Journalistic Poaching 4. Ignored 5. Editors and Contributors ■11 41 4.', 46 41; 47 47 47 PUBLICATIONS OF THE SOCIETY. 1. The Anrinal Beport. That for January 1896 can be had on application to the Secretary. 2. The Author. A Monthly Journal devoted especially to the protection and maintenance of Literary Property. Issued to all Members. Back numbers are offered at the following prices: Vol. I., io«. 6d. (Bound); Vols. II., ILL, and IV., 8s. 6d. each (Bound); Vol. V., 6s. 6d. (Unbound). 3. Literature and the Pension List. By W. Morris Colles, Barrister-at-Law. (Henry Glaisher, 95, Strand, W.C.) 3«. 4. The History Of the Societe des Gens de Lettres. By S. Squire Sprigoe, late Secretary to the Society. 1*. 5. The Cost of Production. In this work specimens are given of the most important forms of type, size of page, &c, with estimates showing what it costs to produce the more common kinds of books. Henry Glaisher, 95, Strand, W.C. 2*. 6d. 6. The Various Methods Of Publication. By S. Squire Sprigoe. In this work, compiled from the papers in the Society's offices, the various forms of agreements proposed by Publishers to Authors are examined, and their meaning carefully explained, with an account of the various kinds of fraud which have been made possible by the different clauses in their agreements. Henry Glaisher, 95, Strand, W.C. 3*. 7. Copyright Law Reform. An Exposition of Lord Monkswell's Copyright Bill now before Parlia- ment. With Extracts from the Report of the Commission of 1878, and an Appendix containing the Berne Convention and the American Copyright Bill. By J. M. Lelt. Eyre and Spottiswoode. it. 6d. - ~ 8. The Society Of Authors. A Becord of its Action from its Foundation. By Walter Besant (Chairman of Committee, 1888—1892). i*. f -' 9. The Contract of Publication in Germany, Austria, Hungary, and Switzerland. By Ernst Lunge, J.U.D. it. 6d. S ## p. 24 (#44) ############################################## AD VER TISEMENTS. g>ocietg of Jlufljors (gncotporafeb). PRESIDENT. GEOEGE MEREDITH. 8ir Edwin Arnold, K.C.I.E., C.S.I. Alfred Austin. J. M. Barbie A. W. X Beckett. F. E. Beddard, F.R S. Robert Bateman. Sir Henrt Bergne, K.C.M.G. Sir Walter Besant. Augustine Birrell, M.P. Bev. Prof. Bonnet, F.R.S. Bioht Hon. James Brtce, M.P. Eight Hon. Lord Burghclere, P.C. Hall Caine. Egerton Castle, F.S.A. P. W. Clatden. Edward Clodd. W. Morris Colles. Hon. John Collier. Sir W. Mabtin Conway. Hon. COUNCIL. F. Marion Crawford. The Earl of Debart. Austin Dobson. A. Conan Dotle, M.D A. W. Dubouro. Sir J. Eric Erichsen, Bart., F.B.S. Prof. Michael Foster, F.B.S. Richard Garnett, C.B., LL.D. Edmund Gosse. H. Rider Haggard. Thomas Hardy. Anthony Hope Hawkins. Jerome K. Jerome. Rudyard Kipling. Prof. E. Ray Lankester, F.R.S. W. E. H. Lecky. J. M. Lely. Mrs. E. Lynn Linton. Rev. W. J. Loftie, F.S.A. . Counsel — E. M. Underdown, Sir A. C. Mackenzie, Mus.D. Prof. J. M. D. Meiklejohn. Herman C. Meritale. Rev. C. H. Middleton-Wake. Sir Lewis Morris. Henry Norman. J. C. Parkinson. Right Hon. Lord Pirbright. Sir Frederick Pollock, Bart., LL.D. Walter Herries Pollock. W. Baptists Scooneb. Miss Flora L. Shaw. G. R. Sims. S. Squire Sprigge. J. J. Stevenson. Prof. Jas. Sully. William Moy Thomas. H. D. Traill, D.C.L. Miss Charlotte M. Yonge. Q.C. A. W. X Beckett. Sir Walter Besant Egerton Castle. W. Morris Colles. SMcilort- COMMITTEE OF MANAGEMENT. Chairman—H. Rider Haggard. Hon. John Collier Sir W. Martin Conway. Anthony Hope Hawkins. J. M. Lely. ( Messrs. Field, Roscoe, and Co., Lincoln's Inn Fields. i[ G. Herbert Thring, B.A., 4, Portugal-street, W.C. Secretary—G. Herbert Thring, B.A. OFFICES: 4, Portugal Street, Lincoln's Inn Fields, W.C. Sir A. C. Mackenzie, Mus.D. Henry Norman. S. Squire Sprigge. .A.. IP. WATT &c SOIsT, LITERARY AGENTS, Formerly of 2, PATERNOSTER SOUARE, Have now removed to HASTINGS HOUSE, NORFOLK STREET, STRAND. LONDON", -W.C. WINDSOR HOUSE PRINTING WORKS, Offices of "The Field," "The Queen," "The Law Times," &c. Mr. HORACE COX, Printer to the Authors' Society, takes the opportunity of informing Authors that, having a very large Office, and an extensive Plant of Type of every description, he is in a position to EXECUTE any PRINTING they may entrust to his care. ESTIMATES FORWARDED, AND REASONABLE CHARGES WILL BE FOUND. ## p. 25 (#45) ############################################## tTbe Hutbor* (The Organ of the Incorporated Society of Authors. Monthly.) CONDUCTED BY WALTER BESANT. Vol. VII.—No. 2.] JULY 1, 1896. [Price Sixpence. for the Opinions expressed in papers that are signed or initialled the Authors alone are responsible. None of the papers or para- graphs must be taken as expressing the collective opinions of the committee unless they are officially signed by G. Herbert Thring, Sec. THE Secretary of the Society begs to give notice that all remittances are acknowledged by return of post, and requests that all members not receiving an answer to important communications within two days will write to him without delay. All remittances should be crossed Union Bank of London, Chancery-lane, or be sent by registered letter only. | ^ Communications and letters are invited by the Editor on all subjects connected with literature, but on no other sub- jects whatever. Articles which cannot be accepted are returned if stamps for the purpose accompany the MSS. GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS. THESE are several methods of publishing by agree- ments. Thus (1) an author may sell his work for a sum of money down: (2) he may take a share of the profits: (3) he may accept a royalty. The first method is the readiest and, where a proper price is paid, perhaps the best. It involves a certain amount of risk or doubt as to the result on the part of the buyer, and a certain amount of hesitation on the part of the seller. The author would do well to sell through an agent. But let him beware as to his choice of agent. At a time when the production of new books involved great risks and where the possible circle of purchasers was very small, the publishers, joining together, took half the profits as a return for their risk and services. At the present time in many cases, where there are no risks, they often take two-thirds and even more of the profits, and that after setting apart a large sum for "office expenses," allowing the author nothing at all for his office expenses. In other words, it is as if a steward were to charge first for his office and desks and then to take half or two-thirds of the remainder for himself as steward's fee. Therefore the author must in every case ascertain carefully, before signiag the agreement, what proportion is appropriated under its clauses by the publisher for himself. If the author is in doubt, let him submit the agreement to the secretary, or to one of the VOL. VII. literary agents recommended by the secretary. Above all things he must remember that in any business transaction the one who accepts an agreement in ignorance will quite certainly get the worst of it. The folly of signing in ignorance is the main cause of half the quarrels between author and publisher. In the case of profit-sharing agreements, remember that very common form of getting the better of an author is the practice of advertising the book in the publisher's own organs, very likely magazines of small circulation. Sometimes, also, he " exchanges" advertisements with other magazines, and charges the author as if he had paid for them. In this way the publisher may put tbe whole profits of a book in his own pocket. One way to prevent this sharp practice is to insert a clause to tbe effect that advertisements shall only be oharged at the actual price paid for them. A better way, however, is to agree beforehand upon the papers in which advertisements may be inserted. As regards the right of inspecting the books, that need not be claimed, because it exists as the right of every partner, or joint venturer. You have only to demand the inspection of the books by your solicitor, your aocountant, or the secretary of the Society. If the book is a first book, or one that carries risk, it is fan- to make an arrangement for the first edition and another for the second, and following, if any. The publisher confers so signal a service upon the young author by producing his work at all—i.e., by giving him the chanoe he desires above all things—that it seems fair in such a case to yield him the larger share. In a profit-Bharing agreement do not let the cost of pro- duction form a part of the agreement, otherwise you will be unable to contest it afterwards. It will be wisest never to enter into relations with any publisher unless recommended by the Society. There are many other dangers to be avoided. Serial rights; stamping the agreement: American rights: future work: cession of copyright—these things cannot possibly be attended to by the young author. Therefore his agree- ment should always be shown te the secretary. It has been objected that these precautions presuppose a great Bucces for the book, and that very few books indeed attain to this great success. That is quite true : but there is always this uncertainty of literary property that, although the works of a great many authors carry with them no risk at all, and although of a great many it is known within a few copies what will be their minimum circulation, it is not known what will be their maximum. Therefore every author, for every book, should arrange on the chance of a success which will not, probably, come at all; but which may come. The four points which the Society has always demanded from the outset are:— (i.) That both sides shall know what an agreement means. E 2 ## p. 26 (#46) ############################################## 26 THE AUTHOR. (2.) The inspection of those account books which belong to the author. We are advised that this is a right, in the nature of a common law right, which cannot be denied or withheld. (3.) That there shall be no secret profits. (4.) That nothing shall be charged which has not been actually paid—for instance, that there shall be no charge for advertisements in the publisher's own organs and none for exchanged advertisements: and that all discounts shall be duly entered. If these points are carefully looked after, the author may rest pretty well assured that he is in right hands. At the same time he will do well to send his agreement to the secretary before he signs it. HOW TO USE THE SOCIETY. 1. IjTVERY member has a right to ask for and to receive fij advice upon his agreements, his choioe of a pub- lisher, or any dispute arising in the oonduot of his business or the administration of his property. If the advice sought is such as can be given best by a solicitor, the member has a right to an opinion from the Society's solicitors. If the case is suoh that Counsel's opinion is desirable, the Com- mittee will obtain for him Counsel's opinion. All this without any cost to the member. 2. Remember that questions connected with oopyright and publisher's agreements do not generally fall within the experience of ordinary solicitors. Therefore, do not scruple to use the Society first—our solicitors are continually engaged upon such questions for us. 3. Send to the office copies of past agreements and past accounts with the loan of the books represented. This is in order to asoertain what has been the nature of your agree- ments, and the results to author and publisher respectively so far. The Secretary will always be glad to have any agreements, new or old, for inspection and note. The infor- mation thuB obtained may prove invaluable. 4. If the examination of your previous business trans- actions by the Secretary proves unfavourable, you should take advice as to a change of publishers. 5. Before signing any agreement whatever, Bend the pro- posed document to the Society for examination. 6. The Society is acquainted with the methods, and—in the ease of fraudulent houses—the tricks of every publish- ing firm in the country. 7. Remember always that in belonging to the Society you are fighting the battles of other writers, even if you are reaping no benefit to yourself, and that you are advanoing the best interests of literature in promoting the indepen- dence of the writer. 8. Send to the Editor of the Author notes of everything important to literature that you may hear or meet with. 9. The committee have now arranged for the reception of members' agreements and their preservation in a fireproof safe. The agreements will, of course, be regarded as con- fidential documents to be read only by the Secretary, who will keep the key of the safe. The Society now offers:—(1) To read and advise upon agreements and publishers. (2) To stamp agreements in readiness for a possible action upon them. (3) To keep agreements. (4) To enforce payments due according to agreements. THE AUTHORS' SYNDICATE. MEMBERS are informed: 1. That the Authors' Syndicate takes charge of the business of members of the Society. That it submits MSS. to publishers and editors, concludes agree- ments, examines, passes, and collects accounts, and, gene- rally, relieves members of the trouble of managing business details. 2. That the terms upon which its services can be secured will be forwarded upon detailed application. 3. That the Authors' Syndicate works only for those members of the Society whose work possesses a market value. 4. That the Syndicate can only undertake any negotiations whatever on the distinct understanding that those negotia- tions are placed exclusively in its hands, and that all communications relating thereto are referred to it. 5. That clients can only be seen by the Director by appointment, and that, when possible, at least two days' notice should be given. 6. That every attempt is made to deal with all communi- cations promptly. That stamps should, in ail cases, be sent to defray postage. 7. That the Authors' Syndicate does not invite MSS. without previous correspondence; does not hold itself responsible for MSS. forwarded without notice; and that in all cases MSS. must be accompanied by stamps to defray postage. 8. That the Syndicate undertakes arrangements for lectures by some of the leading members of the Society; that it has a "Transfer Department" for the Bale and purchase of journals and periodicals; and that a " Register of Wants and Wanted" is open. Members are invited to communicate their requirements to the Manager. There is an Honorary Advisory Committee, whose services will be called upon in any case of dispute or difficulty. It is perhaps necessary to state that the members of the Advisory Committee have no pecuniary interest whatever in the Syndicate. NOTICES. THE Editor of the Author begs to remind members of the Society that, although the paper is sent to them free of charge, the cost of producing it would be a very heavy charge on the resources of the Society if a great many members did not forward to the Secretary the modest 6s. 6d. subscription for the year. The Editor is always glad to receive short papers and communications on all subjects connected with literature from members and others. Nothing can do more good to the Society than to make the Author complete, attractive, and interesting. Will those who are willing to aid in this work send their names and the special subjects on which they are willing to write? Communications for the Author 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. Members and others who wish their MSS. read are requested not to send them to the Office without previously ## p. 27 (#47) ############################################## THE AUTHOR. 27 communicating with the Secretary. The utmost practicable despatch is aimed at, and MSS. are read in the order in which they are received. It must also be distinctly under- stood that the Society doeB not, under any circumstances, undertake the publication of MSS. The Authors' Club is now open in its new premises, at 3, Whitehall-court, Charing Cross. Address the Secretary for information, rules of admission, Ac. Will members take the trouble to ascertain whether they have paid their subscriptions for the year? If they will do this, and remit the amount, if Btill unpaid, or a banker's order, it will greatly assist the Secretary, and save him the trouble of sending out a reminder. Members are most earnestly entreated to attend to the following warning. It is a most foolish and may be a most disastrous thing to enter into an agreement binding for a term of years. Let them ask themselves if they would give a solicitor the collection of their rents for five years to come, whatever his conduct, whether he was honest or dishonest? Of course they would not. Why then hesitate for a moment when they are asked to Bign them- selves into literary bondage for three or five years P Those who possess the "Cost of Production" are requested to note that the cost of binding has advanced IS per cent. This means, for those who do not like the trouble of "doing sums," the addition of three shillings in the pound on this head. In other words, if the oost of binding is set down in our book at eight pounds, to this must now be added twenty-four shillings more, so that it now stands at £g 4». The figures in our book are as near the exact truth as can be procured; but a printer's, or a binder's, 'bill is so elastio a thing that nothing more exact can be arrived at. Some remarks have been made upon the amount charged in the " Cost of Production " for advertising. Of course, we have not included any sums which may be charged for inserting advertisements in the publisher's own magazines, or in other magazines by exchange. As agreements too often go, there is nothing to prevent the publisher from sweeping the whole profits of a book into his own pocket, by inserting any number of advertisements in his own magazines, and by exchanging with others. Some there are who call this a form of fraud; it is not known what those who practise this method of swelling their own profits call it. LITERARY PROPERTY. I.—A Modest Agreement. APEOPOSAL for the production of a book at the author's expense has been sent to the Society. It is dated a few years back, but not so far back as to make it belong to a past generation. The proposal is given below, with our estimate of the actual cost. The book contained 34 sheets, and was printed in long primer; 34 lines to a page, and 346 words to the page. The binding was simple. An edition of 1000 was struck off :— Estimate of Proposal. actual cost. Composing, paper, £ s. d. £ s. d. and printing ... 192 o o 122 o o Binding, 2 50 at %\d. 8 17 1 650 Advertising (say) 25 o o (say) 15 00 Publisher's fee ... 5 5 o 231 21 143 5 o The author was to pay the money in advance.' The publisher would take three months' credit with the printing, and would produce the book about five months after receiving the money. He was to have 10 per cent, on all moneys received. Let us compare his returns with those of the author, supposing a sale of 500 copies at the trade price of 5*. 2d.:— I. The Publisher: £ s. d. Profit on alleged cost 82 12 1 Five months' interest at 5 per cent. on .£231 + 16 o Ten per cent, on sale of 500 copies.. 12 19 2 Publisher's fee 5 5 o EDITORIAL NOTE. The New York Letter has arrived this month too late for insertion. The Notes from Paris have not yet been received. The case of Bourget v. Lemerre has been heard and decided. An account of the case and its bearing upon English interests will appear in the next number of the Author. At the Conference of the Booksellers' Union on Tuesday, June 29th, held in Belfast, the subject of possible relations between the book- seller and the author was considered. Notes on this conference will appear in the next number. Total profit ,£105 12 3 IL The Author: Paid to publisher 231 2 1 On additional binding 8 17 1 £ s. d. 239 19 2 Received from sales ... 129 12 8 Less 10 per cent 12 19 2 116 13 6 Total loss £123 5 8 II.—The Literary Agent. It is reported that certain publishers, after accepting a work placed in their hands by an agent, go l>ehuid the agent's back and address the author personally. It may be urged on their behalf that they have made no contract with the agent, and are within their rights. This may be so: in that case, the agent has to find his own ## p. 28 (#48) ############################################## 28 THE AUTHOR. remedy, and may be trusted to do so. But what is the position of the author? He says to the agent: "Place my book for me: I give it into your management." He is, for this book, under a contract, even though there is no written bond. He employs the agent because he cannot, or will not, under- take the trouble of managing his literary business himself. If he. after this, receives and signs an agreement behind his agent's back, he acts exactly like a man who places his affairs in a solicitor's hands, and then secretly negotiates mortgages, buys or sells land, and receives rents. Agents must explain to their clients that this must not be done: in their own interest it must not be done. Let authors only consider the probable reasons why such an attempt is made. Perhaps, however, some brief form of contract between agent and author might be agreed upon which would render this kind of action impossible. III.—The Theatrical Agent. The following letter concerns a theatrical agency :— "Some years ago I paid a 'booking fee ' to a well-known theatrical agency, and received an acknowledgment of the receipt of it and the MS. in due course; also a letter promising to ' do our best to introduce it to managers.' From that day until this, I have not heard a word from that firm, but long ago the little piece was successfully pro- duced in London, under the same title, and had a run; a fact apparently unnoticed by those who had promised to look after my interests. I have never done anything since with any agent, excepting on the ' No cure no pay ' principle." IV.—The Six-Shilling Novel and the Trade. "To quote the words of the astute advertiser of a well-known pen, the six-shilling novel has come as a 'boon and a blessing' to the bookselling trade. There can now be no doubt of its far- reaching effects. It commenced at a time when business was in a somewhat languishing state, and it has given an impetus which it would be vain to conceal, and it is to be hoped that it will con- tinue for many a long day. "We must award a good deal of the credit of the success of the movement to Mr. Hall Caine, whose 'Manxman ' attained to such a prodigious circulation. It was really a reply to the circular of Mr. Mudie and Messrs. W. H. Smith and Son, which they addressed to the publishers demand- ing a reduction of the price at which three volume novels were supplied to them. It is just possible that Mr. Hall Caine's publisher is also entitled to some of the credit for the able way in which he seconded the author's idea of sacrificing the three volume edition of 'The Manxman.' He, too, has reaped a reward as well as the author. The movement has advanced by leaps and bounds, and it is now quite an exception to see a 'three-decker ' issued by any of the publish- ing houses. There have been many successes since 'The Manxman,' but the most conspicuous has been Mr. Du Maurier's 'Trilby.' It is no rxaggeration to say that the proceeds of the sale of this volume has done more to fill the coifers of the booksellers than any other book published in 1895. When in conversation with Mr. Du Maurier the other day, we took the opportunity of thanking him, in the name of the booksellers of Great Britain, for placing such a book within their reach at so moderate a price, and we also supplemented that remark by saying that the profits on the sales of his book had materially helped the booksellers to pay their rent. He smiled graciously. "The 'shilling shocker' and the two shilling novels are rapidly dying out, and we fancy they will soon be numbered among the things that were, and we do not suppose that any bookseller will regret their absence if the six-shilling novel continues to hold its own. "But here let us say, within parenthesis, that it will be futile on the publishers' part to issue novels at 6*. which are not of the first rank. The second and third rate novel will never do at 6s.; and there should be no misunderstanding about this, as the booksellers will decline to take them. They must be placed at a cheaper rate, say, at 3«. 6d. or 2s. 6d. The publishers must also avoid giving too little for the money at 6s. It is almost as bad as giving too much. "The most singular thing is, that the six- shilling novel has caught on with the libraries, and their 'subscribed' members are somewhat astonishing. Although when they commenced the agitation for the publishers to reduce the terms at which they supplied the three-volume novel they never anticipated such a general recognition among the publishers of the one- volume novel, it has proved to be a great Godsend for thein. There is now no accumulation of unsaleable stock, as when a six-shilling novel is dying out of circulation there is no difficulty in. selling the used copies at 3*. and zs. 6d. To the country librarian it has also proved a great blessing, as he no longer requires to pay a heavy subucription to Mudie to have a supply of novels iu the old style. We imagine that on this account there has been a general rejoicing in the heart of every country librarian, as he has no ## p. 29 (#49) ############################################## THE AUTHOR. 29 longer to wait for the tardy supply from head- quarters, but is able to stock a book at once, and give general and immediate satisfaction to his subscribers. So, then, in conclusion, we say 'Long life to the six-shilling novel.' "—Newsagent and Booksellers' Review. MATTERS FOB CONSIDERATION. (Continued from 'page 19.) Another Form of Agreement, or Proposed Agreement. THE publishers advertise in a paper, the author answers the advertisement, and forwards his MS. A letter is then received from the publishers to the following effect: "Dear Sir, — " We have much pleasure in informing you that our reader having reported so far favourably on your work, and considering the promise in it, we are prepared to undertake its publication on the following favourable terms, viz.:"— The " viz." comprises payment by the author of varying sums, and for such payment the pub- lishers undertake to print an edition of, say, 750 copies. The author to have two-thirds (generally under- lined) of the profits. The publishers are also anxious to obtain the book on account of the near approach of the publishing season. There is a perennial publish- ing season, according to the varied dates on the letters "(all formulas) which they issue. The author repudiates the payment, and in return receives another letter from the publishers, who will take a less sum and take a moiety of the profits. An agreement is then forwarded to the author, and in this agreement (supposed to embody the terms of the previous contract) the greatest care is bestowed to preserve the publishers' legal position, while they accomplish their own ends. "The publishers agree to meet the demand for an edition of 750 copies, to be followed, should the demand warrant, by further editions." The author signs the agreement, and thinks that the money he has paid is going to produce an edition of 750 copies. (The sum asked in most cases will pay for an edition of 750 copies, and put a few pounds into the publisher's pocket.) The publishers however do not "give them- selves away" readily. They are not obliged to produce 750 copies, but to meet the demand they may, if they please, produce no more than 250 copies, bind 100, and distribute the type. They have done their duty, and pocketed a nice little sum, for they know very well that the demand will never reach the 250 copies. If the author was rich, he could always circum- vent this clause, by ordering, through agents, up to the 750 copies. He then would have a case against the publishers. But, alas! authors are nearly always poor. There is another clause of much interest in this agreement. It runs as follows:— "The publishers shall, within thirty days after the 31st day of December and the 30th day of June in every year, deliver to the author an account showing the number of copies of the work sold from the date of the publication thereof, or during the then preceding half year, as the case may be, and of the moneys received in respect of such sales, and shall, after deducting from the proceeds of the sale of the work any expenses which may have been incurred in advertising thereof, forthwith pay to the author two-thirds or one-half (as the case may be) of such moneys, and shall retain the remaining one-third or one- half for their own use and benefit." To the uninitiated this clause looks quite straightforward and honest. The usual account clause. But mark what follows: The first accounts are sent in showing a deficit, and a further sum payable to the publishers for author's corrections (a generally unverifiable item), and for advertising. The author demurs to the pay- ment, and is then anxious to know how his money has been expended: have the books agreed upon been really produced? &c, Ac. The publishers then reply, "We are bound to furnish you with accounts under the agreement. We have fulfilled the agreement. We are not bound to do more." On the author referring to his agreement, he generally finds that he is barred by the "consideration clause" from inquiring how his money has been spent. Clauses to be avoided. A clause in which a royalty is paid on the "selling price," or the "nominal selling price," should be altered, and the royalty should be made payable on "the published price." The former terms are ambiguous, the latter is indis- putable. Contract with a Limited Liability Company. If a private firm is turned into a limited lia- bility company it appears probable that a contract to publish can be determined even although the former partners are directors, and that, as the contract is a personal one, the firm cannot with- out the sanction of the author transfer to the company, but there is no doubt that where the ## p. 30 (#50) ############################################## 3° THE AUTHOR. business is virtually in tbe same hands, very little evidence would be necessary to show acquiescence in the new order of things on the part of the author. If a limited company goes bankrupt, the con- tract to publish is terminated, but if the trustee in bankruptcy carries on the business the point is rather more difficult. It is probable that the receiver, or tbe trustee, may sell the stock in hand, but cannot reprint the work. No contract should ever be made with a pub- lisher, his executors, administrators, and assigns. A contract to publish is a personal contract, and should always be kept so. This is a question of great import to authors. Royalty Clause. "Messrs. . . . to render a royalty statement to the author half-yearly, viz., to June 30 and Dec. 31, and it is understood that in making up such royalties thirteen copies shall be reckoned as twelve." Royalties should be paid on every copy sold. This is the custom of the principal publishing houses. Thirteen copies should not therefore be reckoned as twelve. Account Clauses. "Accounts shall be made up annually as soon after June 30th as practicable, and payment will be due in the January following." If a book is published early in the autumn, the chief sales occur before Christmas, and the account is rendered in the following June, if the author is paid six months after date, the publisher may hold a large part of the author's share in his own hands for nearly twelve months. Bankruptcy may also occur in so long an interval, and then the author will at most obtain only a dividend on the amount of his demand. Account Clause (No. 2).—" Account of sales of the work to be made annually to June 30, rendered and payable before the end of the year." This is subject to almost the same remarks as the previous clause. An author should therefore always try and obtain semi-annual accounts if possible. Clause binding author to offer Juture work to a publisher.—" The author shall, during the ensuing five years from the completed serial publication of the present novel or story, give to the said publisher the offer or refusal of any further novel or story he may write for newspaper publication, at the lowest price the said author will accept for the same from any other person for newspaper publication." This clause hardly comes under a treatise that deals mainly with book rights, but it gives an opportunity of commenting on a danger formerly common in bookright agreements, which should be avoided, namely, the danger of an author binding himself to a publisher for future work under any circumstances. Sale of Copyright. 1. "In consideration of the sum of £ to be paid as hereinafter provided, the said author agrees to sell and the said publishers agree to purchase the absolute copyright in the said author's original novel called' .'" 2. "The said author agrees to sell and the said publishers agree to purchase the copyright of his novel, entitled' 'for the sum of £ payable on publication." 3. "It is agreed that if and when any edition of the said work is issued at any lower price than 6s. the publishers shall have the right and option of buying the copyright free from all royalty for the sum of .£50, to be paid to the author within a month from the date of publication of such edition, failing which payment this option shall be no longer in force." 4. "This agreement to be binding for a period of years from the date of publication after which time, subject to any interest the publishers may then have in the work in respect of unsold copies, the said author shall be at liberty to transfer the book to some other publisher, or to renew the agreement with the said publisher as may be arranged." 5. "It is agreed that the copyright of the said work is to remain the property of the said author, and that at the expiration of years from the day of , or at the expiration of any subsequent period of years thereafter, this agreement may be termi- nated by either party on giving three months notice of the intention to do so. In the event of its being terminated by the said author, he shall purchase the plates and stock in hand at the debt that may be against the said book, if such debt is greater than the cost of paper and print of the stock in hand, or if less at the cost of the paper and print of the stock in hand. But if this agreement be terminated by the said publishers the said author shall have the option of purchasing the stock on tbe before-mentioned terms, but shall not be bound to do so" 6. "Copyright to remain the property of the publishers for the term of years. Accounts to be made up half yearly to 30th June and 31st December, and settled by the 31st August and 28th February following." 7. "That the copyright and all rights shall remain the property of the said publishers." • ## p. 31 (#51) ############################################## THE AUTHOR. 3* The seven clauses printed above refer mainly to the purchase of copyright. This system has already been criticised, and reference has been made to the "Methods of Publishing." It can but be repeated that it is contrary to all the author's interests to sell the copyright, or any portion of the copyright, not only when he is effecting a sale outright, but more especially when he reserves any future interest in the sales. In clause No. 2 the sum is to be paid on the date of publication. It is most important there- fore that this date should be approximately fixed, as it might be possible that the publishers either refused to publish or delayed publication. Some reasons that might prompt this action are stated in my former article. There is no clause more likely than clause 3 to set the publishers, and author's interest at variance. The greater part of the agreement from which it is drawn is an elaborate statement of the royalty to be paid under certain conditions, Jrom which one would naturally infer that the MS. would be as a matter of course published at 6*. or over. But, although the author has assigned the right to publish there is no recip- rocity on the part of the publisher, he does not undertake to publish the book at all, and there is nothing to prevent him from publishing at 5s. 6d., paying the ^650, and securing the whole copyright for that small sum. Clause 4. The question of the limitation of bookrights, much more therefore copyright, for a number of years has been referred to in the article that appeared in last month's Author. It should for legal reasons be avoided, except under the precautions already indicated in that article. For the same reason clause 5 is objectionable. If the publishers or author terminate the agree- ment there is the very difficult question of what is to be done with the stock in hand. Such stock is often absolutely useless to the author. The remarks that have already been made about the sale of copyright apply with equal force to the remaining clauses, which are inserted only because they have been taken from actual agreements. Sale of Outside Eights. 1. "Except as in clause hereof, the copy- right, whether English or foreign, in the said work, including the rights of translation and publication of any dramatic version thereof, shall not be sold, assigned, or transferred by the author, either as a whole, or for a limited time, or over a limited space, without the consent of the publisher. That the proceeds of the sale or transfer of copyright, as defined in the above VOL. VII. clause, shall be divided in the proportion of one- half to the author and one-half to the publisher." 2. "All amounts received for rights of transla- tion or reproduction abroad shall be divided equally between the two parties to this agree- ment." 3. "Should the work be issued in America, or any other foreign country, that the profits arising from such transactions shall be divided equally between the said author and said publishers." 4. "It is further understood that the said pub- lishers shall endeavour to secure copyright on the said work in the United States of America, and in the event of his succeeding shall pay to the said author two-thirds of all moneys received from the American publisher of the said work. All profits arising from minor rights, such as translations and Continental editions, to be equally divided between author and publishers." 5. "If, in the discretion of the said publishers, it becomes expedient to dispose of an edition of the book at a reduced price for sale in the Australian Colonies, these copies shall not be subject to the payment of any royalty to the said author, but the profit on the transaction shall be divided into two equal portions, one of whbh shall be the property of the said author, and the other of the said publishers." 6. "And the said publisher shall be entitled to dispose of any other rights (rights of translation, American rights, or such like) in the said work, the said publishers to have 50 per cent, of all profits arising out of the sale, lease conveyance of such rights, and the said author to receive the remaining 50 per cent, thereof." 7. "The publishers may effect the sale of Continental rights only with the author's consent. The proceeds of such sale, if effected by the publishers, shall be divided in the proportion of three-quarters to the author and one-quarter to the publishers." Agency work may be understood to mean such work as the publisher tries to accomplish by- acting not directly with the public (for the publisher is in many cases only an agent), but indirectly with the public through another middle man. A perusal of the above clauses will show that this work covers the placing of American rights, serial rights, Colonial rights, <fcc. The sale of " outside rights " is generally placed in the hands of literary agents, as in many cases the author is ignorant of what "outside rights" go to constitute his literary property, and in any case they are difficult to handle, and require the care of a practical business man. There are literary agents in London who under- ## p. 32 (#52) ############################################## 3* THE AUTHOR. take this business on behalf of authors, for a charge of from 5 to 15 per cent. The question of these agents' charges has been very bitterly discussed by certain publishers, yet these same publishers, when undertaking agency work, take as their recompense anything from 25 to 50 per cent. Take, for example, clause 1, supple- mentary to which in the same agreement is a clause for the sale of American rights on the same terms. Here the publishers ask 50 per cent., and get as many of the rights as they can from the author. This clause, with the exception of the one quoted at length in an agreement in last month's article, is, perhaps, as strongly in favour of the publishers and to the detriment of the author as it is possible to conceive. Even if the author acted as his own agent with regard to translation or foreign reproduction, making arrangements without the assistance of the publisher, he still must pay 50 per cent. Further, should he dramatise his work he must pay one half of the proceeds. Clauses 2, 3, and 4 all show a 50 per cent, payment to the publisher. They are more favour- able to the author, however, as they do not include so many rights, and in clause 4 the author is to get two-thirds of the proceeds arising from the sale of the American rights, if the publisher obtains American copyright. Clause 5 still claims 50 per cent., but only refers to Australian rights. Clause 6 is peculiar in some ways, more especially in its phraseology; "or such like " is indefinite. It is doubtful either whether the author could act at all as his own agent under this clause. The clause, as usual, stipulating for 50 per cent. Clause 7 only affects Continental rights, and the sale must be made only with the author's consent. The author can, if he likes, act as his own agent and make all the profit, but if the publisher does act as agent the charge is 25 per cent. The rights are more limited and the charge is less, but still enormous when compared with the agent's 10 per cent. It would be easy to quote clauses without end bearing on the same point. In none of the many agreements is the charge below 2 5 per cent. On these clauses it can only be added that where the author transfers the copyright the pub- lisher usually deals with all subsidiary rights without reference to the author. He sometimes shares the returns with the author and sometimes does not. A case has, however, been known in which a publisher bought the copyright from an author, and, on the book being published in England, the author neglected to secure the American rights. There were no rights therefore in America, and the book could have been pirated by anyone. An American publisher wishing to republish the work wrote to the English publisher, inferring that he was acting for the author, and stated that he was desirous of publishing the book and of paying an honorarium to do so. The pub- lisher this side, in virtue of his non-existent American rights, took the honorarium to himself. Here it may be as well to state is another and most important point that the author should be very careful about. He should not enter into a royalty agreement for the sale of the booh in England, and a profit- sharing arrangement with the same publishers for the Colonial or American edition. If he does so he must be sure that it is stated in the profit- sharing clause that the print and paper alone is to be charged against the Colonial edition. The composition was necessary for the English issue, and it is on this basis that the amount of royalty is fixed. If this item or any part of it is to be charged against the Colonial profit-sharing arrangement, then the author ought to obtain a larger royalty on the English sale, as the royalty on the English sale is based on the idea of the whole cost of com- position going against the English edition. Remainder Sales. To those who do not know it may be worth while to point out that bond fide remainder sales are the sales of a book after the general demand for the book has ceased, and when the book is virtually dead. The publishers then offer the whole of the stock in hand at cheap rates to a secondhand bookseller or sell it by public auction. Such sales realise very low prices. There are instances of remainder sales being arranged when the book is not dead. This course, under some agreements, benefits the pub- lisher but not the author. The clause referring to remainder sales are very often of an arbitrary character, for example :— "The publishers shall have the power to sell the residue of any edition at a reduced price or as a remainder." This clause occurs almost word for word in two separate agreements. It does not give the author any option of purchase, and it gives the pub- bsher the opportunity of clearing his shelves before the bond fide sales are at an end. Sometimes there is no clause relating to remainder sales, but this subject is governed by a clause leaving all rights as to the method of publication and sale of the work with the pub- lishers—then the same result occurs. ## p. 33 (#53) ############################################## THE AUTHOR. 33 A practical agreement regarding remainder sales is certainly necessary, and much to be desired. Correction Clauses, i . "The said author to correct proof sheets with all reasonable despatch, and if any altera- tions or additions to proofs are made beyond the usual corrections of printers' errors he is to pay for such extra work." 2. "The cost of correction of other than the printers' errors in the proofs of the said work exceeding ten shillings per sheet of thirty-two pages is to be borne by the said author, and the amount thereof shall be payable to the pub- lishers by the said author within one month after the publication of the said book." 3. "All details as to the time and manner of production, publication, and advertisement, and the number and destination of free copies, shall be left to the sole discretion of the publishers, who shall bear all expenses of production, publi- cation, and advertisement, except the amount (if any) by which the cost of corrections of proofs other than printers' errors at per printers' invoice, exceeds an average of five shilling per sheet of sixteen pages of printed matter, which amount shall be borne by the author." 4. "All alteration in proof sheets made by the author while the book is passing through the press, the cost of which thall exceed sixteen shillings per sheet of sixteen pages shall be at the expense of the author." 5. "That the author shall not be liable for the expenses of authors proof corrections (exclusive of the correction of printers' errors) up to the amount of .£5, equivalent to 100 hours of work, but that should such charges exceed this amount, the author shr.ll be debited with the excess." Nothing is more likely to lead to disputes between the parties than corrections. A few clauses; are printed above, drawn from different agreements. The first three are exceptionally disadvantageous to the author. The charge varies, but, in the agreements from the better houses, generally lies between icw. and ids. per sheet of sixteen pages for corrections other than printer s errors. If the author exceeds this amount he has to pay the excess. The safest way is for the author to keep dupli- cate proofs with the corrections carefully copied. This process, though tedious and laborious, is sure, for otherwise the author is absolutely in the hands of the printer. The next best plan is to insert the time equiva- lent for the money value into the clause as in clause 5, so that, if the charge appears excessive, it can at once be turned into hours, when it will most likely appear ridiculous. £20 for corrections would mean 400 hours, or the work of 01 e man for forty days at the rate of ten hours a ("ay. It is useful to remember the rapidity absolutely necessary for proof corrections of daily papers, and then compare the time tak with the £20 charge. It is almost impossible to really check correc- tions, as sometimes the insertion of a word will throw the type out for i.ages. An author ought to try if possible to insert a phrase or word of similar length to the phrase or word deleted, and ought to try and make full corrections, if any are necessary, when the type is in " slip form," before it is made up into pages. Other Clauses. The following clauses are not classified under r.ny particular heading, but as they have been been culled from agreements, it is as well for the author to be aware of their existence. "The publisher is, so far as his charge for com- posing, stereotyping, printing, binding, supplying paper, and furnishing copies, whether retail or to the trade, are concerned, to be regarded as princi- pal and not as agent either of the author or of any other person, and as principal he will render an account in writing made up to the usual quarter days on the first day of May, August, November, and February in each year." This clause has been taken out of a commission agreement, and suggests that the publisher is not anxious to have the accounts between himself and his printer investigated. It should not be allowed to stand. Every pub- lisher who is desirous of dealing well with authors is only too anxious to give every facility for the investigation of accounts. Is this clause intended to give the publisher an opportunity of making a large secret profit? This must not be assumed. Any honourable publisher would repudiate the suggestion and withdraw the clause. "The author undertakes to refrain from writing or publishing, or causing or assisting or licensing the publication of any other work likely to injure, compete with, or impair the sale of the work during the continuance of this license, or until the whole of the copies lawfully produced under this license shall have been disposed of." No author should allow this clause to remain in his agreement unless the publisher equally binds himself to refrain from publishing. It is a most dangerous clause without reciprocity. To meet the case it might be possible to arrange a time limit, say, of three years to either party. In the first place it would be a foolish action on ## p. 34 (#54) ############################################## 34 THE AUTHOR. the part of an author to destroy his own property, but it might be a very profitable thing on the part of a publisher to obtain the control over a similar work, and thus stop the competition of other publishers and hold the command of the market on a given subject. This refers to the publishing of educational, scientific, technical, <fcc, books, and it is in agree- ments for the production of these books that the above clause is generally inserted. "The author shall guarantee that there is copy- right in the said work in the United Kingdom, and that he is the proprietor thereof, and that should the publication of the said book subject the publishers to any legal proceedings, civil or criminal, in the United Kingdom, he shall in- demnify the publishers from all cost and liability whatsoever which the publisher may incur in connection with such legal proceedings." It is sometimes necessary and often reasonable to give the publisher an indemnity clause against actions for infringement of copyright or libel. But it is hardly fair to ask the author to in- demnify the publisher from "any legal pro- ceedings connected with the publication of the book." He might have a dispute with the printer, with the binder, Ac, for which the author could hardly be responsible. "That in thp event of the sale exceeding the said copies the publisher shall bear the cost of any subsequent editions or edition, and shall allow the said author a royalty of pence per shilling on the published price." This is a case of deferred royalty. If any author is compelled to accept such an agreement he should endeavour to ascertain whether the work is likely to reach the amount named, and to protect himself from the publisher refusing to let it reach the amount by binding the publisher to produce a specified number of copies. In a profit-sharing agreement a clause to the effect that "advertisements appearing in the publishers' own organs shall be charged for at half the usual tariff "—must be struck out. It costs the publishers nothing beyond the setting up of the type and an infinitesimal amount for paper, and it is unfair in a case of quasi- partnership that the one partner should benefit at the expense of the other, for in such an agree- ment, if the author has not in addition a tight hand over the advertisements, a considerable amount of profits may be sunk. Monthly periodicals are not good advertising mediums. The above clause is no doubt put forward as a sop to the author, but it must not be allowed to stand. It is unfair for one partner to make this profit and not the other. In addition it should be pointed out this clause does not cover exchange advertisements in other periodicals — another method by which the publisher obtains an advan- tage and the author does not. In other words, such a clause gives the publisher the absolute rights of swamping the whole profits of a book by advertising in his own organs. Serial Publication. It may be as well to add a few words on serial publication, by which is meant not publication in a series of books, but publication in the form of periodical issue. Serial rights are a very important part of literary property, especially as the short story is so much in vogue. Serial rights may be divided as follows: These are the common forms. 1. Rights in some important London magazine or paper. 2. Rights in some important American maga- zine or paper. 3. Secondary rights in England. 4. Secondary rights in America.- 5. Rights in the Colonies and Dependencies of Great Britain. In selling any of these rights, the author should be very careful of what he is selling and of the date of publication. It is best when writing to an editor to state clearly what is offered, e.g., "Dear Sir,—" I beg to offer you the inclosed for serial publication in '. . . .'" (naming the periodical). If the tale is accepted without any further special stipulations, then it is accepted on the terms of the letter. N.B.—Keep a copy of the letter. If the author is particular as to price, he should also state the amount per thousand words that he will require. If the author is careless, he may find that he has sold all serial rights, that his story is being syndicated in the provinces and in America, and is bringing in moneys that he could have put into his own pocket. He may find, again, that he has brought him- self within the toils of the 18th section of the Copyright Act. The 18th section runs as follows :— "XVIII. And be it enacted, that when any pub- lisher or other person shall, before or at the time of the passing of this Act, have projected, con- ducted, and carried on, or shall hereafter project, conduct, and carry on, or be the proprietor of any encyclopaedia, review, magazine, periodical work, or work published in a series of books or ## p. 35 (#55) ############################################## THE AUTHOR. 35 parts, or any book whatsoever, and shall have employed or shall employ any persons to compose the same, or any volume, parts, essays, articles, or portions thereof for publication in or as part of the same, and such work, volumes, parts, essays, articles, or portions shall have been or shall hereafter be composed under such employ- ment, on the terms that the copyright therein shall belong to such proprietor, projector, pub- lisher, or conductor, and paid for by such pro- prietor, publisher, projector, or conductor, the copyright in every such encyclopaedia, review, magazine, periodical work, and work published in a series of books or parts, and in every volume, part, essay, article, and portion so composed and paid for, shall be the property of such proprietor, projector, publisher, or other conductor, who shall enjoy the same rights as if he were the actual author thereof, and shall have such term of copyright therein as is given to the authors of books by this Act; except only that in the case of essays, articles, or portions forming part of and first published in reviews, magazines, or other periodical works of a like nature after the term of twenty-eight years from the first pub- lication thereof respectively,the right of publishing the same in a separate form shall revert to the author for the remainder of the term given by this Act: Provided always, that during the term of twenty-eight years the said proprietor, pro- jector, publisher, or conductor, shall not publish any such essay, article, or portion separately or singly, without the consent previously obtained of the author thereof, or his assigns: Provided also, that nothing herein contained shall alter or affect the right of any person who shall have been or who shall be so employed as aforesaid to publish any such his composition in a separate form who by any contract, express or implied, may have received or may hereafter reserve to himself such right; but every author reserving, retaining, or having such right shall be entitled to the copyright in such composition when pub- lished in a separate form, according to this Act, without prejudice to the right of such proprietor, projector, publisher, or conductor, as aforesaid." It will be seen from this that when the pro- prietor employs and pays (a most important feature) a writer on the terms that the copyright in the work done shall belong to such proprietor, then the proprietor can for twenty-eight years republish the work, but only with the consent of the author, but that the author may on the other hand expressly or impliedly retain his copy- right. The question what would happen if nothing was said about copyright is left open. Does the author impliedly reserve it? VOL. VII. One case decided in the courts seems to point to this view, but the question is still by good authorities considered doubtful. If the author can sell both the American and English serial rights he must arrange for simul- taneous publication so as not to lose the American copyright. There are certain periodicals that publish long stories in single numbers. This is often the case with annuals. The author when selling to such periodicals should keep this point before him, as it is possible that such circulation may damage the book rights, and if this is likely he should secure an enhanced price. The author should never sign a receipt for moneys in payment for serial use which is so expressed as to convey the copyright to the proprietor. If an author does not understand what he is signing he had better take the advice of some one who does. He should be careful of the date of publication, for the very simple reason that the tale will be published in book form, and it cannot appear in this form until it has run at any rate for some months as a serial. It is important for an author to arrange that the publication of one story does not conflict with the publication of another. There is the further question that many periodicals do not pay until publication takes place. This, of course, could not be delayed in- definitely, but the expense and difficulty of bringing the machinery of the law to work ought, if possible, to be avoided. Let the contract be quite clear by taking a little care in the beginning. Authors should be careful also that their MS. is sent type-written, If type-writing is too expensive, then the writing should be very distinct. There is no doubt however that a type-written MS. increases an author's chance of being read, and he should not neglect this chance. The author should always retain a copy in case of accidents, and should be very careful of the position and repute of the periodical he intends to deal with. G. H. Thring, Secretary. ## p. 36 (#56) ############################################## 36 THE AUTHOR. A DIALOGUE. OURNALIST. — " When you say that the publisher never takes any risk I can listen no longer." Author.—" Where and when have we said that the publisher never takes any risk?" J. —" Why . . . everybody knows that you say it." A.—" Where did you read it or hear it said by anybody connected with the Society?" J.—" Well . . . everybody . . . ." A.—" I don't want everybody—I want you— Where did you hear it said or read it?" Silence. "You never did read it: you heard a rumour: somebody talked as if that silly statement had been made. What has been said is this—that the risks taken by publishers, with certain excep- tions, are few, and for the most part inconsider- able. A book that carries risk is generally pub- lished at the author's expense." J.—" Inconsiderable! How can you say so? The publisher has to advance hundreds for every book. Perhaps he never gets back anything." A.—" Tou speak, my dear friend, of what you know nothing. What, for instance, is risk? Define risk? J.—" The money paid for printing and pro- ducing a book. What else can it be?" A.—" It is, in fact, nothing of the kind. The publisher has longer credit with the printer than he gives to the bookseller. The risk, therefore, is the difference between the first lively sale of a book and its cost. In other words, if a book costs £100, and during the first six months its sale amounts to .£98, the publishers' risk is£2. Now do you see how risk is generally inconsiderable?" J.—"Then you issue a so-called ' Cost of Pro- duction.' They tell me that no book could be got out at the figures you give. Look at the adver- tisements. You put down £20. Why, they've got to spend hundreds on every book." A.—"Really! Hundreds! Well, but about the 'Cost of Production.' There was a little howling when it first came out. One man wrote to the papers protesting that it couldn't possibly be clone at the price. I offered to take over the whole of his printing at that price. When I did that I had a letter in my hand from a certain firm of printers—as good a house as there is in the country—offering to do work on these terms if the work was steady, that is, the whole, or a good part, of a publisher's work. And now they've left off protesting. The book is accepted to be what it is, a very fair approximation—as fair as can be got for such a varying and un- certain thing as a printer's bill." J. (grunts).—" And the advertisements?" A.—"If you count the advertisements in their own organs and their exchanges—which co»t them nothing—perhaps, hundreds. If you count the sums actually paid—a very small amount indeed—on nine-tenths of the books published, I doubt if so much as £10 can be expended in ad vertisements." j.—" Well, but there are all the fraudulent publishers whose cases you publish. Where are they? Why are they not in prison? Why are they not named?" A.—" You suggest that the cases are invented. I have seen the suggestion made in print. It was made by an author, naturally. We have not all of us as yet risen above the joy of putting a knife into as many other authors as we can. However, if you were only to read the things about which you speak, you would recognise from internal evidence that the agreements could not be invented. You would also consider that the committee of the society have actually seen all these cases and all these agreements: you would therefore ask yourself whether it is within the bounds of possibility that the committee would consent to such falsification. Why, then, are not the names published? Why are not the men prosecuted? For various reasons. First, in by far the greater number of cases the author has been simply "bested" by clauses in the agree- ment which he did not understand. You cannot prosecute a man for putting into an agreement a clause which gives him 50 per cent., while an agent would take 10 per cent. Yet the thing looks ugly on paper when it is exposed; we have exposed scores of cases such as this. Next, it is often old business—three or four years old, or more, when it comes to us: cases which it would be inconvenient or impossible to reopen. Thirdly, when a prosecution or an action might lie, the case is quickly settled by the publisher; or, which happens very often, the author will not go into court. Nothing would please the society more than to have such a case to take into court; but it grows every day more difficult: the formerly common tricks—as the overcharge of cost and the charging for advertisements not paid—are much less practised since the society was esta- blished; while, as I said just now, clauses which the author does not understand answer the purpose quite as well as the ancient dodges." J.—" And you talk everywhere about publish- ing being such a splendid business—" A.—" Look around you. Wherever publishers get on at all, they get on splendidly. There are at least a dozen big businesses all made in the last ten years." J.—" Then, since you know all the tricks, why don't you go in yourself?" ## p. 37 (#57) ############################################## THE AUTHOR. 37 A.—"A dubious compliment to ask a man why he does not become a trickster because he bus learned the tricks of others. I think you will not press that proposition." J.—" Well—then, why not go in, with your experience, and become, if you will allow that there is such a thing, an honest publisher':'" A.—"I certainly allow that there is such a thing. I know several such 'things.' But you might just as well ask me why I do not read law and become a lawyer, which is a very fine line of business. Because then, first of all, I am already in my own line, such as it is. Secondly, because every kind of business requires the possession of habits and powers and a certain training, which I have not. If you ask me, how- ever, why more young fellows with business training and habits do not turn their attention to this very lucrative line of business, I have only to reply, 'why not ?'" J.—"Well—all lean say is that I don't see why you shouldn't let publishers make their profit just the same as other people." A.—" Let them. Nobody wants to prevent them. The only thing we want is to know where we stand witb regard to the administration of our own estates. We only say—' Pray, what is your own share in this business and on this agree- ment?' They never will tell us. When we do find out, the result is not satisfactory. In the well- known 6«. case—for instance—the publisher gets for the most part i*. 6d.; the author, is.; the London bookseller about 8rf.; the country bookseller about 4</. How does that strike you? Remember that the estate—the book—belongs to the author." J.—" Well; then look at the enormous office expenses." A.—" Do you mean the bookseller's office expenses? The office expenses of the country bookseller must be far greater in proportion than those of the publisher. However, we do not ask what are the office expenses of the solicitor or the medical practitioner, or the estate agent or the auctioneer—when you can show me that such is the custom in other lines I will agree to talk about the publisher's office expenses—and even then I must talk as well about the bookseller's office expenses and the author's office expenses. And now, my friend, you have retailed, without any reading or special inquiry of your own, a good deal of the loose talk which is encouraged by our friends and their allies. When you have taken the trouble to read what has actually been written and spoken, I shall be glad to hear what new objections you have to make. Meantime oblige me by asking those persons who do talk in this loose way if they will kindly read what has been said before making any comments upon it." NOTES AND NEWS. THERE exist in England to-day, an authors', a publishers', a booksellers', and a news- agents' society, and they all need but little strengthening to thoroughly represent the trade. As fighting forces, one against the other, they cari do much to protect their own particular interests, but combined, they would at once stand on a level with that vast society of Germany that has been a blessing to every interest it represents. Further, such a combination in Great Britain could at once be allied to that of Germany and France, and with very little further effort we should have a trade protection association whose workings would rapidly become world-wide, and which would govern the production and distribution of literature wherever a fount of type or a printed page existed." i The above paragraph is copied from the News- agents and Booksellers' Review. Four or five years ago an able article on the solidarity of the literary interests appeared in these columns. The writer of this paper — a well-known lady — advocated the consolidation of every interest concerned, viz., printer, binder, artist, author, middleman or distributor, and bookseller. We ought not to lose sight of the possibility of forming such a combination. It can only, how- ever, be formed on the basis of recognising the rights of each. And we seem far enough off such a recognition as yet. For instance, the authors, who must have the first say in the matter, have not yet put forward any scheme which embodies their own views. The publishers at their first meeting announced their intention of not interfering with agreements, a resolution which shuts them out of consideration in any practical proposals, because the relations of pub- lishers, both to authors and booksellers, rest entirely upon the agreements. And there are two associations of booksellers. Why two': Surely, the first step should be the amalgamation of the two societies in one. Mr. Thring's able and thoughtful paper, point- ing out some of the pitfalls and traps so carefully set in agreements ought to open the eyes of some who persistently refuse to admit that these pitfalls exist. They show, besides, that the business side of literature is extremely com- plicated: that it requires long experience before it can be mastered: that it is next to impossible for anyone to master it, except after long study and such experience as can only be got at by the Society and its secretary: that it is simple follv for anyone, with these plain facts and figures ## p. 38 (#58) ############################################## 38 THE AUTHOR. before him, to suppose himself capable of examining an agreement. It is, however, fair to say that many respectable publishers who have year after year gone on with the same form of agreement, have done so in ignorance of what the clauses involved, especially from the legal point of view, mean. There has been a great change for the better of late years. The terms of praise and admiration with which the other kind of pub- lisher speaks of this Society sufficiently prove this. ^ic_ One or two of the clauses mentioned by Mr. Thring were not known to his predecessor, Mr. Sprigge, when he wrote the "Methods of Publishing." The mind of man is inventive. For instance, that one which kindly offers to charge only half the tariff price for advertise- ments in the firm's own organs. It looks so well! Only half! Is it not a generous—a kindly —a disinterested offer? Yet the clause places in the publisher's hands the power of taking for himself as much as he pleases of the profits of the book! He is too great and good to use that power? No doubt. Then let him give up the clause, and thereby show his greatness and his goodness. Then there is the thirteen as twelve clause. This is based upon the fact that booksellers ordering twelve copies of a book get thirteen as twelve. Sometimes they get the same.privilege by ordering twelve copies, including more works than one. But the country bookseller can seldom make so large an order on one publisher. Some allowance should certainly be made for books actually given thirteen as twelve. But does the atithor who signs such a clause realise that he actually gives up 8 per cent 'r And one very earnestly advises the author to consider very carefully as regards the American and other rights—that his agent will charge him 10 per cent., while his publisher will probably charge him 50 per cent. Are not these things worth considering 'f I hope that Mr. Thring's paper may be published separately with the agreements quoted, and perhaps others in full. A note on the miserable prices paid by certain magazines to contributors will be found in the "Correspondence." Poetry at 3*. a poem: a cheque fur 12*. 6c?. for a story of 1500 words: for an article, 5a.: for a novel of 70,000 words, £10! The papers concerned, of which a note has been taken, are not very high up in the literary ladder; but three of them, at least, are credited with a large circulation. In this payment of contributors there are several factors to be considered. The first and most important is, how much the writer will take: if there are found poets to take 3*. a poem, some people- will offer 3*.: there is the circulation of the paper to be considered; there is also the reputation of the writer and the value of his name to the paper. As regards prices paid for stories, there are, or were a year or two ago, persons who bought novels of 20,000 and 30,000 words for £2 15s. each! Our correspondent should take care to find out before he offers his contributions to the lower kind of magazine what is the scale of remuneration, or he should state his price. If authors would only become men of business in the business side of their work! It would perhaps serve a useful purpose if the prices paid per page or per thousand words by the different magazines were ascertained and published. The prices paid for serial fiction must be excepted, because they vary according to the position of the author. Here the editor is a despot: he can offer what he pleases. It is some satisfaction, however, to know that one magazine, at least, has sunk into insignificance through the starving of the fiction. Generally speaking, editors of high class magazines and journals are on such excellent terms with everybody that there is evidently complete satisfaction on the part of contributors. Nor, again, should a special offer made to get exceptional work from the only man who can furnish it, be printed and published. But it would surely be useful to have the customary tariff of every respectable magazine known and published. The following is the list of subscriptions re- ceived up to the 20th June in reply to an appeal recently made in these columns, and elsewhere, on behalf of the veteran authoress, Mrs. Warren:— £ 0. d. £ a. d. A Friend I A Poor Old Woman o Among Many o Aiton, Miss I Asher, S. G., Esq.... 3 Allen, Mrs o 10 Bemrose, Henry H.. Esq 10 o Besant, Sir Walter.. 2 2 Berkeley, Mrs o 3 Carter, Miss o 5 Clarke, Cecil, Esq... 1 11 Dean, A., Esq o 5 Doyle, Dr. Conan .. 2 2 Hamilton, Miss C.J. 1 1 Helmore, Miss o 10 Jndd, J. W.,Esq.... 2 2 Low, Miss o 5 Masters, Dr. Max- well T I i Miohell, Miss G. ... o io o Parker, Dr.and Mrs. 2 o Rothschild, Leopold 6 de, Esq. (per Mrs. o Allen) 2 Redden, MiBS o Smart, Mrs. F. G... o Toynbee. William, Esq I Three Ladies (per Miss Edwards) o Underdown, MisB... -o Welch, Miss O o o- 5 o 5 o 6 o 5 o 4 o o Wood, Miss o io o H. B. C I I o- K.M.G o 2 6 F. H o io o L. M i i o- A. V I o o E. H i i o £44 ## p. 39 (#59) ############################################## THE AUTHOR. 39 Messrs. Bemrose and Sons, her late publishers, have kindly promised Mrs. Warren an annuity of £20. Further douations will be acknowledged in these columns by Ellen T. Masters, of 4, Mount Avenue-road, Ealing, W. The death of Mrs. Harriet Beecher Stowe carries the thoughts of those who are over fifty to the appearance of " Uncle Tom's Cabin." The time was what historians call a transition period. We were passing out of the eighteenth century —someone should invent a new name for that time which began with William the Third and lasted till William the Fourth. The black slavery of the Southern States was balanced by the white slavery of England. "Uncle Tom's Cabin" had its counter-part in Mrs. Trollope's "Michael Armstrong," which made compara- tively little impression, because, though the facts were as strong, the treatment was weak. It is difficult to recall the intensity and the extent of emotion which was aroused all over this country by "Uncle Tom's Cabin." Men cursed the Southern States; women wept for rage; everybody called aloud upon the North for very shame to put the accursed thing away from them. It is a curious time to remember. Yet, a few years later, when the South took up arms, in 1861, the English sympathies were with them from the first. And to think that the woman who created the indignation of the world in 1851 (?) has lived till 1896! Her second book, called "Dred," fell comparatively flat. No writer can make the •whole world indignant more than once, even if he tries more than one subject. I suppose there is an instinctive feeling that real passion in a writer can only be awakened by personal suffering and experience, and that one's personal experi- ences are limited. The satirist lashes his tail and roars, but no one heeds him because he satirises everything. For much the same reason even the same subject fails to move the world, when treated by the same writer more than once. The note under the head of "Literary Pro- perty," concerning theatrical agents, raises the question whether an agent's fee can be with fairness demanded at the outset. It may be argued that the agent, whether he succeeds or not, has to take a great deal of trouble in going round among managers and editors, for which he is paid by the fee: that, if he succeeds, the fee is deducted from the commission: and that if he fails it has been earned by his personal trouble. On the other hand, the author may fairly say "There is the work. If you can place it you shall have the commission as your share. If you fail there will be nothing to divide." There seems something to be said fur the autlior, who certainly has had his trouble and toil in the matter. Sup- pose that the agent refuses to work without a fee in advance: suppose that the author refuses to pay unless his work is placed. Then we come to a deadlock, in which I see no way out of it but for one side or the other to give way. Eventually one must, or the author would have to go round himself with his wares and probably fail, and the agent would be unable to pay his rent, and so both together would stand at the bar of that ccurt which holds its sittings unpleasan ly near the offices of this Society. Walter Besant. AUSTRALIAN POETRY. THERE is nothing^/r'/t de siecle about colonial life; nothing indeed of any sort of " end," all seems beginning there. Especially does the contrast with the withered cultivation of Europe strike a student of the colonists' metrical compositions; an unconventional energy, almost defiant yet free from affectation that reminds the reader of Edgar Poe or Rudyard Kipling. With a difference, no doubt; for neither Marcus Clarke nor Lindsay Gordon has anything like the inevit- ableness, or the sure artistic touch of the American or the Anglo-Indian. Yet, in a way, they are alike. But one cannot avoid a feeling of admiring surprise at the conditions revealed as well by those writers as by the public for whom they wrote; and the wonder is fed by observing that those conditions were by no means accidental or temporary, but still exist. Especially in the department of lyrical and short-narrative verse is the output of the current time remarkable; and from all that can be learned the encouragement given to it by a very small public is equally worthy of remark. Last year came Mr. A. B. Paterson, with a volume at 5*. and a large paper edition at a guinea. He is now in his fifth thousand.* This year we have Mr. Henry Lawsoti appearing in the same manner, already arrived at his second thousand, f Both volumes—in their 58. form— are fine samples of publication, unerringly printed in clear long primer on hand-nia !e paper, with gilt tops and good cloth boards. * '■ The Man from the Snowy River," and other verBes. Sydney, 1895. t "In the Days when the World was Wide," and other verses. Sydney, 1836. ## p. 40 (#60) ############################################## 4° THE AUTHOR. As for the authors and their works, Mr. Pater- son appears to be a native of the New South Wales "up-country," locally known by the sobriquet of "Banjo ;" he comes before us intro- duced by " Rolf Boldrewood," the famous author of "Robbery under Arms" and other fictitious presentations of Australian life, from whose preface a few extracts may be profitably offered here. "It is not easy to write ballads descriptive of the bushland of Australia . . . the maker of folk-songs for our newborn nation requires a somewhat rare combination of gifts and ex- periences . . . bright gleams of humour, pathos, and romance which, like undiscovered gold, await the fortunate adventurer. That our author has touched this treasure-trove no true Australian will deuy. In my opinion this collec- tion comprises the best bush ballads written since the death of Lindsay Gordon." Mr. Lawson, a Sydney journalist, is, perhaps, not quite so strong as " Banjo," but with a rather more workmanly technique. On one occasion at least the two have written in conscious com- petition; and a comparison of the resulting poenis is not without interest, as illustrating the contrast between opposite kinds of New South Wales life. Mr. Paterson, writing from his native point of view, calls his piece " In defence of the Bush"; it is short, nervous, and—as the author might say—without an ounce of superfluous fat. The following are some of the best lines:— So you're back from up the country, Mr. Townsman, where you went, And you're curding all the business in a bitter dis- content . . . And the road* were hot and dusty, and the plains were burnt and brown, And no doubt you're better suited, drinking lemon-squash in town But the Bush bu'h moods and changes, as the seasons rise and fall. And the men that know the bushland, they are loyal through it all. . . . Did you chance to hear a chorus in the shearers' buts at night? Did they rise np " William Riley " by the camp-fire's cheery blaze, Did they rise him as we rose him in the good old droving days? . . . And the " shy selector-children "—were they better, now, or worse Than the little city-urchins who would greet you with a curse f Is not such a life much better than the squalid street or square Where the fallen women flaunt it in the fierce electric glare, Where the sempstress plies her sewing till her eyes are sore and red, In a filthy, dirty attic, toiling on for daily bread "t . . . Did the magpies rouse your slumbers with a carol sweet and strange, Did you hear the Bilver chiming of the bell-birds on the range? . . . You had better stick to Sydney and make merry with " the push," For the bush will never suit you, and you'll never suit the bush. Thus the up-country man, in simple strain, to whom Mr. Townsman replies in a long poem of far higher literary ambition, entitled "The City Bushman," of which the subjoined sample may suffice:— It was pleasant up the country, City Bushman, where you went, For you Bought the greener patohes, and you travelled like a" gent." . . . But we lately heard yon singing of the plains where shade is not, And you mentioned it was dusty —" all was dry and all waa hot." True, the bush "hath moods and changes," and the buah- man hath 'em, too; For he's not a poet's dummy, he's a man, the same as you j . . . And, in short, we think the bushman's being driven to the wall, And it's doubtful if his Bpirit will be "loyal through it all." . . . And the " rise and fall of seasons " suits the rise and fall of rhyme, But we know the western seasons do not run on schedule time. . . . It is up in Northern Queensland that the seasons do their best, But it's doubtful if yon ever saw a Beason in the West. ... In the bush my ears were open to the singing of the bird, But the "carol of the magpie" was a thing I never heard. . . . And the bell-bird in tbe ranges—but his " silver chime" is harsh, When it is heard beside the solo of the curlew in the marsh. Yes, I heard the shearers singing " William Riley" out of tune, Saw them fighting round a Bhanty on a Sunday after- noon. . . And we couldn't raise a chorus for the toothache and the cramp, While we spent the hours of darkness draining puddleB round the camp. . . Yon are down on trams and busses, or the roar of them, you said, And the "filthy, dirty attic," where you never toiled for bread. . . . But you'll find it very jolly with the cuff-and-collar push, And the city seems to suit you, while you rave about the bush. This is better literature, perhaps, than that of "Banjo"; yet one cannot but agree with colonial opinion, which held that " Lawson was out of it." The attempt to represent himself as familiar with the bush might pass; but the absurdity of holding up the squatter as a Cockney was too palpable, ## p. 41 (#61) ############################################## THE AUTHOR. 4i Some of Mr. Lawson's work is even better than what we have just seen; a short tale in rhyme, called "The Fire at Ross's Farm," is a favourable sample, but is too long to reproduce here, and must be judged as a whole. It will be found almost as good as the battle at the end of Scott's "Marmion " for movement and sympathy. The pattern and standard of these writers, however, is one nearer to themselves in place and time than Sir Walter. The unhappy Adam Lindsay Gordon—who shot himself at Melbourne in 1870—was originally a British officer and sporting man who again had close relations, as an author, with Whyte Melville. Like Gordon, the men whose work we have been discussing are British in character, not highly cultured nor above using local slang, or almost any language that comes handy: their two peaks of Parnassus are the racecourse and the stock farm; and the whisky is a collateral Hippocrene, never far off. It is a strange byepath of Parnassus, bearing little blossom and bordered by crude and acrid berries. But in all we breathe a rough air of earnestness, and seem to hear Rugby boys kicking and swearing in a football "scrummage," rather than dainty disciples of a decorated muse. By far the most wonderful part of the affair, however, to London authors, at least, must be that the population of the colonies—altogether less than that of London—can absorb thousands of volumes of verse in a few months. H. G. K. A LESSON PBOM NEBRASKA. THE following reminders are from a paper read before the Chicago Trade Press Association. They are found in the Authors' Journal (New Fork) for April. They may possibly be of some use on this side of the water: Abortive means untimely in its birth and so brought out before it is well matured. A plan may be abortive, but an act cannot. Accord is a stilted substitute for give. Ability and capacity are not exact synonyms. The former is the power of applying, the latter of acquiring, knowledge. Aggravate means to add to the weight of, and is not equivalent to irritate. You can administer governments, oaths, medi- cine, but not blows nor punishments; they are dealt or given. Adopt is a poor substitute for take in such phrases as " What course will you adopt?" We write of an aggressive salesman, an aggres- sive firm. The word doesn't mean enterprising or even pushing, but hitting first, making the first attack. Do not confound amateur with novice. An amateur may be an artist of great experience and skill, but he is not a professional artist. A novice is a beginner. An audience is an assembly of hearers. There can be no audience at a gymnastic performance, a pantomime, a boat-race, a sparring match, and the like. Where only the eye is appealed to, use the word spectators. Avocation is not synonymous with vocation. A man's vocation is his calling, his business; his avocations are the things that occupy him incideu tally. Do not use balance in the sense of rest, remainder, residuum, or remnant. The word is only permissible where the simile of the scales will apply as in a book-keeper's balance. Do not confound bountiful with plentiful. Bountiful means liberal, beneficent. Distinguish character from reputation. Slander may harm reputation, but not character. Commence is called vulgar by many authorities. Begin is far preferable, because it is shorter and is Anglo-Saxon. Consider means to contemplate, to ponder. Do not use for think, suppose, or regard. Constantly is not synonymous with frequently. Constantly means uninterruptedly. Deprecate is wrongly used for disapprove, censure, condemn. The word really means to beg or pray against. Description should not be used for kind or sort. Say "his clothes were of the meanest sort," and not " of the meanest description." Dirt means filth. A thing that is dirty is foul. Do not use for earth, loam, gravel, or saud. Do not use expect for suppose, think or guess. Farther should be used exclusively with reference to distance. In other connections use further. BOOK TALK. MR. ALFRED HARMSWORTH intends to make a strong feature of book review- ing in the Daily Mail. His literary department is at present in the hands of Mr. Robert Leighton, who has written many popular boys' stories. In his work on the Daily Mail Mr. Leighton is assisted by his wife, who is the principal author of the successful Answers serials, "Convict 99," "Michael Dred," and "In the Shadow of Guilt." Mr. John Bickerdyke has published through Messrs. Hutchinson and Co. a one volume novel, ## p. 42 (#62) ############################################## THE A UTHOR. entitled "Lady Val's Elopement." The book has been printed and copyrighted in America by Mr. Lippincot, and a special colonial edition has been issued. The scene of the story is laid mainly in a Thames-side village, and in Norway at the head of the Nord Fjord. In the English scenes the author has drawn on his somewhat startling experience as a progressive member of a very antediluvian board of guardians, and on his efforts to bring a little light and liberty into a somnolent agricultural village. Perhaps, how- ever, the Norwegian scenes will appeal most forcibly to the general reader. Under the title "A New Novelist," Mr. John Hogben, editor of editions of Keats and Pope, contributor to the Spectator, &c, recently de- livered an address before the Ec'ectic Society, Edinburgh, on "St. Margaret," "Dorrie," 'Sweetheart Gwen," "The Little Widow," and "Miss Grace of All Souls," by Mr. William E. Tirebuck. In the "Book Talk" of last month it was stated that Mr. Andrew Lang was revising "Lockhart's Life of Scott." He is not revising "Lockhart's Life of Scott," but has written a "Life of Lockhart," which is a very different thing. It was the third edition, and not the second, of Mackenzie Bell's work that should have been chronicled last month. Sir Herbert Maxwell is writing a monograph on Robert Bruce, which will appear as a volume in the now well-known series which Messrs. Putnam publish, namely, The Heroes of the Nations. Mr. George Moore's new story, " Evelyn Lines," has been secured for serial publication in the Savoy, which lowers its price and becomes a monthly instead of a quarterly with the July number. Mr. Rider Haggard's new story called "The Wizard," which is running in the African Review, and is concerned with the conversion of an African savage tribe, is to be published as Arrow- smith's (Bristol) "Christmas Annual" this year. Miss Fiona Macleod has written a new novel, called " Green Fire," which will be published by Messrs. A. Constable and Co., and siinultaneously in America, in September. Mrs. Gertrude Warden will write the next volume in Lane's Library, under the title, "The Sentimental Sex." Mr. George du Maurier's new novel is to be called "The Martian." It will be^in in Harper's in October, but about a year will elapse before it appears in volume form. Miss Annie S. Swan is publishing with Messrs. Hutchinson a little volume entitled "Kinsfolk," dealing with Scottish character. Among the autumn novels will be "The Daughter of Alouette," by Miss Mary Owen; "The Spirit of the Storm," by Mr. Ronald Ross; and " Tales of the Sea," by Mr. J. A. Barry, all to be published from the house of Methuen. Mr. Laurence Gomme is to edit for Messrs. A. Constable and C >. a series of the best historical novels and romances dealing with English history. The volumes will appear in chronological order, with an introduction to each pointing out the correspondence between the historical facts and the fiction in which they are woven. Mrs Gertrude Atherton has written a story called "Patience Sparhawk and Her Times," which will be published by Mr. John Lane. Mr. Percy White is writing a new novel, some- what on the lilies of his "Mr. Bailey Martin," which will be published by Mr. Heinemann in the autumn. A collected edition of Mr. George Meredith's works will begin to appear in the autumn. The author is touching them up here and there for this purpose, but no alteration of a drastic kind, it is understood, are being made. There will be a good deal of new work included iu the edition. Like the "Edinburgh" Stevenson, the issue will be to subscribers only. Mr. George Horton, the United States Consul at Athens, has written a historical story of Greece, entitled "Constantine," which Mr. Unwin is to publish. Mr. E. F. Benson has ready for publication his work called " The Babe, B.A." It is described as "the uneventful history of a young gentleman at Cambridge." Mr. Walter Hamilton is bringing out, in the Ex-Libris Series of Messrs. Bell and Sons, a new edition of his work on "French Book-Plates," which has been out of print for sometime. The work will be larger, and much re-written. Mr. Hamilton is chairman of council of the Ex-Libris Society, and vice-president of the French Society of Collectors. Mr. A. W. Mason, author of "The Courtship of Morrice Buckler," is writing another novel, which will appear first in serial form, and then be published bv Messrs. Innes iu the autumn of 1897. Mr. Gilbert Parker and Mr. Beerbohm Tree are collaborating in a dramatic version of the former's romance, " The Seats of the Mighty." ## p. 43 (#63) ############################################## THE AUTHOR. 43 Mr. Silas K. Hocking is writing a story under the title "Such is Life," for publication by Messrs. Warne in the autumn. This firm is about to issue very soon a second series of Mr. Edward Step's " Wayside and Woodland Blossoms." Mr. Gleeson White is editing for Messrs. Bell and Sons a series of popularly written books on the cathedrals of England. He himself will write the first, namely, on Salisbury Cathedral, and -each of the others likewise will be treated by a writer with special knowledge. Professor Joseph Wright is now anticipating that the first part of his stupendous Dialect Dictionary will be issued very shortly. The work has been going on for two years, and has been personally carried out largely by the Pro- fessor alone. Committees were formed at various centres, and these supplied the material to the Clarendon Press at Oxford. Professor Wright has also financed the work himself. He intends also to collect phonogram records of local speech from all parts of the British Isles, and these will find a home in the University museum. A revised edition of "Eos Rosarum," illus- trated by the author, E. V. B., will be published shortly by Mr. Elliot Stock, There will be many new contributions to this issue, besides verses by Lord Lytton, Lord Tennyson, Mr. Hamilton Aide, and Mr. J. A Symonds, which have not been published elswhere. Mrs. Katherine Hinkson has grouped together a. number of lyrics which will appear at an early date, entitled " A Lover's Breast Knot." Mr. Elkin Mathews is the publisher. A volume of posthumous poems by Sheridan Le Fanu, including a romantic play and an Irish saga, is about to be published by Mr. A. P. Graves. As a memorial of Christina Eossetti, Sir Edward Burne-Jones has undertaken to design a series of paintings for the reredos of Christ Church, Woburn-square, which the poetess fre- quented during many years. Those who wish to subscribe towards the memorial are invited to communicate with the Rev. J. J. G. Nash, incumbent of Christ Church, 92 Gower-street. A meeting of authors and journalists has inaugu- rated a memorial to the late Mr. James Ashcroft Noble. The treasurer of the fund is Mr. A. E. Fletcher, 7, De Crespigny Park, Denmark-hill, S.E. It is proposed to perpetuate the memory of the late Mrs. Rundle Charles by endowing a bed in the North London Hospital for Consumption, and subscriptions to this end are being received by Mr. Basil W. Smith, Branch Hill Lodge, Hampstead Heath. Lord Lovelace, grandson of the poet, is to edit the new edition of Byron which Mr. Murray will publish with hitherto unpublished matter. The element of chance in book-buying is exem- plified in an incident related in the illustrated London News. At Sotheby's sale-room, a few days ago, a copy of Goldsmith's "Deserted Village," the octavo edition, which it is wrong to describe as the "first," was sold by auction to an American for =£25. On the following day a well-known man of letters bought a copy of the same issue at the shop of Mr. Reeves, the book- seller, almost next door to Sotheby's rooms, for 3*. The actual value of the book is somewhere between these two prices. Capt. Carl A. Thinim is engaged upon "A Complete Bibliography of Fencing and Duelling, as practised by all European Nations from the Middle Ages to the Present Day," which Mr. Lane will publish shortly. No work of great importance appeared during June, which, indeed, had a small output of books altogether. Those of first-class interest were the Duke of Argyll's weighty reminder—in a small volume, however—of "Our Responsibilities for Turkey" (Murray); Mr. A. E. FitzGerald's "Climbs in the New Zealand Alps" (Unwin); the first volume of a work on *' Greek Folk-Poesy," edited by Mr. J. S. Stuart-Glennie (Nutt); and finally, the sporting memories of the famous hoise trainer, Mr. John Porter, in a volume appropriately entitled " Kingsclere" (Chatto and Windus). The popular exercise of cycling is having a damaging effect upon the sale of fiction. Whereas formerly people would pass their time of relaxa- tion in reading a novel, they now do so by cycling. So, at least, the booksellers say. Mr. W. Roberts, the well-known writer on book sales and kindred topics, and author of "The Book-Hunter in London" is engaged on a new work, entitled "Memories of Christie's "— that is, the famous auction mart for books. He will detail the principal sales held during the century and quarter of the firm's establishment. The work, in two volumes, will be published by Messrs. Geo. Bell and Sons during the autumn. The " Memorials" of the late Lord Selborne, practically an autobiography, is a work which will appear before long. Many legal and political personages are introduced in the pages, which are being edited by the daughter of the late peer. A work by the late M*- E. F. Benecke on "The Position of Women. in Greek Poetry" is being ## p. 44 (#64) ############################################## 44 THE AUTHOR. published by Messrs. Swan, Sonnenschein, and Co. The author, a promising youun Oxford man, lost his life in the Alps last summer. Two-thirds of the book had been completed, and it is now being published according to advice from com- petent authorities that it may be useful to those engaged in similar studies. Mr. H. SchUtz Wilson is about to bring out a collection of essays, historical and critical, dealing with such subjects as Goethe, Carlyle, the French Revolution, Calderon, the Conciergerie, &c. Messrs. T. and J. Manson, Lerwick, will publish next week a second edition of the translation of Ployen's "Reminiscences of Shetland, Orkney, and Scotland." This interesting book consists of a record of a voyage paid to this country in the summer of 1839, by a former amtmand and commandant in the Faroe Isles. The first edition was exhausted shortly after publication. Mr. James Baker, the author of "Mark Tillot- son," who was acting as special correspondent at the Czar's coronation for several English papers, for the Belgian Times, the Queen, and for a couple of monthlies, will contribute an illustrated article to the latest monthly publication Travel upon his journey to the Scandinavian capitals, the to Petersburg and Moscow, depicting some of the coronation scenes. "A Woman of To-morrow," by Corabe Glyn, deals in the form of fiction with the whole history of the advance movement of women during late years. The author, as a member of the Pioneer Club, and other societies advocating the recent development of women's work and position, is especially equipped for the production of such a history. The book is written by a woman and printed by women. Messrs. T. and T. Clark, of Edinburgh, have just published "A Dissertation on the Gospel Commentary of S. Ephraem the Syrian, with a Scriptural Index to his Works," by the Rev. J. Hamlyn Hill, D.D., translator of the Arabic version of the Diatessaron. This book is a critical essay on the work which Dr. Moesinger translated from Armenian into Latin, and which has an important bearing on the question of the date of the Gospels. Dr. Hill's book contains additional evidence that this Gospel Commentary emanated from S. Ephraem. "How to Dress on £15 a Tear" is not by Mrs. Warren; that book, and two others, "How to Economise like a Lady" and " Tables and Chairs" —an excellent little book on furnishing—were written by the late Mr. Whiteside Cooke. The Rev. Frederick Langbridge's new volume, "The Scales of Heaven: Poems, Narrative, Legendary and Meditative, with a few Sonnets," is being printed and bound by the Birmingham Guild of Handicraft, and will be ready imme- diately. Its price will be 5*. net, and the author (S. John's Rectory, Limerick) will be glad to receive the names of subscribers. The first edition is limited to 500 copies. In reference to the common assertion that poetry never sells, it may be mentioned that of Mr. Langbridge's "Sent Back by the Angels" the first edition of a thousand copies was sold in less than two years. Two subsequent editions of 500 have been printed, and of the last only some thirty copies remain. Two new volumes of verse are announced for early publication by Mr. Elliot Stock—" Iona, a Northern Legend," by Christabel Scott; and "Poems of Love and Nature," by C. W. Cayzer. A volume of stories entitled "The Clue of Ariadne," by Rev. W. B. Wallace, has recently been published by the Roxburghe Press. The title of the work is that of the first story. Another story, "Princess Asenath: a Meta- physical Romance," deals with some of the problems of life and death, from a Platonic standpoint. Mr. R. G. Hobbes' " Reminiscences of Seventy Years' Life, Travel, and Adventure" (Elliot Stock), is a companion volume to the work pre- viously issued by him called "Five Years in India." The book is extremely interesting to those interested in dockyards, shipbuilding, and the Royal Navy. It is probably the only book on the subject, and will remain a standard work of reference to all those who are interested in naval affairs. A remarkable price was given for a book at Messrs. Sotheby's sale-room the other day. It was a copy ot Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales," in Caxton's fiist edition, wanting only two leaves to be complete, and well preserved. Bidding began at .£500, and finally the book became the property of Mr. Quaritch for ,£1880. With the July number of the Cornhill Magazine begins a new series, under the editor- ship of Mr. Strachey, and reverts to its old price of 1*. Mr. W. E. Norris's serial story, " Clarissa Furiosa," is nearly finished in the magazine, and it will be followed by a new serial by Mr. Henry Seton Merriman. Then will come novels by Mr. Stanley Weyman and Mr. S. R. Crockett. Mr. Edwin L. Arnold's novel "Phra the Phoenician" is being translated into German by a popular Berlin writer. It is to appear with the original illustrations, and will be followed by others of Mr. Arnold's works. ## p. 45 (#65) ############################################## THE AUTHOR. 45 LITERATURE IN THE PERIODICALS. The Attempt to Revive Intellectual Piracy Century Magazine for July. Publishers in Congress. Interview with Mr. John Murray. Daily News for June 23. An American Pirate. Lionel Johnson in Academy for June 6. Geo. W. Russell in Academy for June 13. Lord Bosebert on Free Libraries. Report in the Timet for June 26. The Popularity of Matthew Arnold. Spectator for June 6. Letters of D. G. Rossetti. IIa.—1855. G. Birkbeck Hill. Sheridan. Mr. Gladstone. Nineteenth Century for June. Current French Literature. Edmund Gosse. Cosmopolis for June. A Central Book Market. Percy Lund. Publishers' Circular for June 13. The Dangers of Irony. Professor Dowden. Saturday Review for June 20. Life in Poetry. Spectator for June 20. A Plea for the Poets. Century Magazine for June. Some Episodes in a Long Life. Blackwood's Magazine for June. Editors. A Contributor. National Review for June. Shelley's Religious Position. Rev. A. L. Lilley, M.A. Commonwealth for July. Oliver Wendell Holmes. Leslie Stephen. Motional Reriew for July. Did Chaucer meet Petrarch? J. J. Jusserand. Nineteenth Century for June. On Ian Maolaren's "A Doctor of the Old School." Saturday Review for May 30. On C. E. Vaughan's "English Literary Criticism." Saturday Review for June 6. On Mrs. Wood's "Wild Justice: A Dramatic Poem." A. T. Q. C. Speaker for June 20. On Swinburne's "The Tale of Balen. Athenseum for June 20. Mr. Murray did not appear very hopeful, says the interviewer who saw him on his return from the Publishers' Congress at Paris, on the question of whether the United States would yet be induced to join the International Union, though eventually they would, he hoped. He spoke of the Canadian question as one of great importance, and regarded in that light by the French. "It is felt," he said, "that if the Canadians are allowed to do as they propose—which will come practically to the adoption of the same system as that prevailing in the United States—it will have the effect of keeping the Americans out of the Union indefinitely." Mr. Lionel Johnson tells the Academy that he, too, like Mr. Lang in the case of "Aucassin and Nicolete," has been victimised by Mr. Mosher, of Portland, Maine, U.S.A. He took Mr. Bridge's "Growth of Love" and printed with it an article-estimate of Mr. Bridge's poetry which Mr. Johnson had written in an American magazine. "The pecuniary interest excepted, and the literary alone regarded," says Mr. Johnson, "I think it a graver injustice to pirate a magazine article and put it into a volume than to pirate a book." He is aware nothing can check these practices, but he would have Mr. Mosher to cease paying sugared compliments to his victims. Mr. Geo. W. Russell has had a quite different experience of Mr. Mosher, who asked permission to reprint " Homeward: Songs by the Way," and accepted Mr. Russell's terms without demur.' An American voice is raised in the Century for July against what is called "the attempt to revive intellectual piracy"—in other words, the Copyright Bill of Mr.* Treloar. "The main proposition of this Bill," says the article, "is to re-write the law of 1891, so that the condition of manufacture in the United States, which, in order to obtain from Congress any copyright reform whatever, was made to apply to books, chromos, lithographs, and photographs, shall now, when no such emergency exists, be extended to music, engravings, cuts, prints, <fcc. This," says the writer, " is advocated ostensibly in the interest of the American workman, but really in toat of publishers of music and engravings. At who^e expense would this bounty be bestowed? First of all, foreign composers and artists ; secondly, of all American composers and artists; thirdly, of the American public; and fourthly, of the entire system of international copyright." "Is anybody so foolish as to suppose that the passage of the Treloar Bill would not cause prompt reprisals by foreign countries i " asks the writer. Mr. Percy Lund, of Bradford, makes some suggestions for improving the bookselling trade, which he thinks lags behind, the most interesting being that in most large towns, but especially in the metropolis, there should be a book market or bazaar. The opportunities for purchasing under the present system are not sufficient, he says, and more books would be bought it' more could be seen. Mr. Lund wants the bookseller to be something more than a mere agent. The Publishers' Circular says the idea of a book bazaar in London should not be impracticable. A warning is uttered in the June Century against the "tone of contempt" with which the poetry of the day is received. The writer magnifies the office of the poet, and tells critics and public that they know not what they do. The Spectator disputes Professor Courthope's statement (in his address at the Taylor Institu- tion on June 13) that the poetry of to-day tends to conform too closely to the old romantic moulds, which no longer correspond with the reality of things. "On the other hand," says the Spectator, "the tendency is to ignore the moral limits within which we can be free. No bondage is more ## p. 46 (#66) ############################################## 4« THE AUTHOR. cruel than the bondage which comes of fighting against the very law of your own true nature. It is there, as it seems to us, that the pessimism of the newer poetry arises." The writer of the article on " Editors " remarks that he has had dealings with a couple of dozen, and there is only one whom he would like to kick. His experience is against the view that literary kissing goes by favour: he has only been personally recommended to one editor, the one he quarrelled with. He passes some criticisms on the treatment of matter already accepted for publication—as to alterations, &c. As regards payment, he savs, "the only honourable rule is that all contributions written to order or by arrangement should be paid for whether used or not, and that those which are not written to order, but are distinctly accepted, should be either paid for or returned in time to be used elsewhere." The weapon of irony, says Mr. Gosse, is now almost useless in England. He is envying the French when he says this, for their possession of it "is one reason, out of many, whv it is whole- some for us to study French critical composition of the more academic class." But a strange illustration of the seeming lack of irony in France as well as England has occurred in the case of which Professor Dowden writes. The latter is President of the Goethe Society here, and recently he gave an address before that body in which he played the role of " devil's advocate." A few days later it became necessary for him to write to the papers explaining that he had been merely looking at the subject from the opposition point of view. And now he writes an article in the Saturday Review on "The Dangers of Irony," in order to put himself right with M. Rod, who had in the Debats actually welcomed the Professor's address as an example of what was called " the reaction against Goethe." The Professor will have none of this, but assures us that " the position of Goethe in the history of the intellectual development of Europe is so firmly established that admiration can include all just qualifications and can accept a boon from unfriendly criticism." Lord Rosebery, in opening a new public library at Shepherd's Bush, referred to intellectual apathy as the great danger of our nation at the present time ; and in praising Free Libraries as a counter- irritant to that apathy, he spoke of the value of what he described as a "taster" in these institu- tions, who would know not merely the covers but the contents of books, and guide readers accordingly. In an estimate of the work of the late J. A. Symonds, Mr. Harrison points the finger at the same time at his besetting fault and the dis- advantage of an Oxford education. "The fault of my education as a preparation for literature," Symonds acknowledged, " was that it was exclu- sively literary." Herein, says Mr. Harrison, lies the cause of much of the shortcomings of the "Renaisssan.ee," the exaggeration of mere scanda- lous pedantry, of frigid conceits, and the entire omission of science. Yet he places Symonds on a very high pinnacle, and believes that his reputa- tion, which has grown in late years, will yet grow: Though Symonds had certainly not the literary charm of Buskin or Matthew Arnold, perhaps of one or two others among his contemporaries, he had no admitted superior as a critic in learning or in judgment. CORRESPONDENCE. I.—Postage of Proofs. WITH regard to the question raised by your correspondent "A Journalist," there is no room for doubt that his view is entirely correct. If he will consult the "Post Office Handbook," he will find under the heading Book Post, pages 3-4: "(f) The following docu- ments, whether containing matter in the nature of a letter or not, MS. for press and printed proofs, with corrections and instructions pro- vided" [<See other column]: "That any written or printed matter not forming part of the docu- ment itself refer solely to the arrangement or correction of the type or the execution of the work." Harriet E. Ketchlet. II.—Literary Grab-alls. I sent a poem to a prominent weekly. It pub- lished it immediately, and I received a post-card to call at the office for payment, which amounted to the magnificent sum of three shillings! I declined it with thanks, requesting my paymaster to give the amount in my name to a deserving charity. An illustrated ladies' weekly published a story of mine containing 1500 words. A cheque of 12*. 6d. was sent me! I called on the business manager. He was a well-groomed young man, smelling of musk, dignity, and importance. He rang a bell, and a small boy at his request brought him a copy of the journal containing my illustrated story. My important-looking pay- master then took some string and slowly and deliberately measured my story. I could have pitched the ball of string at his head. The painful process took up time, and at last his decision came in these words: "We have paid you ## p. 47 (#67) ############################################## THE AUTHOR. 47 according to our general rate "; but I returned his cheque, and politely asked him to measure that as well, but I don't know if he will. A well-kuown journal published an article of mine on the "Reading Room of the British Museum," with an illustration. 1 received 5«. for it! I have written a sensational novel containing 70,000 words. An editor of a popular paper offered me ,£10! for the serial rights, which, of course, I refused. And yet we are told that this is a golden age for literature, and that authors are more prosperous than ever. As far as my experience counts, I agree with Grant Allen in his remarks about his first book, that there is more money in sweeping a crossing, or in selling odd things at street corners. t Lunette. III.—Journalistic Poaching. I have read with interest a correspondence in one or two of the recent issues of the Author relative to the fairness, or unfairness, of women possessed of means "trespassing " on the journa- listic preserves of those who make their living by means of their pen. Will you allow me to say that I entirely endorse the views of your correspondent, who first pointed out this unfortunately largely increasing form of literary poaching. I do not wish to make any sweeping statement, or to say that no woman who is not an actual bread-winner should ever contribute to any magazine. I must myself plead guilty to having written occasionally and at rare intervals upon certain subjects (on which I had an opportunity for obtaining special information) for certain maga- zines. But the longer one lives, and the more one realises how terribly overcrowded is the journa- listic profession, the more, I think, does one regret that the actual bread-winners should find their "market" filled with those who write chiefly for amusement, and in an amateur way. The large " book market" is open to all, and in these days of small editions and small volumes, surely women of means may take advantage of publishers' offers if they wish to ventilate their ideas, rather than seek to thrust aside their less fortunate brothers and sisters in the hard race for editorial favour? Coralie Glyn. IV.—Ignored. I wonder how many writers ever take the trouble to follow up their publishers' list of "copies for review?" After my last effort I took this somewhat undignified course. It may not be uninstructive to chronicle the result of my investigations. The book was put down as having been sent out to, say, eighty-three newspapers. It was noticed, in some form or another, by fifty-three. Of the balance, which had ignored my production, I inquired of about twenty what had become of it. Ten responded, and some of the replies were edifying. One editor sent, by deputy, a pompous epistle to the effect that he could not enter into any correspondence respecting books for review. Two said they had never received the work; another had "mislaid" it. One, obviously of the fair sex, aired her views of criticism in general, anonymously. A kindly Scot—the man in possession, I presume—wrote that a certain journal had ceased to appear. One reply was unique in its sympathetic friendliness. Having lost my bantling, the proprietor actually pur- chased another copy and "noticed" me in a kindly, practical form which deserves distinct encouragement. It seems to me rather hard that so many unrecognised copies should have gone to enrich those newspapers' libraries for nothing in return, or—dare one whisper the accusation ?—found premature exposure in the troughs of the second- hand booksellers. Surely some moral obligation in fulfilment exists after the acceptance of volumes? Why not return, if it is proposed to treat them with a silence which, in their case, is certainly not golden? The practice which so often obtains nowadays seems scarcely honest or courteous to publisher and author. Cecil Clarke. Authors' Club, S.W., 20th June, 1896. V.—Editors and Contributors. The grievances complained of by " F. B. D." and Mr. Cecil Clarke in last issue are not so un- common as those gentlemen seem to imagine. I have suffered frequently in the same ways; but in Mr. Clarke's case, formal applications for pay- ment failing, I should simply enforce my legal rights by issuing a county court summons; in "F. B. D.'8" case I should assume that the editor had been badly brought up, and go on about my business. In the literary as in every other known world, the attempt to insist upon what is not a matter of right but of courtesy is worse than a waste of time, for besides being generally ineffectual, it is un- dignified. I have been writing ever since I was a youngster ## p. 48 (#68) ############################################## 48 THE AUTHOR. of sixteen, and am now turned thirty, and from, the first I have made it a matter of policy never to lodge a complaint unless I had legal as well as moral grounds to lodge it on, and was prepared if need were, to do more than complain—never in short, to worry an editor, and perhaps make an enemy of him, unless I was going to get some substantial reward for my pains. And that the policy has to some extent justified itself is proved by the fact that some three years ago (though I am no bachelor) 1 found I could abandon my desk in the city and live wholly by my literary work. I am not personally acquainted with any editor, I have never seen but one and him but once; and he looked no dragon, but an ordinary kind of man who could easily be as wicked as most of us, and better than some, if he made up his mind to it. He had been disinterred from amongst piles of letters and MS. for my inspection, and seemed to have so little time to be courteous and to be so worried that I got through my business with him as quickly as possible, and wished him well buried again. So far as my experience goes, the wickedest men of this class are religious editors (or editors of religious papers—the terms may not be so synonymous as they seem). When I was young I sent a poem to an old-established, high-class religious monthly. Nine months passed, I had given it up for lost, when a friend came across my poem in a then three-months-old number of the magazine. It had a full page illustration. I received no acknowledgment—no proof, no copy of the publication, no money, and I am ashamed to say I never summoned that editor, never even wrote to reproach him. Still, when I was young, I sent three poems to a popular religious weekly. The editor (a clergyman) wrote promptly accept- ing the lot, and was kind enough to characterise one of them as a " noble poem," yet he worked them all off in the course of a year without send- ing me proofs, copies, or money. I did not summons him either; his courage and ability charmed me. When I had left off being young I sent him an article. He accepted it in highly flattering terms, and as I know now that when an editor gives plenty of praise he does not mean to give any pudding, I girded up my loins and saw that my digestion was in order. I waited over two years for that meal, then I wrote and inquired after my article, fearing something fatal had happened to it. No answer. At the end of another six months I wrote again, and mentioned that some secular papers I worked for when they could not use an article within a reasonable time, as a mere matter of principle, paid for it before it was used; and asked if he would kindly let me know what principle the religious press acted upon. He withheld the information (it is, I fancy, a trade secret), but he sent a cheque— only a small cheque, of course, for when religious publishing houses do pay their contributors they do so with a conscientious sort of abstemiousness as if they knew money was the root of all evil, and sooner than imperil an author's future by giving him much, they would, in a spirit of self-sacrifice, keep it and take the risk them- selves. In these days, when a story is used and not paid for within a reasonable time, after one or two personal applications, I fix the price of it and send in a detailed account. If this is ignored, I write giving the proprietor of the journal a final week's grace, and warning him that unless a cheque is to hand by the expiration of that time I shall summons him. Only twice has the warning failed of effect. In one case the pro- prietor responded with a notice in bankruptcy. I sued the other, and he paid the debt and costs into court the day before that fixed for the hearing. One more experience I should like to mention because I believe it to be rather unique. A very old-established and reputable provincial weekly journal advertised for Christmas stories for an annual. I wrote offering to submit one at ,£1 is. per iooo words. They replied that they wanted a 5000-word story, and could not afford more than 15s. per thousand. I sent a story on those terms. They wrote accepting it, but saying stories had been offered to them at such cheap rates they could only afford 10s. bd. per thousand. I agreed to that, sooner than have any more trouble about it. Some weeks later they wrote again to know what was the lowest J would take, adding that they had a large number of stories on hand at low prices. My story suited them, but it was "solely a question of price" whether it was retained. It was late in the year; it was really not a good story, so I replied that they might have it for a couple of guineas. A week after they returned the MS. "We are sorry to say," they wrote (though their previous letter belied the statement), "that we have already accepted a story with a very similar plot to yours." It looked ugly; but they concluded by saying that they hoped to give me work next Christinas. I thanked them for the glittering prospect, but asked them to favour me by giviog the work to somebody else. Luckily my story- was accepted and published in a London maga- zine before their annual made its appearance, so I did not even sate my curiosity as to that other story by purchasing a copy. I did not care to increase their circulation for them. A. ## p. 48 (#69) ############################################## A D VER TISEMENTS. iii LIFE ASSURANCE WITH INVESTMENT- ARTHUR N. THOMPSON, of Grafton Lodge, Bedford Park, gives Expert's Advice as to LIFE ASSURANCE WITH INVESTMENT combined. The following methods of Assurance are recommended to Authors:— PENSION SCHEME. Provision for Family and Specimen for a Male Life aged 30 next Birthday Annuity of £100 per annum, com- mencing at age Annual Premium payable until that age. On attaining pension age the option is given of taking a cash payment of Provision for Self in later years. £ a. d. 34 B lO 22 lO lO £ BB 60 6B 18 4 & 1O08 948 813 In the event of death or surrender before the pension age, all premiums paid, except the first, would be returned together with 2£ per cent, simple interest. ENDOWMENT ASSURANCES. Snms assured under these Policies are payable during the lifetime of the Assured on his attaining a given age, or ■earlier in the event of death, thus combining a provision for a family in the event of the early death of the Assured, with a provision for himself in the event of his attaining the specified ago. The following is an example of an actual result shown by a selected Insurance Company :—An Author aged 40 pays jE70 8s. 4d. per annum to assure .£1000 payable on his attaining 55 or earlier in the event of death. At maturity the Polioy has been increased by profits to .£1,351 10s., which amount may be taken in cash, or may be used to purchase an annuity. The Assured thus receives a return of all the premiums he has paid with 2J per oent. compound interest thereon, his life having been assured in the meantime for a sum rising from .£1000 to .£1,351 10s. No Fee is required, provided proposal is forwarded through Mr. Thompson. All remittances may be made direct to the Insurance Company selected. RECENT VERSE. By Dr. J. A. GOODCHTLD. Cloth lettered, BALLADS. By HENBY TODD, By Dr. J. A. GOODCHILD. Cloth By EBL VIKING. LTBICS. price 6s. NOBTH COUNTBY Price 6a. TALES IN VERSE. lettered, price 6s. SONGS OP THE CASCADES. Fcap. 8vo., cloth boards, 3s. 6d. SONGS OF THE PINEWOODS. By ARTHUR CAMP- BELL. Price 3s. 6d. THE FAIREST OF THE ANGELS, and Other Verse. By MAKY COLBOBNE-VEEL. Fcap 8vo.. cloth boards, 3s. fid. "Some of the shorter lyrics are much above the average, being clear in thought and musical in expression. The merits of the collec- tion are considerable."—The Bookman. THE WANDERER IN THE LAND OF CYBI, and other Poems (1886-93). By CLIFFORD BBOOKS. Fcap. 8vo., cloth boards, 3s. fid. POEMS. By THOMAS BARLOW. Crown 8vo., bevelled boards, gilt edges, price 6a. POEMS. By LEWIS BROCKMAN. Crown 8vo., cloth boards, 6s. "The ballad* are full of the spirit and directness of style proper to the ballad."'—Saturday Reriem. Mr. Brockman is a writer of good poetic mettle, and no doubt the reading world will hear more of him yet."—Glasaotc Herald. "The graceful smoothness of Mr. Lewis Brockman's poems."— Daily Telegraph. •• He is decidedly inventive, and often highly imaginative . . The element of originality pervades the book. . . . His long poem, - Ronald's Cross,' is well sustained . . . it is like the plaint of the 'Mariner,' and it holds ub."—Queen. •• A reader who values cultured sentiments and flawless versifica- tion will And much to admire."— Seottman. London: H01a0» OOI, Windsor House, i't Buildings, E.c. Crown 8vo., cloth boards, price 6s. HATHERSAGE: A Tale of North Derbyshire. BY CHARLES EDMUND HALL, Author of " An Ancient Ancestor," Ac. London: Horace Cox, Windsor Bouse, Bream's-buildings, E.O. Crown 8vo., cloth boards, 3s. 6d. Crimean & other Short Stories. BY WILLIAM .A-IDZDISOHSr. CONTENTS.— An Adjutant's Adventure: an Episode of the Crimean Campaign—From an Uuseen World—Characteristic Stories of Royal Personages—The Tsar's Axe—An Indian Legend Modernised —A Love Test—Atta: or. The Circassian's Daughter—Father Con- fessor—His Word of honour (from the German)—Dearer than Life— A Polish PrinreBB—The Evil Eye: a Story of Superstition—The Parson's Daughter—Old Love Never Rusts. London: Horace Cox, Windsor House, Bream's-buildings, E.O. ## p. 48 (#70) ############################################## IV AD VER TISEMENTS. THE TEMPLE TYPEWRITING OFFICE. TYPEWRITING EXCEPTIONALLY ACCURATE. Moderate prices. Duplicates of Circulars by the latest process. References to the Society of Authors. OPIITIOHS OP CLIENTS—Distinocishsd Author :—" The moat beautiful typing I ha*e ever seen." Ladt 01 Titlk :—"The work was very well and clearly done." Provincial Editor :—" Many thanks for the spotless neatness and beautiful accuracy 1 MISS GENTRY, ELDON CHAMBERS, 30, FLEET STREET, E.G. THE WEST KENSINGTON TYPEWRITING AGENCY. Established 1893. MISS E. M. SIKES, 13, Wolverton Gardens, Hammersmith, W. Authors' MSS. carefully and promptly copied. Is. per 1000 words. Duplicate copy half price. Legal and General Copying, l|d. per folio. Typewrit ten Circulars, Notices, Ac., by special copying process. Terms on application. Beferences kindly permitted to authors. LITERAEY PRODUCTIONS OF EVERY DESCRIPTION CAREFULLY REVISED, CORRECTED, or RE- WRITTEN by the Author of " The Queen's English up to Date." Facilities for publication. Typewriting Is. per 1000 words. Address Secretary, Literary Office, 342, Strand, W.C. WANTED, POSITION as SECRETARY to a Lady, by an English, woman, of 21. Special training. Qualifications: French (State certificate); Italian; some Latin; Type- writing; Shorthand. Highest personal recommendations from teachers. Address "K.," care of Mine. Veuve Speakman, 38, Rue du Luxembourg, Paris. Crown 8to.( limp cloth, price 2s. 6d. .A. HANDBOOK or PROCEDURE OP TH1 HOUSE of COMMONS, SUGGESTIONS AND PRECEDENTS FOR THE USK OF PARLIAMENTARY DEBATING SOCIETIES, BT GEO. G. GRAY, Esq., LL.D. (Lond.), J.P., Barrister-at-Law, Ac., Author of "A Manual of Bankruptcy," a Treatise on 11 The Right to Support from Land and Buildings, Ac., Speaker of the Hastings Local House of Commons. London: Homes Cox, Windsor Honse, Bream's-buildings, E.G. TTPE-WBITING OFFICE, 35, LUDGATE HILL, (ESTABLISHED 1883.) 2.C. Authors' MSS. carefully copied from Is. per 1000 words. Plays, Ac., Is. 3d. per 1000 words. Extra copies (carbon) supplied at the- rate of 4d. and 3d. per 1000 words. Type-writing from dictation 2s. 6<L per hour. Reference Kindly permitted to Sir Walter Besant; also to Messrs. A. P. Watt and Son, Literary Agents, Hastings House, Norfolk-street, Strand, W.C. THE AUTHOR'S HAIRLESS PAPER-PAD. (The Leadenhall Pbess Ltd., E.C.) Contains hairless paper, over which the pen slips with perfect freedom. Sixpence each; 5«. per dozen, ruled or plain. MESDAMES BRETT & BOWSER, TYPISTS, SELBORNE CHAMBERS, BELL YARD, TEMPLE BAR. Authors' MSS. carefully and expeditiously copied, from 18. per iooo words. Extra carbon copies half price. Refer- ences kindly permitted to Augustine Birrell, Esq., M.P., and "Anthony Hope" ECLAIR TYPEWRITING COMPANY, GRANVILLE HOUSE, ARUNDEL STREET, STRAND. Typewriting, Copying, and Translating carefully and expeditiously executed. References kindly permitted to Sir Frank Lockwood, Q.C., M.P., T. P. O'Connor, Esq., M.P., and E. A. Fardon, Esq., Middlesex Hospital. Super-royal 8vo., price 20s.. post free. CROCKFOBJD'S CLERICAL DIRECTORY 1896. STATISTICAL BOOK OF REFERENCE For facts relating to the Clergy in England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland and the Colonies; with a fuller Index relating to Parishes and Benefices than any ever yet given to the public. Crockford's Clkrical Direotort is more than a Directory; it con- tains concise Biographical details of all the ministers uuri dignitariee of the Church of England. Wales, Scotland, Ireland, and the Colonies; also a List of the Parishes of each Diocese in England and Wale* arranged in Hural Deaneries. T W ENTY-EIGKTM ISSUE. HonACE Cox, Windsor House, Bream's-buildings, E.C. Printed and Publiehed by Hobacx Cox, Windsor Uonse, '8-buildings, London, E.C. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Author, Vol. 07 Issue 02 (July 1896) Subject The topic of the resource The Author, Vol. 07 Issue 02 (July 1896) Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015049239455" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015049239455</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Publication Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 1896-07-01-The-Author-7-2 publications The Author https://historysoa.com/files/original/5/291/1896-06-01-The-Author-7-1.pdf 4ab7472e75360cf27e30193c4bc270ad 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 The Author Description An account of the resource A digitised run of the Society of Authors' monthly periodical, The Author, 1890–1914, made available together for the first time. Currently users can browse issues and <a href="https://historysoa.com/items/browse?search=&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bjoiner%5D=and&advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=51&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Index&collection=&type=&tags=&exhibit=&date_search_term=&submit_search=Search+For+Items&sort_field=Dublin+Core%2CTitle">indices</a> (not available for all volumes). Full text search for all issues, and other additional search functionality, will be added in 2022. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1890–1914 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context The-Author-Issues Publication Date The date of an event (in YYYY, YYYY-MM or YYYY-MM-DD format) 1896-06-01 Volume 7 Issue 1 Pages Page range in volume 1–24 Ngram Date Version of the date in YYYYMMDD format for use by the Ngram plugin 18960601 Ngram Text Version of the text with no HTML formatting for use by the Ngram plugin XL he Hutbor* (The Organ of the Incorporated Society of Authors. Monthly.) CONDUCTED BY WALTER BESANT. Vol. VII.—No. i.] JUNE i, 1896. [Price Sixpence. For the Opinions expressed in papers that are signed or initialled the Authors alone are responsible. None of the papers or para- graphs must be taken as expressing the collective opinions of the committee unless they are officially signed by G. Herbert Thring, Sec. THE Secretary of the Society begs to give notice that all remittances are acknowledged by return of post, and requests that all members not receiving an answer to important communications within two days will write to him without delay. All remittances should be crossed Union Bank of London, Chancery-lane, or be sent by registered letter only. _ Communications and letters are invited by the Editor on all subjects connected with literature, but on no other sub- jects whatever. Articles which cannot be accepted are returned if stamps for the purpose accompany the MSS. GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS. THERE are several methods of publishing by agree- ments. Thus (1) an author may sell his work for a sum of money down: (2) he may take a share of the profits: (3) he may accept a royalty. The first method is the readiest and, where a proper price is paid, perhaps the best. It involves a certain amount of risk or doubt as to the result on the part of the buyer, and a certain amount of hesitation on the part of the seller. The anthor would do well to sell through an agent. But let him beware as to his choice of agent. At a time when the production of new books involved great risks and where the possible circle of purchasers was very small, the publishers, joining together, took half the profits as a return for their risk and services. At the present time in many cases, where there are no risks, they often take two-thirds and even more of the profits, and that after setting apart a large sum for "office expenses," allowing the author nothing at all for his office expenses. In other words, it is as if a steward were to charge first for his office and desks and then to take half or two-thirds of the remainder for himself as steward's fee. Therefore the author must in every case ascertain carefully, before signing- the agreement, what proportion is appropriated under its clauses by the publisher for himself. If the author ig in doubt, let him submit the agreement to the secretary, or to one of the VOL. VII. literary agents recommended by the secretary. Above all things he must remember that in any business transaction the one who accepts an agreement in ignorance will quite certainly get the worst of it. The folly of Bigning in ignorance is the main cause of half the quarrels between author and publisher. In the case of profit-sharing agreements, remember that a very common form of getting the better of an anthor is the practice of advertising the book in the publisher's own organs, very likely magazines of small circulation. Sometimes, also, he " exchanges " advertisements with other magazines, and charges the author as if he had paid for them. In this way the publisher may put the whole profits of a book in his own pocket. One way to prevent this sharp practice is to insert a clauso to the effect that advertisements shall only be charged at the actual price paid for them. A better way, however, is to agree beforehand npon the papers in which advertisements may be inserted. As regards the right of inspeoting the books, that need not be claimed, because it exists as the right of every partner, or joint venturer. Tou have only to demand the inspection of the books by your solicitor, your accountant, or the secretary of the Sooiety. If the book is a first book, or one that carries risk, it is fair to make an arrangement for the first edition and another for the second, and following, if any. The publisher confers so signal a service upon the young author by producing his work at all—i.e., by giving him the chanae he desires above all things—that it seems fair in such a case to yield him the larger share. In a profit-sharing agreement do not let the oost of pro- duction form a part of the agreement, otherwise you will be unable to contest it afterwards. It will be wisest never to enter into relations with any publisher unless recommended by the Society. There are many other dangers to be avoided. Serial' rights; stamping the agreement: American rights: future work: cession of copyright—these things cannot possibly bo attended to by the young author. Therefore his agree- ment should always be shown to the secretary. It has been objected that these precautions presuppose a great succes for the book, and that very few books indeed attain to this great success. That is quite true: but there is always this uncertainty of literary property that, although the works of a great many authors carry with them no risk at all, and although of a great many it is known within a few copies what will be their minimum circulation, it is not known what will be their maximum. Therefore every author, for every book, should arrange on the chance of a success which will not, probably, come at all; but which may come. The four points which the Society has always demanded from the outset are:— (1.) That both sides shall know what an agreement ## p. 2 (#18) ############################################### 2 THE AUTHOR. (2.) The inspection of those acoonnt books which belong to the author. We are advised that this is a right, in the nature of a common law right, which cannot bo denied or withheld. (3.) That there shall be no secret profits. (4.) That nothing shall be charged which has not been actually paid—for instance, that there shall be no charge for advertisements in the publisher's own organs and none for exchanged advertisements; and that all discounts shall be duly entered. If these points are carefully looked after, the author may rest pretty well assured that he is in right hands. At the same time he will do well to send his agreement to the secretary before he signs it. HOW TO USE THE SOCIETY. I. Wj\VEEY member has a right to ask for and to receive fij advice upon his agreements, his choice of a pub- lisher, or any dispute arising in the conduct of his business or the administration of his property. If the advice sought is such as can be given best by a solicitor, the member has a right to an opinion from the Society's solicitors. If the case is such that Counsel's opinion is desirable, the Com- mittee will obtain for him Counsol's opinion. All this without any cost to the member. 2. Eemember that questions connected with oopyright and publisher's agreements do not generally fall within the experience of ordinary solicitors. Therefore, do not scruple to use the Society first—our solicitors are continually engaged upon such questions for us. 3. Send to the office copies of past agreements and past accounts with the loan of the books represented. This is in order to ascertain what has been the nature of your agree- ments, and the results to author and publisher respectively so far. The Seoretary will always be glad to have any agreements, new or old, for inspection and note. The infor- mation thus obtained may prove invaluable. 4. If the examination of your previous business trans- actions by the Secretary proves unfavourable, you should take advice as to a change of publishers. 5. Before signing any agreement whatever, send the pro- posed dooument to the Society for examination. 6. The Society is acquainted with the methods, and—in the case of fraudulent houses—the tricks of every publish- ing firm in the country. 7. Eemember always that in belonging to the Society you are fighting the battles of other writers, even if you are reaping no benefit to yourself, and that you are advancing the best interests of literature in promoting the indepen- dence of the writer. 8. Send to the Editor of the Author notes of everything important to literature that you may hear or meet with. 9. The committee havo now arranged for the reception of mombers' agreements and their preservation in a fireproof Bafe. The agreements will, of course, be regarded as con- fidential documents to be road only by the Secretary, who will keep the key of the safe. The Society now offers:—(1) To read and advise upon agreements and publishers. (2) To stamp agreements in readiness for a possible action npon them. (3) To keep agreements. (4) To enforce payments due according to agreements. THE AUTHORS' SYNDICATE. MEMBERS are informed: 1. That the Authors' Syndicate takes charge of the business of members of the Society. That it submits MSS. to publishers and editors, concludes agree- ments, examines, passes, and collects accounts, and, gene- rally, relieves members of the trouble of managing business details. 2. That the terms upon which its services can be secured will be forwarded upon detailed application. 3. That the Authors' Syndicate works only for those members of the Society whose work possesses a market value. 4. That the Syndicate can only undertake any negotiations whatever on the distinct understanding that those negotia- tions are placed exclusively in its hands, and that nil communications relating thereto are referred to it. 5. That clients can only be seen by the Director by appointment, and that, when possible, at least two days' notice should be given. 6. That every attempt is made to deal with all communi- cations promptly. That stamps should, in oil cases, be sent to defray postage. 7. That the Authors' Syndicate does not invite MSS. without previous correspondence: does not hold itself responsible for MSS. forwarded without notice; and that in all cases MSS. must be accompanied by stamps to defray postage. 8. That the Syndicate undertakes arrangements for lectures by some of the leading members of tho Society; that it has a "Transfer Department" for the sale and purchase of journals and periodicals; and that a " Register of Wants and Wanted" is open. Membors are invited to communicate their requirements to the Manager. There is an Honorary Advisory Committee, whose services will be called upon in any case of dispute or difficulty. It is perhaps necessary to state that the members of the Advisory Committee have no pecuniary interest whatever in the Syndicate. NOTICES. THE Editor of the Author begs to remind members of the Society that, although the paper is sent to them free of charge, the cost of producing it would be a very heavy charge on the resources of the Society if a great many members did not forward to the Seoretary the modest 6s. 6<l. subscription for the year. The Editor is always glad to receive short papers and communications on all subjects connected with literature from members and others. Nothing oan do more good to tho Society than to make the Author complete, attractive, and interesting. Will those who are willing to aid in this work send their names and the Bpecial subjects on which they are willing to write P Communications for the Author should reach the Editor not later than the 21st of each month. All persons engaged in literary work of any kind, whether members of tho Society or not, are invitod to oommunioate to the Editor any points connected with their work which it would be advisable in the general interest to publish. Members and others who wish their MSS. read are requested not to send them to the Office without previously ## p. 3 (#19) ############################################### THE AUTHOR. 3 communicating with the Secretary. The utmost practicable despatch is aimed at, and MSS. are read in the order in which they are received. It most also be distinctly under- stood that the Society does not, under any circumstances, undertake the publication of MSS. The Authors' Club is now open in its new premises, at 3, Whitehall-court, Charing Cross. Address the Secretary for information, rules of admission, Ac. Will members take the trouble to ascertain whether they have paid their subscriptions for the year? If they will do this, and remit the amount, if still unpaid, or a banker's order, it will greatly assist the Secretary, and save him the trouble of sending out a reminder. Members are most earnestly entreated to attend to the warning numbered (8). It is a most foolish and may be a most disastrous thing to enter into an agreement binding for a term of years. Let them ask themselves if they would give a solicitor the collection of their rents for five years to come, whatever his conduct, whether he was honest or dishonest? Of course they would not. Why then hesitate for a moment when they are asked to sign them- selves into literary bondage for three or five years P Those who possess the "Cost of Production" are requested to note that the cost of binding has advanced 15 per cent. This means, for those who do not like the trouble of "doing sumB," the addition of three shillings in the pound on this head. In other words, if the cost of binding is Bet down in our book at eight pounds, to this must now be added twenty-four shillings more, so that it now stands at £g 4s. The figures in our book are as near the exact truth as can be procured; but a printer's, or a binder's, bill is so elastic a thing that nothing more exact can be arrived at. Some remarks have been made upon the amount charged in the " Cost of Production" for advertising. Of course, we have not included any sums which may be charged for inserting advertisements in the publisher's own magazines, or in other magazines by exchange. As agreements too often go, there is nothing to prevent the publisher from sweeping the whole profits of a book into his own pocket, by inserting any number of advertisements in his own magazines, and by exchanging with others. Some there are who call this a form of fraud; it is not known what those who practise this method of swelling their own profits call it. FROM THE COMMITTEE. At a meeting of the Committee of Management of the Incorporated Society of Authors held at the offices of the society on Wednesday, the 29th day of April, it was decided that ladies should be eligible for election on the Council of the Society. The following have been elected to the vacancies that at present exist, and have accepted their election. Mrs. E. Lynn Linton. Miss Flora L. Shaw. Miss Charlotte M. Yongb. (By Order) G. H. Thring, Sec. and Solicitor. LITERARY PROPERTY. 1. —The Term up Literary Copyright in Different Countries. 1. Copyright is perpetual. Guatemala, Venezuela. Mexico (excepting the right of representation, the term of which is the life of the author and thirty years afterwards). 2. Term of Copyright is Life of Author and afterwards. 80 years.—Columbia, Spain. 50 years.—Belgium, Bolivia, Euuador, Finland, France, Hungary, Monaco, Norway, Portugal, Russia, Sweden, Tunis. 30 years.—Germany, Austria, Denmark, Luxem- burg, Switzerland. 20 years.—Haiti (if copyright is held by author's children; if held by other heirs, 10 years; if by widow, for her life). 10 years.—Brazil (but only if author leaves heirs), Eoumania. 5 years.—Chili. (The Government can, in special cases, extend this to 10 years.) 3. Term of Copyright is for a certain number of years after publication, viz.: 50 years.—Holland, South African Republic. 40 years.—Turkish Empire. 28 years.—United States of America (dating from registration; a new registration secures another 14 years for author or his heirs). 20 years.—Hawa'i. 15 years.—Greece. 4. Term of Copyright is for Life and sub- sequently for a number of years, or for a certain number of years after jmblication, with a minimum. Great Britain.—Author's life and seven years afterwards, or forty-two years from publication, whichsoever is longer. Italy.—Author's life, or forty years. Duriug a subsequent forty years holders of the copyright receive 5 per cent, of profits. Japan.—Author's life and five years, or thirty- five years from registration. But copyright of posthumously registered work expires thirty years after author's death. H.—American Copyright League. The following circular has been issued by the American Copyright League:— It will be recalled that soon after the passage of the copyright bill of 1891 it 'was agreed that the affairs of the League should be left in the ## p. 4 (#20) ############################################### 4 THE AUTHOR. hands of the Executive Council. Annual meetings, being then thought to be unnecessary, were for the time abandoned, and as there was a balance of funds in the possession of the treasurer the dues were remitted until such time as it should seem necessary to reimpose them. The activity of the council bas been twofold: 1. It has been directed through the secretary to forwarding the acceptance of the present statute by foreign countries, so that international copyright might become a practical as well as a theoretical achievement. The council believes that its efforts in this respect have contributed substantially to the reciprocal relations which now exist between the United States and the following nine countries of Europe, viz., Great Britain, France, Germany, Belgium, Denmark, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, and Portugal, and efforts are still being made with Greece, Austria, Norway and Sweden, Mexico and the Central and South American republics. The council has realised that the accession of each additional country would make it more difficult to amend the law in the direction of less liberality, and the present situation would seem to be an ample con- firmation of this belief. 2. The council was instrumental at the last Congress in defeating the very objectionable bill of Mr. Hicks, and in finally arranging, with the co-operation of the Publishers' League and the American Newspaper Publishers' Association, a compromise measure, known as the "Covert Bill," which has strengthened the copyright law by abolishing excessive penalties. The present session of Congress has been pro- lific of copyright bills, a very objectionable one being that of Mr. Treloar, of Missouri, a music publisher, whose primary object seems to be to extend the manufacturing clause of the present law to music. The appended resolutions, passed at a meeting held on April 2, show the attitude of the Executive Council toward this and other bills, and indicate our conviction of the necessity of placing the League once more on an active footing. Resolved that the Executive Council of the American Copyright League declares its opposi- tion to further limitation of the principle of inter- national copyright by any extension of the manu- facturing clause. Resolved that the Council approves the bill offered by Mr. Cummings in the present congress in behalf of American dramatists, providing more adequate means for the enforcement of dramatic copyright. Resolved that the Council approves the creation of a separate copyright office as provided in the separate bill now pending before congress. Resolved that in view of the present revival in copyright legislation and of the recent attacks on the principle of international copyright, and in view of the desirability of providing at an early session of congress for a copyright commission to consider the general subject of copyright law, the treasurer is directed to resume the collection of dues, suspended after the passage of the Act of 1891, and the secretary is authorised to take steps to increase the membership of the League. By general agreement the secretary was authorised to organise the musical composers of the United States against a manufacturing clause for music. You are respectfully requested to send at once to the treasurer of the League, Mr. George Parsons Lathrop, 29, Washington-square, West, New York City, §2.00, the amount of the dues for the year 1896. It is hoped that the present opposition to the Treloar bill will succeed in staving off its con- sideration until the December session. Meantime notification will be duly given of a general meeting of the League to be held in November. Robert Underwood Johnson, Secretary A. C. L., 33 East i7th-street, New York City. April 20, 1896. atm III.—A White List. The following list is taken from the Authors' Journal (New York). It is called a White List of Editors," and is tendered as a list of editors who may be relied upon to "deal fairly and honestly with contributors." Those of our readers who contemplate an invasion of the United States may find the list useful. The Authors' Journal, it should be noted, cautions contributors. They must state when sending in MSS. that they expect payment: A. P. A. Magazine. Monthly.—San FranciBco, Cal. Appleton's Popular Science Monthly.—New York City. Arena. Monthly.—Boston, Mass. Argonaut, Ttte. Weekly.—San Francisco, Cal. Argosy. (Partly juvenile), Monthly.—New York City. Atlantic Monthly.—4, Park-street, Boston, Mass. Babyland. Monthly.—Boston, Mass. Bachelor of Arts.—15, Wall-street, New York City. Bind Cat. Monthly (short stories).—Boston, Mass. Bostonian. Monthly.—83, Newbury-Btreet, Boston. Catholic World. Monthly.—New York City. Century Magazine. Monthly.—New York City. Christian Herald. Weekly. New York City. Churchman. Weekly (religious). New York City. Cosmopolitan. Monthly.—Irvington-on-tho-Hudson, New York. forum. Monthly.—New York City. Frank Leslie's Popular Monthly.—42-44, Bond-Btreet, New York City. Golden Days. Weekly, juvenile (prices poor).—Philadel- phia, Pa. ## p. 5 (#21) ############################################### THE AUTHOR. 5 Harper's Bazar. Weekly.—New York City. Harper's Monthly Magazine.—New York City. Harper's Round Table. Weekly (juvenile).—New York City. Harper's Weekly.—New York City. Herald. Sunday.—New York City. Home Journal. Weekly.—New York City. Independent. Weekly.—130, Fulton-street, New York City. Judge. Weekly.—110, Fifth-avenue, New York City. Ladies' Home Journal.—Philadelphia, Fa. Leslie's Weekly. 110, Fifth-avenue, New York City. Life. Weekly.—28, West 23rd-street, New York City. Lippineott's Magazine.—Philadelphia, Pa. Little Men and Women. Monthly.—Boston, Mass. McClure's Magazine.—52, Lafayette-place, New York City. Holland Monthly.—Des Moines, Iowa. Munsey's Magazine.—149, Fifth-avenue, New York City. New England Magazine. Monthly.—Boston, Mass. New York Weekly. Story Paper.—New York City. North American Review. Monthly.—New York City. Observer. Weekly (religious).—New York City. Our Little Ones and the Nursery.—Boston, Mass. Popular Science Review.—New York City. Printer's Ink. Weekly (matter relating to advertising and advertisement writing).—New York City. Prets. Sunday.—New York City. Press. Sunday.—Philadelphia, Pa. Puck. Weekly.—Mulberry-street, New York City. 8cribner's Magazine. —131, Fifth-avenue, New York City. 8t Nicholas. Monthly.—11, East 17th-street, New York City. Sun. Sunday.—New York City. The Congregationalist. Weekly.—Boston, Mass. The Ledger. Weekly.—William-street, New York City. The Outlook. Weekly.—Astor-plaoe, New York City. Times-Democrat. Sundays.—New Orleans, La. Tribune. Sunday.—New York City. Truth. Weekly.—203, Broadway, New York City. Youth's Companion. Weekly.—Boston, Mass. IV.—Canadian Copyright. We reprint in full Mr. Lea's letter on Canadian Copyright which was sent to the Times by Mr. Gold win Smith :— Philadelphia, April 10. Dear Sib,—I have looked with some interest at the Draft Act regulating the reprinting of English books in Canada, for which the Royal Assent is asked, and it appears to me that the questions involved are much larger than Mr. Hall Caine and Mr. Daldy seem to have imagined in their negotiations with the Canadian Copyright Association. To appreciate this properly it should be premised that the whole business of one of false pretences, since, under guise of legislating for the Canadian market, it is the market of the United States that is really kept in view. Every one cognisant of the book trade knows that the consumption of books in Canada is too limited to be worth the discussion which has been devoted to this measure, and that the real object of the printers, who are anxious to retain and extend the privilege of reprinting English novels, is to smuggle them into the United States in competition with the higher- priced American editions issued under arrangements with the authors as provided in the Act of 1891. There is no difficulty in effecting this in view of our long frontier, the free exchange of postal matter, and the impossibility °' excluding pirated editions imported through the mails. But for this outlet the business of reprinting English books would soaroe be worth undertaking in Canada. Sir Charles Tupper virtually admitted this when, in the Conference on the Draft Act, he alluded to the argument in its favour as "giving us, among other things, cheap literature and an industry that does not now exist." The importance of the matter to the English author and publisher, however, by no means rests solely on the diminu- tion of sales in the United States. Its most serious aspect iB the peril to which it exposes the Act of 1891, which per- mits the copyright of English books in this country, subject to the condition of manufacture here. For fifty years there has not been a copyright measure discussed in which I have not taken a more or less active part, and I am familiar with the influences which for so many years prevented the enact- ment of international copyright, and which finally secured the adoption of the existing law. So long as the labour interests opposed it there was no chance of its passage. When they were won over to its support it was adopted, though not without prolonged exertion against strenuous opposition. If it be once fairly understood that Canadian printers are enjoying an advantage which is denied to our labour and is used to its detriment, there is no little danger that the labour organisations will seek to undo the work in which they assisted five years ago; and, if once aroused to this, you know as well as I do, how respectfully their re- monstrances will be received. If you have means of warning the English interests which are threatened it would be wise for you to do so, for I am Buie that they do not recognise the danger inherent in the present and pro- spective anomalous oondition of Canadian copyright. The Draft Act seems clumsily, but is, perhaps, rather craftily, framed. Its elaborate and in some respects con- tradictory clauses are so worded as to depend greatly for their practical working upon the interpretation that may be put upon them, and the same influences which have hitherto secured legislation so curiously and defiantly disregardful of the rights of the mother oountry can safely be relied upon to obtain from the Canadian Government such construction as shall best subserve the interests of the knot of printers who seem to be all powerful at Ottawa. I hare the honour to remain very respectfully, Goldwin Smith, Esq. Henry Charles Lea. V.—The Question of Copyeight. Mr. G. H. Putnam's book of the above title, published in 1891, has just appeared in a second edition. The work is brought up to date by the addition of new material concerned with the legislation between these dates, and with cases bearing especially upon the interpretation of the American Act. The latter does not satisfy Mr. Putnam, and he renews his appeal for a commis- sion of experts to reform it, pointing out that all existing copyright systems of the world, except that of the United States, have been the work of such commissions of experts. Mr. Putnam sug- gests several amendments of the law, the principal being (1) the extension of the term of copyright, and (2) that steps should be taken as promptly as possible to remove the special grievance now existing on the part of European authors whose works require to be translated. On the latter point he proposes that the Act should voake an ## p. 6 (#22) ############################################### 6 THE AUTHOR. exception, in the case of a work originally issued in a foreign language, to the requirement for simultaneous publication. In a chapter on the status of Canada, Mr. Putnam gives it as his opinion that when a Canadian licence is taken out only after the English or American edition of a book has been imported diu'ing successive seasons, it will prove very difficult in practice to enforce the prohibition of such importation. As to the protest of various French associations that if Canadian manufac- ture he made a condition of copyright it would be necessary to exclude Canada from the Berne Convention, Mr. Putnam says this contention seems to him well founded. "I judge, however," he continues, " that Canada will probably elect to be excluded from the provisions of the Berne Convention rather than to give up the right of making printing in Canada a condition of Canadian copyright." VI.—Copyright Law Reform. Copyright law reform appears to be in the air. It is said that the committee of the Incorporated Society of Authors are engaged in considering the (|Uestion, and Mr. Longman, in his inaugural address to the uewly formed Publishers' Associa- tion, speaks of the subject as the first that naturally must claim the attention of the associa- tion. Mr. Longman desires a copyright law easy to comprehend, liberal in its provisions to the producers of literature, universal in its applica- tion, and capable of being readily enforced. The present law has but little of these features. Bad grammar here, nonsense there, and lack of arrangement everywhere is the condition of the statute law in point of form. In point of sub- stance, the present awkward term of copyright for the life of author and seven years after his death, whichever may be the longer period, renders it very difficult in many cases to discover whether copyright still exists in any particular ease or not. The novelist has no protection against the prac- tical infringement of his copyright by dramatisa- tion, and the hist rian no protection against abridgment, while the contributor to a magazine cannot republish his contribution in a separate form without the consent of the proprietor till after the expiration of twenty-eight years. All these and many more defects in the law would have been remedied by Lord Monkwell's consoli- dating and amending bill, which passed a second reading in the House of Lords in 1891, subject to the condition imposed by the then Government that it should not be further proceeded with— po-sibly because the American Copyright B 11 had not then become law.—Law Journal. VII.—Sweden and Norway. In virtue of a royal decision of April 13, 1896, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Sweden and Norway has informed the Swiss Federal Council, by a telegram dated the same day, that the Government has joined for Norway the International Union for the protection of literary and artistic works, concluded at Berne on Sept. 9, 1886. April 13, 1896, has been fixed as the date of accession. The Swiss Federal Council has informed the other contracting States of the accession of Norway, by a circular dated April 15, 1896. VIII.—The Paris Conference. The diplomatic conference convoked at Paris, on the 15th of April, to discuss a first revision of the Berne Convention of the 9th of Sept., 1886, concluded its labours on the 4th of May. The delegate from Haiti was unable to be present, otherwise all the contracting States were represented, including Norway, that country having joined the union two days before the opening of the conference. Fourteen other States, whicli do not at present belong to the union, sent delegates as an evidence of their interest in the work of the union. These were the Argentine Republic, Bolivia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Columbia, Denmark, Greece, Guatemala, Mexico. Peru, Portugal, Roumauia, Sweden, and the United States of America. At the first stance a plan of procedure was drawn up, and a committee formed comprising representatives of all the States included in the union. The delegates from States which do not belong to the union were permitted to join in their debates, but not to vote. '1 he greater part of the work of the revision of the Berne Conven- tion fell to this committee, the results of their labours being afterwards put into documentary form by a sub-committee of eight members, two Frenchmen, two Germans, one Englishman, one Italian, one Belgian, and one Swiss. The conference held four seances, the committee eight, and the sub-committee six. A resume of the work done was placed before the third seance of the conference, but, in accordance with the decision of the conference, the documents will not be published until the Governments of the con- tracting States have been officially furnished with them. In the interim it may be mentioned that these documents are of three classes. The first class deals with certain modifications of the original conventions. The second class contains declara- tions interpreting various provisions of the Con- vention. The third class 1 onsists of suggestions ## p. 7 (#23) ############################################### THE AUTHOR. 7 for the future. The resolutions adopted in the documents of the first and second class will, when ratified, provide amongst other things for the protection of posthumous works, aud for some more efficacious control over the reproduction of matter published in newspapers and periodicals. Authors belonging to countries not included in the Union will be treated similarly with those belonging to such countries in respect of works published for the first time within the territory of the union. The right of translation will be pro- tected as long as that of reproduction, if the translation appears within ten years of publica- tion. The next conference is to take placj at Berlin between six and ten years hence.—From Le Droit d'Auteur. NOTES FROM PARIS. APARAGRAPH in the "Literary Gossip" of the Athenseum of last week drew atten- tion to a very sad case of distress into which one of our oldest women of letters in England has fallen. The lady is just eighty- three years of age, and has been known in the Republic of Letters for the past sixty years by the name of Mrs. L. E. Warren. Her books on "How to Dress on ,£15 a Tear, as a Lady," by a Lady, and "How I Managed my House on =£200 a Year "—the text-books of parsimonious aud pin-money-begrudging husbands—are very well known and must have had an enormous sale. Until quite recently Mrs. Warren was editress of the Ladies' Treasury, a monthly published by Messrs. Bemrose. The death of this publication has deprived Mrs. Warren of her only source of income. She has, moreover, been ailing for some time past, and altogether her position is a very sad one. Cannot we of the Authors' Society do something for our confrere? I was speaking of her case the other day in the Authors' Club and several gentlemen who were present said they would gladly contribute a subscription to any fund raised on her behalf. Could such subscrip- tions be received at the office of the Author? Mrs. Warren is a wonderful woman, bright, energetic, in spite of her ailments and the weight of her fourscore years. She was at work all day, for she made it a rule to read through every manuscript that was submitted to her. She "discovered" and brought into prominence, through the Ladies' Treasury, more than one author and authoress who are now basking in the sunshine of popular favour. She had also the kindness always to write to unsuccessful contri- butors to explain why a manuscript Jj^j been VOL. Til. rejected, to suggest improvements, to point out the writer's weak points, and so on. The pay- ments made by the Ladies' Treasury were very small, but Mrs. Warren had obtained from the publishers that payment should be made to each contributor as soon as the manuscript had been accepted, a practice of which she was greatly in favour. "Authors can't afford to wait" she used to say. Now shall this good old lady have to wait for a little help from her more prosperous brothers and sisters in the profession? On referring to the Athenseum again, I see that subscriptions are invited by Miss Ellen T. Masters, Mount Avenue, Ealing. One of the most successful monthly dinners -in Paris is that held by the Socie'te' de la Plume et de TEpee, a friendly association for the purpose of a monthly meeting and dinner of some of the most prominent writers and officers in France. Can one imagine such a club in England? Would the "Rag " care to co-operate with the authors? I don't think so. In France, where, as in England, the pen is mightier than the sword, the author has usually this superiority also over the soldier, that he can make a much better use of a sword. This has been demonstrated over and over again in duels between officers and men of letters. Few French officers know how to fence, most French authors do. The British Club in Paris is now a fait accompli. It had been talked about for years, and it was only, thanks to the energy of Mr. Rowland Strong, the present secretary, that it was definitely brought into being. Mr. Strong, who is one of the most successful English journalists on the Continent, has recently taken to authorship, and I understand that Mr. John Lane has in preparation a novel of Parisian life from his pen. An extremely interesting publication, which is appearing in periodical parts here, is La Revolu- tion Franraise, which is filled with illustrations of that stormy period. The text is supplied by the best authorities on the subject. I read with much interest an article contributed to the last number by M. Jules Claretie, the director of the Comedie Fran9aise. It is entitled "Napoleon et la Comedie-Francaise en Italie," and shows that it was Napoleon who first organised those pro- vincial tours which are a feature of the profes- sional life of the company of the French State Theatre. By a decree dated July 10, 1806, Napoleon, King of Italy, ordered that two com- panies recruited from the company of the Theatre Francaise should perform in Italy in order " to familiarise the peninsula with the genius of our masterpieces and to spread the kno-wleQge of our language-" Every detail is characteristic^ ## p. 8 (#24) ############################################### 8 THE AUTHOR. arranged, and provision is made in the decree for a subsidy of 160,000 francs per annum for the main- tenance of these companies. Mile. Rancourt was appointed manageress, and under her manage- ment the two companies toured in Italy for six years, until . . . well, subsequent events. A most interesting article could be written on the relations between Napoleon and the authors. For our profession he had a very sincere contempt, yet he also took to it in the end. It is true that most of the authors, from Chateaubriand down to, say, Goldschmidt (author of " The Secrets of the Cabinets"), behaved with little dignity in their conduct towards the all-powerful emperor, who, we • find, was always disgusted with their alternate flattery and vituperation. Meneval relates that every day scores of books were sent to the Tuileries for his master's notice, and that Napoleon used to judge them mainly by their titles, in which respect he was not alone in the reading public. Out of twenty books, he would perhaps select one, the rest would be bundled into the fire. The one would be lipped open with the emperor's fore- finger and thrown away as soon as he had finished with it. If he happened to be driving when the book was done with, it would go out of the window, and so much the worse for anybody who happened to be walking near. One had heard of harmless promeneurs who received volumes at their heads in this way, as the imperial barouche dashed by, and so abject was the subjection of people in those days that books thus obtained became in many libraries the most highly-prized volumes. One excellent idea Napoleon had, which, however, his native parsimony prevented him from carrying into execution, and that was to have printed and bound in a uniform and portable form all the books in the world's bibliography which he most liked, and this for carrying them with him on his excursions de par le mondc. The same idea has come to many since Napoleon, and—as an instance known to me—in the library of the Quillinans in Ambleside there used to be a number of volumes, lavishly produced, at the private printing-press of a bibliophile baronet, who in this way did honour to his favourite authors, a hobby which cost him close upon £ 100,000. Paul de Kock's " Memoirs" have recently been unearthed in Paris, and are at this moment being prepared for simultaneous publication in England and America. They are very interesting, and full of anecdotes concerning the men of the century. Paul de Kock only saw Bonaparte once, and that was by favour of his friend the leader of the orchestra at the Tuileries. Paul de Kock had expressed a wish to see the Emperor, and his friend said to him, "Join my orchestra for one morning and you can glut your eyes on him, as we sit just opposite the Emperor's pew." "But I don't know one note from the other," said de Kock. "Never mind," said the maitre de chapelle, "I'll lend you a cornet-a-piston and you can pretend to play it." This was done, and thus Paul de Kock got a good view of the Emperor, whom he describes in very graphic language. Paul de Kock's father was guillotined under the Revolu- tion, and his mother very nearly shared his fate. Fouquier Tinville had already ordered her off to the Conciergerie, when little Paul, then a baby at breast, touched the tiger's heart by some babyish trick, and Tinville consented to leave the citoyenne at liberty until the "young citizen had been weaned." In the meanwhile Fouquier Tinville was weaned—of his taste for blood. A French author who has just returned from London speaks with some amusement of the way in which the English booksellers, and especially the clerks at the railway bookstalls, ticket the books offered for sale, much in the same way as the enterprising butcher or poulterer, or haber- dasher tickets his goods. Thus one reads of one book, " Good Reading," of another " Favourable Review," or " Good Notices," of a third " Much in Demand," or "Reading Well." In no way is the commercialism of the craft in England more clearly brought home to one. For myself, the other day, at the bookstall at Whitehaven, I was looking at a 6d. edition of one of Charles Reade's admirable novels when the clerk tried to clench the bargain by saying "Excellent value, sir." So, no doubt, it was, but why should such shop terms be applied to works of genius. No doubt the time will come when, casting aside all pretence of being artists, authors will push their wares as do all other manufac- turers. They will advertise directly, instead of indirectly, and the biggest literary fortunes will go to those who advertise best and most exten- sively. I foresee the time when the daily papers will teem with the advertisements of "Dash, the cash author," and I have imagined a whole series of effective announcements. Ad exemplum. "Dash for Value. Read and Compare." "Dash for Value. More Reading for your sixpence than offered by any other Author." "Dash for Value. Dash's Penny Novelettes are the best Cure for Insomnia, Melancholy, Headache, and Indigestion." Thingummy would, of course, compete, some- what in this style: *' Thingummy for solid British fiction. No morbid French materials used. All goods warranted home-made." "Thingummy for pure reading. Thingummy's ## p. 9 (#25) ############################################### THE AUTHOR. 9 novels are supplied free from adulteration with pessimism, sensuality, and suggestiveness." "Thingummy for the Breakfast-table." '■ Thingummy for the Drawiug-room." "Thingummy for the Knifeboard." "Thingummy for the Table de Nuit." I think to live to see these things. Indeed, they seem in the immediate future. Nor is there any reason why they should not be. I notice a paragraph that is going the round of the English press to the effect that M. Felix Faure and M. Alphonse Daudet are the latest recruits in France to teetotalism. Who is it who invents these stories? Each week one reads in the paragraph papers lies as deliberate as absurd. I suppose that there are some people who earn a living by supplying paragraphs about celebrities, and find it easier to invent statements than to supply facts. I know of a " fake" con- cerning Count Robert de Montesquiou-Fezensac, the poet, which has been going the round of the press for the past four years. It alleges that the count has a number of tortoises in his study, whose shells are inlaid with costly stones, the scintillations from which as the tortoises crawl about inspire the poet in his work. Who can invent such stories? Robebt H. Shebabd. NEW YORK LETTER. New York, May 16. MR. EDWARD ARNOLD sailed for England last Saturday, after a few weeks spent here in looking into the results of his venture of establishing an agency for the sale of his books in America. His experience has been the same as that of other English houses. The agency was established last July, and the results of the first year have been fairly satisfactory, but the firm will at once begin to carry other lines, especially American books, as soon as they can get them. All the publishing houses find that the cost of carrying a large line of books is so much less in proportion than that of carrying a small line, the fixed charges being so much the same, that they make an effort to get all the business they can. The books of Mr. Arnold which had some sale this year are, " Fire and Sword in the Soudan," by Slatin Pasha, which has been their most successful book; "A Little Tour in America," by Dean Hole, who is popular here; "Twelve Hundred Miles in an Ox Wagon," by Alice Balfour; Walter Raleigh's "Robert Louis Stevenson;" Tollemache's "Benjamin Jowett; " Frederick Harj^Qp's " Early Victorian Literature;" and Colo^ Colville'a "Land of the Nile Springs." It is doubtful, however, whether more than two of these books had more than a limited sale. The spring list of the Macmillans shows, leaving out translations and classics, thirty-nine American books and twenty-seven British books. In novels nationality, most publishers agree, makes no difference; a few, however, say that there is a better demand for a novel because it is British. Most British novels have some sale here. After novels, the British books that have the most sale are a few text books; not many have any sale, but when they do sell the sale is likely to be large. Stopford Brooke's " Primer of English Literature" is an illustration, and certain editions of the classics and certain books of mathematics sell largely. The effort which is often made to work over a British text book for the American trade rarely succeeds. One notice- able thing is, that the English houses here tend to have the preference in certain works of scholar- ship, the sale of which is small everywhere, and is increased somewhat by being handled by a house which may also sell a few copies in England. For instance, the special historical studies of Harvard University are published by Longmans, Green, and Co., and the similar series of Columbia University studies are published by Macmillan. Letters written by your correspondent to some of the leading publishers and booksellers and dry goods dealers, who handle cheap books, brought out some results about the market. John Wanamaker, of Philadelphia, who pro- bably sells more cheap books than any other dealer in the country, says: "Cheap editions of 'Scarlet Letter,' 'Uncle Tom's Cabin,' and books that may be classed with them, outsell many times over the most popular recent books either British or American. Whether a book is of American or foreign author- ship, is not a question that has any influence in selling; it is a fact to which the ordinary buyer seems to be entirely indifferent. Of the new publications, the sales of ' Ian MacLaren's' books have largely eclipsed all others in our business this year." A. C. McClurg and Co., the principal booksellers of the west, say: "We are in receipt of your favour of the 2nd inst., asking for an idea of the comparative sale in Chicago of 'Trilby,' or other high-class English fiction, and the recent repriuts of the 'Scarlet Letter.' 'Uncle Tom's Cabin,' or other leading American novels. We would say in reply that our statistics are confined to the sales of this house, but as the record of our sales wo»lQ doubt- less be an estimate 0f the comparative oi ## p. 10 (#26) ############################################## IO THE AUTHOR. these books in this Western country, we submit you the following: Sola. Cheap American reprints:— Altemus and Dream Life in 189S Donoghue <fe Henneborry (at 25 %) 1100 Editions House of the Seven Gables „ „ 2225 Scarlet Letter „ „ „ 2325 Uncle Tom's Cabin. „ ,, „ 4050 Since publication 1-25 Ed. 5710 Bonnie Brier Bush in 11/94 -25 „ 8000 ,, 13,710 Trilby 9/94 at 1-75 „ 15,000 Prince of India , 8/93 at 2-50 the Bet 26,100 It should be noticed that McClurg and Co. sell the more expensive editions to the small dealers, but these small dealers buy the cheap reprints from the publishers. "Trilby "has sold over 200,000 copies in this country. Probably the various cheap editions of "Uncle Tom's Cabin," issued by the house which owned the copyright of the book during the past few years, before the copyright ran out, have aggregated over 230,000; and the copies of the "Scarlet Letter" 480,000, although there have been various other cheap editions of the same books on the market since the copyright expired. The attacks which have been made on the present copyright law in this session of the Legislature, and the various letters which appear about the Canadian copyright law, have led to some sharp criticisms of our present copyright law by the papers which have most weight in literary matters. One of them says, that our law of 1891 in a half-way measure, that will never be safe from attack from ignorant legislators and self-seeking publishers; that the United States is still classed with Russia by the rest of the civilised world in this matter; and that there will be no peace and no justice until we accept un- reservedly the Berne Convention, and put literary property on the same basis as other property in private and international law. Charles Scribners' Sons have begun a series of stories by English authors parallel to the series of American authors published by them. The Scribners have bought all of Robert Louis Stevenson's works which were owned by Stone and Kimball, of Chicago, and now have the right to the publication in this country of all of Stevenson's works. The books acquired from Stone and Kimball are "The Vailima Letters," "The Amateur Emigrant," " The Ebb Tide," and "Macaire." The Scribners publish this spring "Cinderella and Other Stories," by Richard Harding Davis, one of our most popular writers of short stories. On the dissolution of Stone and Kimball, Mr. Kimball takes the business to New York and Mr. Stone keeps the Chap Book in Chicago. Next to this magazine, the success of the past year among the periodicals has been won by the American Bookman, which is practically without connection with the English Bookman, using only its Paris letter. It already has a circulation equal to that of the Critic and the Nation together, although it has existed but little over a year and is not cheap, as magazines go here now, costing 15 cents. Its success has been largely due to the vivacious editing of Professor H. T. Peck, and, perhaps, partly to the custom of having all of its articles signed. The Harpers will issue next month "Tales of Phantasy and Pact," by Brander Matthews. H. C. Bunner, one of the foremost of the young American poets, died this week. On the appear- ance of some of his books in England he was highly praised by Andrew Lang, and Austin Dobson expressed the opinion that he was the most promising American poet of his generation. Mr. Dobson also wrote a poem to him. A new volume of his stories will be published this summer by the Scribners, called "Urban and Suburban Sketches." It will be illustrated by A. B. Frost. In the fall the Scribners will publish a volume of his poems, called "Ballads of the Town," illustrated by C. J. Taylor. Mr. Bunner was born in 1855; he came to New York as a boy and was a clerk. His first writing was for the Arcadian, a shortlived literary weekly. After that he did some reporting for a daily paper and then became connected with Puck soon after its foundation. This was the first comic paper which succeeded in America, and showed that the frequent statement that there were no types in America to make a comic paper possible here was inaccurate. Mr. Bunner became editor of the paper, and made a great success of it. The circulation is now somewhere over 40,000. He published also poems, novels, and plays, the last being the work of himself and Brander Matthews, who is left his literary executor. His "Airs of Arcady," published in 1884, had a very unusual sale for a book of poems. "Studies in Story Telling" were published in London in 1885; they were the joint work of Mr. Bunner and Mr. Matthews. He has since then published several volumes of New York stories, the most popular being "Short Sixes," 1890, and "More Short Sixes," 1894. N. H. ## p. 11 (#27) ############################################## THE AUTHOR. 11 NOTES AND NEWS. EETURNING- to Mr. Longman's address of last month, a few observations may be made on that part of the address which concerns ourselves. Mr. Longman speaks of the diversity of interest which always exists between buyer and seller. Now, there are three methods of publishers' agreements, only one of which is that of buyer and seller. In the other two—share of profits and royalty—there is, as has been pointed out by learned counsel in these pages, a c/itasj-partnership, a joint adventure, in which the author is not a seller nor is the pub- lisher a buyer. The legal meaning of this joint ad- venture, which involves an open hand, open books, open vouchers, must never be lost sight of. As regards selling and buying, that is a method which is perhaps more to be commended than any other, provided the author receives a proper price for his book, because it prevents any subsequent ill-feeling. The new Society, according to the President, will not interfere in any agreement between author and publisher. Yet, if model agreements, such as the President proposes, are framed and adopted by us as well as by the Society of Publishers, no other agreements will be accepted by any author, and so there must be interference. Apart, however, from the pro- posed model agreements, what about agreements which are obviously designed to entrap the author? How about an agreement which gives the pub- lisher the power to swamp the whole of the profits in advertisements for which he pays nothing: as in his own magazine with a trumpery circulation of two or three thousand, or in other magazines where advertisements are exchanged? How about that delightful trick where the author is asked to accept a certain royalty which is to be "reduced by one-half if the book is sold at one- half the published price?" How about royalties deferred for many thousands of copies? It is very much to be desired that the Society of Publishers may have an early opportunity of expressing its opinion on these and similar practices. ^ Mr. Longman drew attention to the trade in contraband books. He was not, probably, aware that this Society has already taken steps to stop it in the Colonies, and that vigorous action has been taken in consequence. He dwelt also upon the condition of the bookseller. For my own part I am convinced that the only way to help the bookseller is to lower the trade price. Nothing else will help him: the discount system is fairly established and cannot be overthrown: people will not pay more for their books. a]re»dy VOL. VII. they pay too much. There are three persons engaged in the book trade: the author who sits down and writes the book: the bookseller who stands up and sells the book: the publisher who sends it out and collects the money. Who ought, in common fairness, to get the most out of it? Obviously, the first and second. Who does get the most out of it? Take, once more, the familiar book which costs a shilling and is sold by the trade for 4«. 6d. On a royalty of twopence in the shilling the author gets is,: the publisher is. 6d.: the bookseller sometimes a good deal less than is. Oh! but there are the publisher's office expenses. Well? And there are also the bookseller's office expenses; and there are also the author's office expenses. The obviously weak point in the programme of the new Society is the announcement of the council that they will not interfere with the preliminary agreement. If Mr. Longman would read the Committee's book, "The Methods of Publishing," he will understand that by far the most im- portant question for the author to consider is the rescue of his book from the thousand-and- one traps which have been set for it by certain persons, of whom some are members of hjs Society. Amid these dangers the author ought surely to be able to count upon the assistance of the Society of Publishers. Another weak point is that in the book trade it is quite possible to get on without a publisher at all. For my own part I like to reform rather than to sweep away, Yet it is perfectly certain that whenever authors choose they can go straight to the booksellers, and that if booksellers please to elect a leader who has got a head upon his shoulders, they may conduct the whole of the publishing business for themselves without the intermediary of a publisher at all. What would be the result of this arrangement? In such a case as we have just taken the author and the bookseller would have 3s. 6d. to divide between them. If the author took 2s. it would be equiva- lent to a royalty of 33 per cent., while the bookseller would take is. 6d. where he now gets from 8c?. to is. I do not say that this will be done to-day or to-morrow: but that it will be done, as soon as authors and booksellers really understand the simplicity of the arrangement, I have no doubt whatever. But, it may be objected, how about young authors? How about new pro- jects? Everything would go on just exactly as at present, only that this leader with a head on his shoulders would, with the representative of our society, stand for all the publishers in London. I ain indebted to the Newsagent a,l(} Book- sellers' for a few- remarks, which appeared ## p. 12 (#28) ############################################## ia THE AUTHOR. first in a Nottingham paper, on the recent dinner of the Booksellers' Provident Institution. "A banquet of this sort," says the writer, "makes a pleasant little truce in the great war between authors and their middlemen, but it is only a truce. The war will be resumed with renewed fury as soon as the fictitious amiability induced by a hearty meal has had time to evaporate. Authors will go on wanting as much as they can get, and grumbling if they do not get it; and publishers will go on giving as little as possible, and growling if they have to give more. And the fact that successful authors spend a pleasant hour or two in telling their publishers how nice they are, does not do away with the sterner fact that the publishers have their own battle to fight, and do not appear at all nice to beginners." Publishers, in fact, are purely business men; no one ought to resent or can deny this fact. This is common sense. It is better, how- ever, to use the after-dinner speech for kindliness than the reverse; a maxim which has not always been observed by publishers towards this Society at these dinners. It was very pleasant for Mr. Crockett to praise the followers of the publishing trade. If he meant to be taken as speaking from his own experience, one would ask him: (i) how many publishers' agreements he has received? (2) If he remains with his first publisher? (3) If not, why he left him?—this is a very important question; and (4) Why he finds it best to make use of the assistance of an agent? But the speech was post-prandial, and may be accepted in the kindly spirit in which it was meant. Meantime we shall go on keeping the light turned full upon the meaning of agreements and the shares of proceeds under various royalties. I am much obliged to a correspondent for an account of his experience with a theatrical agent. It is, briefly, this. He sent a MS. to an agent in answer to an advertisement. He received in return an offer to read a play for two guineas, furnishing the author with an opinion upon it: or a farce or short piece for one guinea. He further offered to use his best endeavour to place it for a commission of ten per cent. These terms appearing reasonable, my correspondent sent up the play, The opinion was quite unfavourable, but the agent thought it might be rewritten as a short piece, and offered a second opinion without another fee. Nothing could be fairer than such an offer. In fact, my correspondent has no complaint to make at all: it is true that he has received more favourable opinions as to his work, but opinions differ, and perhaps the agent's reader is better qualified to judge than others. But the question which is put in this letter is this. Will a manager receive and consider a play on the recommendation of this agent? I should incline to think, at first, that such a recommendation would carry with it only the weight of the agent's name, whatever that might ■be. For instance, if it were known that he had furnished other managers with good pieces, his name would undoubtedly carry weight. Apart from that consideration, I should say that the use of an agent would be the introduction of business methods: copying letters: seeing to the return of the MS.; knowing what theatres were in want of a new piece: what theatres the play might suit: how it might be written up: and so forth: he would also be useful to managers in weeding out hopelessly bad MSS. It is quite conceivable that a manager would save himself trouble by taking all his plays through an agent's hands. He would be relieved of a mass of hopeless rubbish: he would not have to pay readers: and he would have placed in his hands only MSS. worth reading. In the Revue de Paris for May appears a paper called "Un Romancier Anglais" by M. Hugues Rebell. The "Romaneier Anglais" is Mr. Robert Sherard, who has furnished this paper with its Paris Letter for some time. The paper is, as may be guessed, appreciative, taking up Mr. Sherard's novels in turn. In justice to our correspondent the concluding paragraphs are quoted: "C'est avec un art tout special, procedant par demi-teintes successives et par lentes gradations que Robert. Sherard nous depeint ses hcros. II n'a point cette brutalitc de certains ecrivains qui nous decouvrent completement leurs personnages des le commencement de leur livre; il leur laisse longtemps ce clair-obscur au milieu duquel les hommes nous apparaissent tout d'abord dans la vie. Puis le visage s'illumine peu h pcu, sans pourtant venir jamais en pleine lumiere. Ainsi ceux qui nous entourent gardent-ils dans l'ombre jusqu'a la mort, quelques parties d'eux-memes. Un sentiment de picte humaine porte l'ecrivain a respecter ce mystere des etres et a. nous les montrer pudiquement voile's. "Mais si nous ne savons pas tout d'une physionomie, ce que l'auteur nous en laisse entrevoir est d'une admirable nettete" de dessin. Dans ces romans qui, ii l'exception de Un Honneur troque, sont de rapides recits, ayant l'allure vive d'un conte de Maupassant, l'auteur joint aux dons d'analyse et d'evocation des Anglais le gout, la sobriete, la vigueur de 1'esprit latin. "Cette union des deux genies a produit des ## p. 13 (#29) ############################################## THE AUTHOR. 13 ceuvres parfaites. Le temps n'est plus 011 Carlyle demandait a l'Allemagne toute sa pensee. Les rudes et puissants ecrivains du Nord se rap- prochent chaque jour davantage d'un art qui cclaire et purifie leur talent, met l'ordre et l'harmonie dans leurs idees. Sans doute le scjour a Paris, le voyage a Naples n'auront pas ete inutiles a Sherard. II y aura pris ce sens de discipline et d'elegance intellectuelle necessaire a tout ecrivain et dont les plus severes moralistes ne se peuyent passer." Here is a complaint which is unfortunately too common. An author consented, without the necessary safeguards, to a half profit system. His book, in his own opinion, was insufficiently advertised: day after day he looked into the lead- ing organs, and found no advertisement of it at all. This seeming neglect made him sore and suspicious—perhaps with cause: perhaps without. When the accounts came in he found that his book was charged with an expenditure of ,£30 on account of advertising. Where? It was not stated. There were no profits. Enraged at this return, he tore up the accounts and threw them in the fire. Now, consider the natural result of thus destroying the accounts and refusing to proceed with the business. So long as this man lives that publisher will have an enemy who will persistently accuse him of eharging for advertisements for which he himself paid nothing, and of ruining the chances of his book for the sake of making an iniquitous profit. This, one readily understands, will be bad for that publisher in proportion to the author's influence and position. But there is the other side to be considered. The author has no real proof—none whatever—of his charge, and if the publisher chooses he may bring an action against him for libel in order to show that there was no foundation for the charge. Now, would it not have been better for both sides had that author done what we are always praying him to do—put the accounts into the hands of the secretary? Then, if the publisher had treated his author honourably, the fact would have been proved, easily and trium- phantly, by producing the vouchers. In any case the secretary would have compelled him to give details; and so, whatever the result, the matter, instead of becoming an incurable festering sore, would have been cleared up one way or the other in a day or two. The following figures are interesting, taken with the agitation about Canadian copyright. They are taken from Le Droit d'Auteur:—Canada annually exports books and other printed matter to the V»lue of about 90,000 dollars. The actual ^ures in 1893-1894 were 92,487 dollars and 84,566 dollars respectively. More than one-half of this sum is earned by exportation to the United States, in 1893 to the value of 57,586 dollars, and in 1894, of 50,000 dollars. On the other hand the United States, between July 1, 1894, and June 30, 1895, exported to Canada works to the value of 522,917 dollars. And it is remarkable that this is nearly one-fourth of the whole value of the printed matter exported by the United States within the same twelve months, 2,316,217 dollars. The following paragraph was written before the "Notes from Paris" were received. Let it stand as an independent appeal. Mrs. Eliza Warren, the veteran authoress and one of the pioneers of women's journalism, was, until the end of last year, fulfilling the duties of editress of the Ladies' Treasury, in spite of her eighty-three years of age. Owing to the discon- tinuance of this magazine and other circum- stances over which she has no control, Mrs. Warren is sadly pressed by pecuniary troubles. She has passed her long life in working for others who are unable now to help her. Owing to the infirmities attendant on her advanced age, Mrs. Warren is no longer able to support herself by her pen as has hitherto been the case, and some of her literary friends are endeavouring to raise a fund to relieve her remaining years. Contribu- tions, however small, to the Eliza Warren Fund, will be gratefully received by Miss Ellen T. Masters, Mount Avenue, Ealing, and it is hoped that the large public that once gained help from her practical writings on housekeeping, cookery, and domestic economy, will now come forward and give her that assistance which she so greatly needs. ]iD Literature and scholarship are represented on the Birthday list by four names out of ninety- one; those, namely, of Max Midler, Renouf, Fitch, and the Royal Astronomer at the Cape. Professor Max Midler is not the first Oxford Professor to receive the distinction of the Privy Council. The same honour was bestowed o» the late Montagu Bernard in recognition of hu services in the settlement of the A labama claims. Thehonours bestowed upon the great Egyptologist, the distinguished chief in the Educational Depart- ment, and the Astronomer at the Cape, have been received with great satisfaction. By these dis- tinctions the English speaking world is reminded that learning and literature ate brandies oi human endeavour worthy °^ shjjP54* ^e national honours. Art, J^ic, an^cfe 1- ing, architecture, and JJJ g» 6t «ft»\ta*«al lines must wait till next- ^ «." ## p. 14 (#30) ############################################## THE AUTHOR. The Secretary, Mr. 6. H. Thring, has compiled froin his own experience, now extending over four years, notes which it is hoped will cover the whole field of agreements: what the various clauses should mean and what they do mean. These notes are illustrated by examples of actual agree- ments—that is to say, agreements actually offered by publishers to authors. He will very willingly give the names of the firms in question to members of the Society who may wish in their own interests to learn them. This must bo by application at the office. I would urge upon every member of the Society to look through these columns and learn, perhaps for the first time, how complicated are the difficulties which surround the subject. Even to learn these difficulties cost the committee many years of work and investiga- tion. Nor can we be certain yet that we have dragged the whole of them to light. Walter Besant. MATTERS FOR CONSIDERATION. FOR many years past it has been the habit for publishers to draw up the agreements between themselves and the author, as also nearly all the printed agreements have been prepared from the point of view of the former, it is a matter of considerable importance to put before the author the ways and means to protect his own property in these agreements. The first thing to consider is, What rights of an author are these agreements to cover? The author's rights consist of, first, book rights (under which head are included translation rights); and, secondly, serial rights. In the dealings between author and publisher, the book rights alone are generally involved. These rights, then, must be protected. It is, first, clearly necessary to show the author how he can deal with these rights; and, secondly, to put forward fully the nature of such rights. The book rights may be dealt with in four different ways: — 1. By an agreement for sale outright, which system will convey the copyright, and thus include the serial rights. (N.B.—This is the only form which will cover the serial rights by implication.) 2. By an agreement for sale on commission. Under this method the author pays for the cost of production. 3. By an agreement for profit-sharing. On this basis the most usual agreement is a half share of profits. 4. By an agreement for payment by royalty. By which is meant a payment of a certain percentage on the published, or advertised, price of each book sold. All other agreements that have come to the notice of the Society do not differ from these forms, except in combining the principles of two or more of these agreements into one. Generally such combination is to the disadvantage of the author. (See "Methods of Publishing.") In considering the nature of the author's book rights, as dealt with here, it will not be necessary to discuss the question of the nature of copyright, for, with the exception of Method No. 1, the copyright is always, and ought always to be, retained by the author. It is sufficient to state that in Method No. 1 the author gives up all his property without limit or restriction, in considera- tion of a fair sum as an equivalent. The book rights, then, comprise the following sub-divisions and limitations: 1.—Sub-division by Country. It is possible, and often necessary, to divide the right of publishing thus, to (1) Great Britain; (2) America; (3) the Colonies and Dependencies of Great Britain; (4) each Colony separately; (5) the Continent; (6) the United States, &c. In addition, under this heading, should be included the rights of translation into different languages, and in consequence the publication in translation form in different countries. 2.—Limitation by Time or Edition. It is possible to limit the right of publishing, first, to a certain number of years, or, second, to a certain number of editions. The first should, as a general rule, be avoided, as it enables the publishers of the book, if still selling towards the end of the term, to print more than they can sell within the period, and therefore to go on selling the book after the limit assigned. It thus practically prevents the author from trans- ferring his rights except at a heavy pecuniary loss; for it has been decided in the courts that a publisher with a time limit has a right to con- tinue selling the stock in hand at the expiration of such limit, but not the right of reprinting. A time limit is, however, of considerable advan- tage to the author in case he should be desirous of collecting his works into the hands of one publisher, or of otherwise reconsidering his position. If, therefore, the author should be desirous of placing a time limit in his agreement, he must be careful by a suitable clause to protect himself from the danger pointed out above. The second is absolutely essential in educational, technical, scientific, and other works of similar ## p. 15 (#31) ############################################## THE AUTHOR. nature that require, through change of ideas and discoveries, to be brought up to date periodically. The author should be able to renew the control of his work. 3.—Limitation by Form of Publication. That is, qua works of fiction published in England, limitation to the three volume, 6*., 3*. 6d., &c, forms. (Other countries have also recognised forms, America has i\ dollar, Ac), qua, other books to the various prices common to the trade. It should be remarked that all the sub-divisions in No. 1 are capable of the limitations 2, 3, and vice versa, all the limitations under 2 and 3 are capable of sub-divisions in No. 1. Thus the book rights are capable of being divided into a great number of minor rights, though in matter of practice they are generally only divided into the following: (1) Great Britain; (2) the Colonies and Dependencies; (3,) the United States; (4) the Continential (Tauchnitz); (5) Translation Rights; (6) Limitation by Editions; (7) Limita- tions by Form. The author has now before him the nature of his book rights, and he must be sure before signing an agreement that he is quite clear that the por- tion of those rights he is giving away coincides with those rights that he desires to transfer. Forms op Agreement. It will be necessary to give a few general notes and hint 8 on the diverse methods of dealing with book rights. This article will not trespass on the ground covered by the "Methods of Publishing," which treats of the subject in detail, but will merely give a cursory view of the systems to be avoided, and will, when necessary, reter to the above mentioned book. In pointing out methods and clauses to be accepted with caution, it does not follow that agreements containing none of those here referred to are therefore perfect. Faults of commission are so much more easily discovered than faults of omission. Before entering further on the question of these agreements, an author should clearly under- stand that the assignment of the right of publishing, even if it continues so long as the legal term 0/ copyright, is not an assignment of copyright. The verbal distinction may be slight, but the legal distinction is large. The contract for publication is a personal contract. To give one of many differences, in a bankruptcy, if a publisher held the right to publish, the contract would terminate, if he held the copyrjgjjj fae book would become an asset of the ba^KrUpt estate. The sale of copyright is very much to be condemned, and it is only admissible in the case of "sale outright"—a method of publishing, not uncommon, which must be adopted with great hesitation and only with the advice of experienced persons. Some writers, however, hold that the best method of publishing is to sell the literary estate outright, making sure that the price given is such as to cover all reasonable chances of success. If an author desires to capitalise his rights, let him do so only after ascertaining, as carefully as possible, what those rights mean. It should be incidentally mentioned that it is practically useless, from a pecuniary point of view, to publish any work of fiction on commis- sion, and indeed to pay anything towards the production of this kind of literature. But com- mission agreements are not only useful, but sometimes essential, for books of a technical nature; and in the case of these books, if the system is carefully managed, the result to the author in the end is perhaps more satisfactory than any other form of publication. In publishing on commission the author should take care before entering into the contract— 1. That the cost of production is only that which will be actually incurred. 2. That he can prevent charges for advertising where no money is paid. 3. That he can keep control of the advertising, the amount to be expended and the papers chosen for the advertisements. 4. That he can check the charges made for corrections. (For further details see " Methods of Publish- ing," p- 63.) It may be of use, however, to print a letter of agreement, which came before the Society, and can be ranked under this head. A Proposed Agreement. "Dear Sir,—I have made a calculation respect- ing your MS., and shall be willing to publish it on the following arrangement in two volumes: "I will take the entire responsibility of its production, and the working expenses upon myself, including advertisement, if you will arrange to be responsible for 250 copies at the trade price of 12s. 6c?., or whatever number of copies is needed to bring the sale up to the quantity, if it has not been reached six months after the date of publication; the published price being 21*. Thus, if we are unfortunate enough, to sell only 150 copies, I sa^^d ask «o^Vo 100 at the price named, v. -^e "Vy you would not be troubled fcvrtWT lD^wtttVB? pavment. The plan is one tWsC tte^°^ worked upon, and is an « <&» * * ## p. 16 (#32) ############################################## i6 THE AUTHOR. author is not responsible for the initial expenses of production, advertising, reviewing, Ac, and all sales during the time specified go to the reduction of his liability, and, if the work is fairly successful, it is published without expense to the author. "If this proposal meets with your approval, kindly let me hear from you, "Tours faithfully, "X." The preceding letter is not a letter written specially for one case, but is a formula. Others almost exactly the same have been before the Society from the same publishers again and again. Let us consider exactly what this means. The author is invited to guarantee 250 copies of the book at 12*. 6d. each. That is to say, the author guarantees a sale amounting to 156/. 5*., so that the publisher on these figures is certain— the book being one of average length for such a price—of a good profit in any event. By this means, too, the author's and publisher's interests are at opposite poles. It is the pub- lisher's interest for the first six months not to push the book, so that he may obtain all the author's cash as under the agreement, and subse- quently to push the book that he may obtain all the profit. If the book proves worthless—it will be observed that nothing is said about the merits of the case —it is certain not to reach the sale of 250. But suppose the book turns out to be good and to have a sale of 1000, 2000, anything, what then becomes of the profits? It does not appear from the letter that the author is to have any share at all in them. But, perhaps, there was to be a subsequent letter providing for the division of profits. As far as the letter goes, if the sale reaches or exceeds 250 copies, the author neither makes nor loses any money. If it falls short, he pays the difference. In some cases the publisher has been requested to state what share of profits the author is to have: a letter conies back, again a formula, that he will pay 10 per cent, after the sale of the first edition. No mention is however made of the number of the edition, and 10 per cent, is an absolutely ridiculous royalty when the author actually guarantees the cost of production. The third method is that of profit sharing. This method cannot be too strongly condemned on account of the complicated statement of accounts which is generally rendered. To an ordinary individual publishers' accounts are most difficult to understand, and in some cases are intentionally made so. (See "Methods of Publishing," page 29, half profit system; page 75, advertisements; page 83, author's corrections.) Even when the bona fides on both sides is indisputable, cases of difference of opinion are likely to occur. Either the book is over adver- tised, or advertised in the wrong papers, and therefore the profits are reduced; or the book is under-advertised and the sales thereby curtailed. Again, the amount charged for corrections, which it is almost impossible to check, may lead to a feeling of distrust, where especially (for a profit- sharing arrangement is a gwasi-partnership) there should be confidence. The writer of technical books of all sorts should beware of this form of agreement, as publishers often put forward this method of publishing as equitable where there is some risk of the sales not covering the cost of production, or of the book going slowly. If, however, the author desires to publish under this system he should obtain before entering into an agreement an estimate of the cost of produc- tion from the publisher. To this he should add the sum to be agreed upon in advertising, over which he should retain some control, and an approximate amount for author's corrections. After reckoning the total that would arise from a reasonable sale of the work, he should see whether there could be any profit left to be divided. The words "incidental expenses" are often inserted in a half-profit agreement, referring to the cost of production. This term is very un- satisfactory, and should if possible be struck out. As, however, some publishers will not enter into an agreement on this basis without demanding some deduction for office rent, expenses, &c. (the charge of "office expenses" has been fre- quently combatted in the Author), it may some- times be found policy to yield on this point. In such a case the difficulty ought to be met by some fixed sum, say 5 per cent, on the cost of produc- tion of the book. This, though the best attain- able, clause is still unsatisfactory, as it con- travenes the great basis of all agreements between the author and the publisher, namely, that their interests should if possible be in common. Office expenses, of course, if they are considered by one of the three persons concerned with the sale of a book, should bo considered by all. The fourth method is that of royalty. This is the simplest and most convenient form of agreement, the accounts are clear and easily understood, and to check them involves but little labour. The system of deferred Royalty. 1. After cost of production has been covered. 2. After the sale of a certain number of copies are dealt with in "Methods of Publishing," pp. 48 to 62. Here it need only be said that the first of these ## p. 17 (#33) ############################################## THE AUTHOR. '7 methods is absolutely inadmissible as involving all the objections of the profit-sharing arrange- ment, and that the second is only admissible if the royalty is proporti aiably increased after the sale of the stated number, and if the author is sure that the publishers stipulate to print a larger number than the number stated on which no royalty is paid. Now that some stand has been made to sell books at a net figure, authors should he careful that their royalty is paid on the published price, and that the book is not going to be sold net. Fifteen per cent, on the published price of an ordinary six-shilling book is equivalent to 18 per cent, on a net book at 5*. Every author who cannot command the highest scale, should, however small the royalty offered him, stipulate for an increase with increased sales. The system of a royalty increasing with the sales is equitable to both parties, and the author thereby avoids being dependent on the "gene- rosity" of the publisher if the sales are large. There are no doubt some royalties which cannot be increased, or in other words some authors, on account of their popularity, can demand the highest royalty from the beginning. An example of an increasing royalty would be, say, 10 per cent, of the published price on the sale of the first 500 copies, 15 per cent, up to 1000, 17! after the sale of 1000, &c, &c. This form of payment by royalty is very con- venient for educational works. It may be doubt- ful whether an educational book will be taken up by the educational centres—if it should fail to be accepted the book can only stand a small royalty. Should the work, however, meet with the approval of teachers, it will sell in its thousands, and the returns will be great. A suc- cessful educational work, for instance, has a far greater circulation than any popular novel. As agreements have been from time to time offered where the royalty decreases with the increased circulation, it is only necessary after the former statement to mention that such an arrangement is worse than absurd. If the book is a prize book in the book lottery, the author will reap a proportionate return, and no publisher who is desirous of dealing fairly with authors will object, when the book is selling in its thousands, to paying the author accordingly, but it must be under agreement. Agreements. It has been thought advisable to print one or two forms of agreement in full, so as to shoW what are the clauses disadvantageous ^ foe author. A publisher is certainly within his rights in making any stipulations and terms he pleases. It is for the author, before acceptance, to ascertain what they mean. The following is a verbatim copy of a printed agreement. "Memorandum op Agreement made this day of 189 , between (hereinafter called 'the author,') for himself, his executors, administrators, and assigns, of the one part, and (hereinafter called the 'publishers') for themselves, their executors, administrators, and assigns of the other part. Whereas the author is the proprietor of copyright in a work at present entitled which he has requested the publishers to publish on the terms and conditions hereinafter appearing. It is hereby agreed between the author and the publisher, as follows:— "1. That, subject to the hereinafter payments, the author hereby assigns to the publishers the exclusive light of printing and publishing the above work in serial and book form in Great Britain, its colonies and dependencies, in the United States of America, and in English on the Continent of Europe, and in all other countries, unless, and until rights are assigned as in clause 7 thereof. "2. That all details as to the time and manner of production, publication, and advertisement, and the number and destination of free copies, shall be left to the sole discretion of the publishers, who shall hear all expenses of production, publica- tion, and advertisement, except the amount (if any) by which the cost of corrections of proofs, other than printers' errors, as per printers' invoice, exceeds an average of 5*. per sheet of sixteen pages of printed matter, which amount shall be borne by the author. "3. That the published price of the first edition shall on publication be (say 6s.) per copy, but the publishers shall have power in their discre- tion to alter the published price of any editions as they may think fit, and sell the residue of any edition at a reduced price or as a remainder. "4. That the pub ishers shall deliver to the author, ou the 29th day of September of each year, a statement of the number of copies sold, whether singly, or in editions or remainders, and whether in the British Dominions or elsewhere during the year before the preceding 30th day of March, with the price or prices at which such copies were sold. "5. That the publishers shall, at the time of delivery of said statement, pay to tV^e *u^or on all such copies sold after i QJL at al^. c Ytf^ published price, a royalty ^sJoK" \m1lv lished price, and on all suc-K • ca «vt ^ "Vv^ their published price, a ^fT, V»< <95aV ## p. 18 (#34) ############################################## i8 THE AUTHOR. on the net receipts of such sales; and on all copies sold as remainders, that is, below one quarter of the published price, the royalties shall be per cent, on the net receipts of such sales. In calculating such royalties thirteen copies shall be reckoned as twelve, and no royalties shall be paid upon any copies presented to the author, or others, or to the Press, or upon copies destroyed by fire. The publishers shall pay to the author on publication the sum of £ in the place of royalty on the first iooo copies sold. "6. That should the publishers issue a special edition for sale in the British Colonies and depen- dencies only, they shall pay to the author, on all copies of such sold, a royalty of per cent, on the net receipts of such sales, payable as and when provided in clause 5 hereof. "7. That the publishers shall have the sole right to sell or assign the Serial, American, Colonial, Continental, Translation, and Dramatic rights in the above work, and the publishers shall pay to the author one-half of the profits from the sale of the same, such accounts to be payable as and when provided in clause 5 hereof. In the case of stereo-plates, electro-plates, or shells with rights being sold, the net profits of their sales, after deducting the invoiced cost of their production, shall be received, divided, and paid over in the same way. "8. That the publishers give no guarantee of securing the copyright outside of the United Kingdom, and do not bind themselves to issue special Colonial or Continental editions, or to sell serial, translation, or dramatic rights. "9. That the author shall be entitled to receive on publication presentation copies of the first edition of the work, and shall have the right to purchase further copies for personal use at half the published price, net. "10. That when any edition of the said work has beeu sold out the publishers shall not be bound to reprint it; but if the publishers shall not within one month after receiving a written request from the author decide to publish a further edition, the author shall be at liberty to make such arrangements as he thinks fit for the publication of any further editions, provided he takes over the moulds, stereo or electro plates, or other similar plant used for the above work, at their net cost as per iuvoice. "11. That the author guarantees to the publishers that the said work is in no way what- soever a violation of any copyright belonging to any other party, and that it contains nothing of an objectionable or libellous character, and that he and his legal representatives shall and will hold harmless the publishers from all suits, and all manner of claims and proceedings which may be taken on the ground that the said work is such violation, or contains anything objectionable or libellous. The author undertakes to execute on the request of the publishers any document or documents to confirm the transfer of any of the rights defined in the clauses 1 and 7 hereof, and to take all proceedings necessary to enforce his copyright in the British dominions, and else- where, on receiving a suitable indemnity against costs (if any). The author shall allow his name to be used in all such proceedings, and in a:l formalities necessary for registration of copy- right." Comments on the Agreement. Take first the statement of the parties to the agreement and the recital. It is a great mistake to contract with the executors, administrators, and assigns of a publisher. Publishing is a personal contract. This has been decided in the courts, and this position ought to be maintained. It is of the utmost importance to an author that the contract should not be assigned, and that in case of bankruptcy or death he should again have the right of choosing his publisher. The recital also is amusing, " a work which he (the author) has requested his publishers to publish 011 the terms and conditions hereinafter appearing." Did he make the request joined with these terms and conditions'( He could hardly have been so foolish, he knew nothing of these terms and conditions until they were thrust down his throat. Clause 1. Under this clause the publishers ask for all the book rights, all over the world, which is a great deal, but that is not all. They also ask for the serial rights all over the world. In addition to being publishers, then, they are thus at liberty to act as authors' agents and syndi- caters. The remuneration they ask for this will be considered below. There are a few rights still left to the author, and these it will be seen are secured under clause 7 to the publishers. Under this clause the author assigns nearly all his rights. Do the publishers undertake to do anything? Certainly not. In clause 8 this will be further explained. They do not even undertake to pub- lish an English edition, but have only bound the author to assign them the right to publish. Clause 2. If they had undertaken the publica- tion of an English edition, they have not bound themselves to time. This is extremely important. They might wait until they got rid of all the serial rights in England and America, or, if the author was unknown, until he made his name and thus they would get an enhanced sale at low terms, or, lastly, if the book was an educational or other technical work, they might keep an author in check while they ran a more successful man and thus hold control of the market. The manner of ## p. 19 (#35) ############################################## THE AUTHOR. »9 production, publication, and advertisement is left to the publishers. This if read with other clauses might be fair. The unfairness appears, however, as the reader proceeds, and will be explained. Corrections.—The amount to be borne by the author for corrections (i.e., beyond 5*. per sheet of sixteen pages) is considerably larger than is ordinarily charged; 10s. and 15s. per sheet of sixteen pages is the more common arrangement. In any case the clause is badly drawn, because it does not explain what is the meaning of 5*. a sheet. What is the connection of shillings and corrections? Clause 3. The manner of publication was left in the hands of the publishers. This would be correct if it was subsequently agreed and the author knew that an edition was to be produced at a certain price. But this is not the case. The publishers can alter the published price and, take note, "can sell the residue of any edition at a reduced price or as a remainder." Clause 4 is a distinctly bad clause, as by this arrangement the publisher may retain the author's money for the benefit of his own business for over a year. The accounts are made up annually and delivered six months afterwards, when payment is made. It is possible, if the book, say, is pro- duced in April, and the largest sales take place during April and May, that the author's money will lie with the publisher until September year, nearly fifteen months. Clause 5 refers to the work evidently uf a young author, but it is the form of the clause more than the payment after 1000 copies that is so objection- able. It must be remembered here especially that under clauses 2 and 3 the manner of publica- tion and price of the work were left to the discretion of the publishers. If they therefore publish, and then sell below half price under the agreement, they can pay the author on the net returns instead of on the published price. In fact, < ases have been known to occur where the large-t sales of the book to the public libraries were made below half price, and accounts ren- dered accordingly. All that part of the clause which refers to lhe payment of royalty on copies sold below half price should be rejected. The clause is altogether badly drawn, and should in a proper agreement be remodelled. Clause 6, as it at present stands, without any price being inserted, is fair. Copies are sold to the Colonies in sheets at cheap rates, and payment is then made by a royalty on the net returns. The ultimate fairness of the agreement depends, of course, upon the amount of royalty. Clause 7 is another remarkable clause. Under clause 1 it will be remembered that the publishers obtained nearly all the rights the author possessed. Under clause 7 they claim the right to sell and assign the remainder of those rights, and, as they are only acting as agents, it would be thought that they would only make agency charges, that is, from 10 to 15 per cent, on the returns, but on the contrary, they demand jo per cent. Even should the author dramatise his work, and should it be successfully produced at a theatre, he can only do so with the publishers' consent, and then he will have to pay the publishers 50 per cent, of all the returns he gets. Should a foreign author offer him a sum down for the translation, he can only sell with the consent of the publishers, to whom again he must pay half the returns. Clause 8. It will be remembered that under clauses 1 and 7 the publishers obtain all the rights (with the exception of the bare shell of copyright) that the author had to sell, and it will be also remembered that the publishers did not undertake to publish or in fact do anything. In clause 8 the publishers expressly state that they give no guarantee of securing the copyright out of the United Kingdom, and do not bind them- selves to issue special colonial or continental editions, or to sell serial translations or dramatic rights. Perhaps it would be too much for the author to ask them to guarantee this, but they do not even bind themselves to make the attempt to do their best for the book generally. Clause 9 is, perhaps, the only clause which needs no comment. Clause 10 only refers, reading it with the agree- ment on the whole, to the publication of the English editions. All the other rights are still to be retained by the publishers under the agreement, that is, dramatic translations and other important matters of this kind. With regard to the English book rights, it is, perhaps, a reasonable clause with the exception of the latter part. The author should certainly not bind himself to take over what might be useless stereo-plates and similar plant (the latter appears very indefinite) "at their cost price." If they are taken over it should be at a valuation. Clause 11. The first part of this clause can be accepted as the ordinary guarantee clause, and the latter part is merely formal, and binds the author to do what he has undertaken. The financial side of this agreement has been omitted, but if the royalties that were actually proposed and agreed to were inserted, it would have been possible to write two or three more very eloquent and interesting paragraphs on the subject. Q. H. Thring. (To fee continued.) ## p. 20 (#36) ############################################## 20 THE AUTHOR. MR. PUTNAM ON EARLY BOOS PRODUCTION. THE first volume of Mr. George Haven Putnam's work on "Books and Their Makers during the Middle Ages " has just appeared in New York and London (G. P. Putnam's Sons. ios. 6c?.). A previous work by him dealt with the relations between author and public in the classic ages; in the present one the story is taken up from the fall of the Roman Empire. Part I. of this volume is devoted to Books in Manuscript, and Part II. to The Earlier Printed Books. This brings the history from 476 to 1600; and in the volume to follow the work will be completed, namely, to the close of the seventeenth century. We are shown here, to begin with, how that intellectual interest was maintained during the social disorganisation of the early middle ages—for seven centuries after the fall of the Roman Empire—in the first place by the scribes of the Roman Church: "the incentive to literary labour being no longer the laurel crown of the circus, the favours of a patron, or the honoraria of the publishers, but the glory of God and the service of the Church." Then comes an account of the work of the Universities in the production of literature, following which the services of the earlier printer-publishers of Europe, and the revolution after the invention of printingin 1450, are dealt with. The author is loud in admiration for these early printer-publishers, and remarks that when at one time we see the presses of Aldus in Venice devoted almost exclu- sively to classic literature, those of Basel and Nuremberg to the work of the Church fathers, in Paris editions of the Scriptures being multi- plied, and in London a long series of romances and fabliaux being produced—" we may under- sta> d that we have to do not with a series of accidental public selections, but with the results of a definite purpose and policy on the part of capable and observing men, a policy which gives an indication of the nature and interests of their several communities, while it characterises also the aims and the individual ideals of the pub- lishers themselves." The publishing work of Aldus, says Mr. Putnam, while it does not give us precedents for royalty or copyright arrange- ments, is nevertheless very important in the history of property in literature: Aldus was able, by combining skilled editorial labour with seleoted classics, to create a great literary property, which needed only distributing macbinery and a peaceable Europe to beoome commercially valuable. He set the example also, for Italy at least, of securing privileges in each of the Italian States possessing any literary centres, and although he was not always able to prevent piratical reprinting on the part of his competitors in Florence, or even always to keep out of other cities in Italy the piracy editions from Lyons, he accomplished something towards the ideal of a copyright that should hold good for Italian territory. He even had hopes of securing, through the authority of the Pope, a system of copyright that should prove effective in all Catholic States, and it was not until long after Aldus's death that the attempts to establish a Catholic copyright system were given up by publishers as practically futile. Mr. Putman therefore places with the earlier printer-publishers the credit for securing the preliminary recognition of property in literature; and they bore also, he says, the chief burden of the long contest for the freedom of the Press from the censorship of Church and State, which in certain communities had appeared likely to throttle literary production altogether. "I can but think," he continues in his preface— I can but think that the historians of literature and the students of the social and political conditions on which literary production is so largely dependent, have failed to do full justice to men like Aldus, the Estiennes, Froben, Koberger, and Plantin, who fought so sturdily against the pretensions of Pope, bishop, or monarch to stand between the printing-press and the people, and to decide what should and what should not be printed. The author expresses a hope that in the near future some competent authority may prepare a history of copyright law, in doing which these volumes may be useful. His purpose has been, he says, to present a study of the conditions of literary production in Europe prior to copyright law; and the copyright legislation of Europe may be said to begin with the English statute of 1710 known as the Act of Queen Anne. BOOK TALK. JOHN BICKERDYKE," author of "A Banished Beauty," "Days in Thule with Rod, Gun, and Camera," &c, has just published a new novel called "Lady Val's Elope- ment" (Hutchinson and Co.). He has also in the press a book on the " Wild Sports of Ireland," which he will publish through Mr. Upcott Gill. The district which occupies the greater part of the work is the Shannon with its lakes. The book will be illustrated 'by photographs taken by the author. The subscribers' price is 3*. 6c?. a copy, to be obtained of Mr. Upcott Gill, 170, Strand, London, W.C. Two new volumes of verse are announced. One by Miss A. C. Macdonald, called "Lays of the Heather;" the other by E. M. Pledge, called "Loving Whispers." Both will be published by Elliott Stock. Mr. George Morley's "Leafy Warwickshire" has been doing well, and winning good opinions. In his new venture he does not desert Warwick- ## p. 21 (#37) ############################################## THE AUTHOR. shire. It is to be a book of pastoral stories called "In Rustic Livery." There are four stories. The publishers will be Messrs. Dent and Co., Aldine House. The book is dedicated to the author's friend, Mr. Eden Philpotts. The Eev. W. B. Wallace has just published a volume of stories entitled "The Clue of Ariadne," a dramatic story: "Princess Aseneth," another of the stories, is a metaphysical romance dealing with some of the problems of life and death from a platonic standpoint. The Roxburghe Press are the publishers. No. 27 of the Humanitarian League's well- known series of publications will be on the vaccination question, by Mr. Joseph Collinson, who has written a good deal about the subject. Mr. Collinson's convictions are on the side of those who doubt and distrust the practice, and he advocates the total and immediate repeal of the compulsory law. Under the title "Missarium Sacrificia" the Rev. N. Diniock has compiled a volume of English divines, in respect of the claim of the " massing priest" to offer Christ for the quick and the dead, to have remission of pain or guilt. The work, which will occupy between 200 and 300 pages, will have an extended introduction by the compiler, and will be published by Mr. Elliot Stock. The same firm announce "The Super- natural, a Rational View of the Divine Word and the Dual Nature of Man," by Katholikos, with an introduction by Prebendary Reynolds. Messrs. Bliss, Sands, and Poster request us to state that they have moved to 12, Burleigh-street, Strand, Sir George Newnes's old offices, where the Strand Magazine was born. The name of the firm will in future be Bliss, Sands, and Co. The fantastic theme of a book by Mr. W. H. Pullen, which Messrs. Dent will publish imme- diately, is a trip from Mount Olympus to London. It is called " Venus and Cupid." "A School for Saints" is the title of a new story by John Oliver Hobbes, which is about to appear. It will also be adapted for the stage as a three-act comedy. Mr. Jaakoff Prelooker, the lecturer on Russia, and the author of "Under the Czar and Queen Victoria," has written a novel entitled "Palasha and Masha—Two Sisters," which Messrs. Nisbet are to publish. The Rev. P. H. Ditchfield has written "The Sorceress of Paris: A Tale of the Days of Richelieu," which Messrs. Sampson Low and Co. will publish. Among early volumes of fiction to appear will be a story of society life by Sir W. Nevill Geary, entitled "A Lawyer's W"ife"; "Neta for the Wind," by Miss Una Taylor,- and "Gold," a Dutch-Indian novel by Miss Annie Linden. These will be published by Mr. Lane. Mr. John C. Kenworthy has a short story in the press of the Brotherhood Publishing Company, entided " The World's Last Passage." The author brings his tale to a head with certain conclusions upon life and death, which are said to be treated in a somewhat novel manner. Any one having letters of Mrs. Browning is asked to lend tbem to Messrs. Smith Elder and Co., the publishers, for use in a collection which is being prepared for publication by Mr. F. G. Kenyon. The second volume in Lane's Library, a new series of fiction, issuing of course from the Bodley Head, will be "The Sentimental Sex," by Miss Gertrude Warden, and the next "Gold," by Mrs. Annie Linden. Mr. Theodore Watts Dunton makes an announcement regaiding the unpublished pceins, by Rossetti, in his possession. He is m;iking arrangements to publish within the present year "Jan Van Hunks" and the "Sphinx Sonnets." The former of these will show a new and, he thinks, unexpected side of Rossetti's genius. Mr. Dunton, moreover, is engaged writing Rossetti's life, as to which he says, "I shall be able, and honestly al»le, to paint a much more cheerful picture of him that any that has yet been painted." Dr. Traill has put together a series of articles written during a couple of winter tours in Egypt, the last of which he finished just before the advance into the Soudan commenced. The book is called " i'roni Cairo to the Soudan Frontier," and will be published by Mr. Lane in a few dd.ys. The first three volumes in a series of Harvard Historical Studies are about to be published by Messrs. Longmans—namely, "The Suppression of the African Slave Trade to the United States of America, 1638-1870," by Dr. E. B. du Bois; "The Contest over the Ratification of the Federal Constitution in Massachusetts," by S. B. Har.ling; and " A Critical Study of Nullification in South Carolina," by D. F. Houston. Mr. Mackenzie Bell has ready for publication his volume on Christiana Rossetti, in which there will be many personal recollections. Three hitherto unknown manuscripts by Charlotte Bronte will be offered for sale by Messrs. Sotheby, Wilkinson, and Hodge this month. The first was written in 1830, when she was only fourteen years old, the second in 1833, and the third in 1836. Until recently they were in the possession of a descendent of the family residing in the West of England. A. number of Pope and Swift letters are also to ty> disposed of by Messrs. Christie on the 4th ## p. 22 (#38) ############################################## 22 THE AUTHOR. vast., namely, the letters addressed by Pope to William Fortescue between the years 1730 and 1744, and those of Swift to Charles Ford, Esq., 'besides some written to the same gentleman by Pope, Parnell, and Gay. Swift's letters cover the period between 1713-36, and are ten in number. Mr. Augustine Birrell, Q.C., M.P., has put into book form the popular lectures on the duties and liabilities of trustees which he delivered some time ago in the Inner Temple. Messrs. Macmillan will publish the work. An edition of "Res Judicata," by the same author, will be published shortly by Mr. Elliot Stock in a style correspond- ing with the new edition of '■ Obiter Dicta." Mr. Andrew Lang is editing the Poems of Burns and revising Lockhart's Life of Scott. The former is to be out for the Burns centenary next month, and the new Lockhart will appear in the autumn. A new edition of Burton's " Anatomy of Melan- choly " is being prepared by Mr. Aid is Wright. Mr. Wright will trace the references, and verify the quotations employed in the classic. Mrs. Macquoid will publish her travel book, entitled "In the Volcanic Eifel," in a few days (Hutchinson and Co.). Mrs. Macquoid h.is been assisted by her son Mr. Gilbert Mac- quoid, and it is illustrated by Mr. Thomas R. Macquoid, R.I., with many drawings. This interesting and beautiful region is very little known by the British tourist; yet it is easy of access, and the hotel accommodation is reasonable. Mrs. Macquoiil's book should open up a new held for the Briton on holiday. Except for the author's sake one would wish that it might remain unknown. It may bo considered as a favourable sign of the advanced stage which the study of German has attained in this country that a fourth edition should have been required of Goethe's "Iphigenie auf Tauris," published by Prof. Buchheim at the Clarendon Press, with an Introduction and a complete Commentary. In the former the editor takes great pains to show that the critics who found fault with Goethe because he did not represent real Greek characters in his drama, are utterly wrong, since the poet had no intention whatever of writing a play in the spirit of antiquity. We are also pleased to find that Lessing's delightful comedy, "Minna von Barn- helm," provided by Dr. Buchheim with bio- graphical and critical Introductions and annota- tions, has reached a seventh thoroughly revised edition. A second and enlarged edition of " The Pocket Guide to Cycling," by Mr. Ernest M. Bowden, has just been issued, and contains, besides a good deal of additional literary matter, a large number of illustrations. The book is of a purely practical character, and the first edition, though not illustrated, was exceedingly well received by the cycling world. A new volume of Nature Sketches, by Mr. Percy Standing, is announced bv Mr. Elliot Stock, under the title "On This High Wold." The studies are arranged in the order of the seasons, and relate to a well-known district in the north country. Mr. D. F. Hannigan, the translator of Flaubert's " La Tentation de Saint Antoine," is engaged upon translating the same writer's "Bouvard et Pccuchet " for Mr. H. S. Nicholls, of 3, Soho-square. His historical story of Ireland during the Jacobite period, called "Luttrell's Doom," is published by Messrs. Moran and Co., of Aberdeen. The article in last month's Westminster Review on "The Victorian Age of Literature and its Critics," is also by the same author. It was stated in last month's Author that Tuer's " History of the Horn Book" was in three volumes. It is in two, not in three. The work has proved highly successful. Mr. R. Andom sends a copy of his new book entitled "Industrial Explorings in and Around London" (James Clarke and Co.). Out of the innumerable industries which are carried on in this great city, he lias given us an account of twelve, with details as to the processes, which are certainly new to most of his readers. "London and Country Rambles with Charles Dickens," by Robert Allbut (Sheppard and St. John), contains eight excursions to various parts of London and other places taken from Dickens's novels. The book shows a considerable amount of research and verification. Mr. Sam Wood forwards a copy of his " Random Rhymes" (W. R. Massie, Barnsley). Let him speak for himself: Let us be friends: wo may not now be more: Your silent glances make but poor amends For all my pain. If nougbt will love restore, Let us be friends. Love to my heart its fire no longer lends: 'Tis chilled and hardened to its very core: No quickening beat your presence now attends. Yet would I not forget the joys of yore; And now that Fate has worked its cruel ends, Shake hands and smile: for my sake, I implore, Let us be friends. Mr. Mackenzie Bell publishes (Ward, Lock, and Bowden) a second edition of "Spring's Immor- tality and other Poems." We venture to congratu- late the author upon the success of his work. Mr. Elrington sends us his " Guide to Youghal." Intending tourists to Ireland will please make a note of it. ## p. 23 (#39) ############################################## THE AUTHOR. 23 Mr. Charles Moore Jessop, physician to St. Pancras and Northern Dispensary, publishes a pamphlet called "Dress and Health," an Appeal to Antiquity and Common Sense. The essay on "Dress and Health" is prefixed by one on "The Value of Fluid Meat Food." CORRESPONDENCE. I.—Grab-alls of Literature. Here is another instance of shabby treatment under this head. From time to time I have con- tributed sketches to a country journal without ever receiving any remuneration. After the appearance of the last, I wrote to the editor suggesting that some payment would be appre- ciated. I also reminded him that my name had been long since removed from the free list of the paper. He replied that the articles had always been looked upon as gratuitous, but that if I sent them an occasional sketch the proprietors would reinstate me upon their free list. As the sub- scription is, presumably, 6*. 6d. per annum, 1 declined this generous proposal as- being scarcely proportionate. The rest is silence. Cecil Clarke. Authors' Club, S.W., May 18. LT.—Postage of Proofs. For I know not how many years it has been my habit to wrap up corrected proofs—leaders and articles for a newspaper—put a string around them and address, without cover, affixing a half- penny stamp. This month our sagacious post- office has discovered that corrected proofs without one syllable of personal matter or allusion therein, of course, are "in the nature of a letter," and it makes an extra charge of a penny. An unusually wide experience of post-offices in Europe has convinced me that ours, at this time, is unequalled for stupidity and backwardness. This is the latest example. _ u. A Journalist. III.—Does a Good Review Help a Book? In " Notes and News" of the last number of the Author, there is a paragraph on the reviewing of books and its advantage to the author. Now, I have often wondered whether good reviews of a book increase the sale or not. I admit that it is a cheap form of advertisement; but I firmly believe that a real good slating increases the demand for a book six times as much as a favourable critique. I have written several novels, and out of nearly two hundred reviews of them. tnat I have seen, there have not been six really unfavourable ones, about twenty were neutral and stereotyped, the remainder were distinctly commendatory. Though my books have never been reviewed in the Times, they have been noticed in nearly all the leading London journals, including those of a literary character. I was so pleased with the praise given to one of my works that I had extracts from the reviews reprinted, and sent several hundreds of copies to my friends. I do not think they increased the sale by half a dozen. In my opinion the circulation of a book is principally in the power of the circulating library. The works of a well-known author are ordered in large quantities, and people ask and read " X.'s last," because it may very likely be discussed in conversation, and everyone likes to be up to date. Only one copy is taken of the unknown author's book, and if there be a demand for it, and it is not available, the librarian is always ready with an excuse, and offers " X.'s last" as a substitute. In the town where I am known, my books have a certain vogue, and have been added to the stock of the libraries. I took one of them from the book- shelves a short time ago and examined it; it had been rebound, many pages were missing, it was dirty, dogeared, and full of marginal notes and interlineations, all of which was very gratifying to the author. "This book seems to have had a fair amount of wear," I remarked to the lady librarian. "Oh, yes, it is almost always out," she replied. "Why don't you get a new copy? Many pages of this one are missing," I suggested. "We never increase our stock more than we can help," tshe answered, aud I fancy that is the general rule. I am not an embittered man. I write books because it gives me pleasure to do so, though it costs me greater labour than most authors, as I have not received an academic education. I think, however, I have been mainly encouraged to continue writing by the very favourable reviews my books have obtained. C. H. LITERATURE IN THE PERIODICALS, The Literary Commercial. Manchester Quarterly for April. Colour Sense in Literature. J. Havelock Ellis. Contemporary Review for May. On the Kind of Fiction Called Morbid. Vincent O'Snllivan. Savoy for April. The Victorian Aoe of Literature and its Critics. P. F. Hannigan. Westminster Review for May. Leigh Hunt. F. Warre Cornish. Temple Bar for Jnne. Modern Norwegian Literature.—I. Bjornstjerno Pjornson. Forum for May. ## p. 24 (#40) ############################################## 24 THE AUTHOR. Matthew Arnold. G. W. E. Ruaaell. Commonwealth for May. Humoub in Fiction. Professor Tyrrel. Saturday Review for May 23. The Gospel According to the Novelists.—HI. George Eliot. W. J. Dawson. Young Man for June. A Fresh View of Dean Swift. Wm. Barry, D.D. Contemporary Review for May. Some Memories of Hawthorne.—IV. Rose Haw- thorne Lathrop. Atlantic Monthly for May. Letters of D. G. Bossetti.—I. 1854. George Birk- beok Hill. Atlantic Monthly for May. Hermann Sudermann. Atlantic Monthly for May. Haunts of the Poets: The Emerald Isle and Moore. Edwin Lester Arnold. Atalanta for June. Notable Beviews. Of Professor Nettlesbip's "Lectures and Essays." Athemeum for May 2. Of B. Le Gallienne's " Betrospective Beviews: A Literary Log." Saturday Review for May 16, Spectator for May 16. Of "The Paget Papers." Times for May 6. Of Stevenson's "Weir of Hermiston." Times for May 27. There is a void in a literature for the commercial man, according to a writer in the Manchester Quarterly. Mr. Wilcock begins by joining literature and commerce in partnership; it was not always so, he says regretfully, but now certainly iiterature is a money-making business. But, on the other hand, if a man took the present teachings of literature into his commerce, they would ruin him. Unless he be a rich man, those beautiful ideals which evolve from good reading must remain creatures of reverie. "The lessons of poetry, the conclusions of our deepest, thinkers, are at variance with the customs of trade." A special literature, therefore, is wanted for the literaiy commercial man. Mr. Wilcock explains the want, and how it can be met: In all the glorious realms of literature the commercial man finds nothing set directly to the circumstances created by the nervous excitement of this material age. The complica- tion of interests, the entanglement of principles, nay, the constant endeavour of men to create new principles to fit the occasion have not yet been grasped by the literary world. ... A genuine commercial literature must be produced by men direotly engaged in commerce, who daily and hourly can turn a moral mioroscope upon humanity as it works under an infinity of influences in commerce, and who see a "sort of dry and flat Sahara crowded with petty grotesque malformations, phantoms, playing meaningless antics." Meaningless they would indeed appear to the non-practised eye, but to him who knows what passes for commercial tact and smartness, full of intent and method. Mr. Wilcock rates highly the importance of the literary commercial man in the future. The old haphazard mode of doing business is killing itself out, he says, and men need more than money-bags to go to market with. Individual character is the backbone, and " the development of character is the aim of literature." With him lies the improvement of commercial customs and the com- prehension of right principles. A precise test as to whether latter-day art has degenerated is offered, writes Mr. Havelock Ellis, by the colour sense in literature. The evidence of this test by no means furnishes support for the the theory of decadence. "On the contrary, it shows that the decadence, if anywhere, was at the end of last century, and that our own vision of the world is fairly one with that of classic time, with Chaucer's and with Shakespeare's. At the end of the nineteenth century we can say this for the first time since Shakespeare died." In bringing forward this test, Mr. Ellis claims that it has two uses at least: It is first an instrument for investigating a writer's personal psychology by defining the nature of his (esthetic colour vision. When we have ascertained a writer's colour- formula and his colours of predilection, we can tell at a glance simply and reliably something about his view of the world which pages of description could only tell us with uncertainty. In the second place it enables us to take a definite step in the attainment of a scientific (esthetic, by furnishing a means of comparative study. By its help we can trace the oolours of the world as mirrored in literature from age to age, from country to oountry, and in finer shades among the writers of a single group. The writer of the article selected a series of imaginative writers, chiefly poets, from the dawn of literature to our own day, and noted the main colour words that occurred in their works, and how they were used. He presents tabulated results of this inquiry. Mr. D. F. Hannigan differs from Mr. Frederic Harrison in estimation of the Victorian age of literature. No greater novelists have appeared in England than our best writers of fiction during the last two decades, he says; and as for the materials of romance, they were never more plentiful — witness Jamieson's raid into the Transvaal and Nansen's apparently successful discovery of the North Pole. "What we most need," says Mr. Hannigan, " is a better educated public, who will be able to appreciate literature as literature-—a thing rendered unfortunately very difficult, owing to the appetite for sensa- tionalism and the prevalence of half-knowledge, which is of course only another word for super- ficiality." Mr. Vincent Sullivan appeals for greater tolera- tion to be shown to the unusual in fiction, to the man who introduces the thin presence of death. He is alarmed that "nowadays we seem to nourish our morals with the thinnest milk and water, with a good dose of sugar added, and not a suspicion of lemon at all." Dr. Birbeck Hill contributes in the Atlantic the first of a series of articles in which the letters written by D. G. Rossetti to Mr. Allingham— personally most interesting lights on the poet's character—are given. ## p. 24 (#41) ############################################## A D VERTISEMENTiS. iii Demy 8vo., with Map and Illustrations, price 10s. 6d. AN AUSTRALIAN IN CHINA: Being the Narrative of a Quiet Journey Across China to British Burma. By G. E. MOEEISON, M.B.C.lvr. Kdin., F.R.G-.S. ** Mr. Morrison la an Australian doctor who has achieved probably the most remarkable journey through the Flowery Land ever attempted by a Christian ... He was entirely unarmed and unaccompanied, save for the coolies who carried his baggage. Such a journey—three thousand miles in length—could not fall to present many curious customs and as many curious people. But It is owing entirely to Dr. Morrison's graphic manner of description, and his acutely keen observation, that his travels are such a reality to the reader. This portly volume Is one of the most interesting books of travel of the many published this year. It is frank, original, and quite ungarnished by adventitious colouring."—St. James's Budget. "One of the most interesting books of travel we remember to have read."—European Mail. "A very lively book of travel. . . , His account of the walk of 15<10 miles from Chungking to Burma, over the remotest districts of Western China, Is full of interest."—The Time*. "Dr. Morrison writes crisply, sensibly, humorously, and with an engaging frankness. . . . There 1b not a page he has written that is not worth the perusal of the student of China and the Chinese."— The Scotsman, "By far the most interesting and entertaining narrative of travel in the Flowery Land that has appeared for several years."—The World. London: Horace Cox, Windsor House, BreamVbuildings, E.C. RECENT VERSE. LYBICS. By Dr. J. A. GOODCHILD. Cloth lettered, price 5s. NOBTH COUNTRY BALLADS. By HENBY TODD, Price 6a, TALES IN VEBSE. By Dr. J. A. GOODCHILD. Cloth lettered, price &s. SONGS OP THE CASCADES. By EEL VrKING. Fcap. 8to., cloth boards, 3a. 6d. SONGS OF THE PINEWOODS. By ARTHUR CAMP- BELL. Price 3a. 6d. THE FAIREST OF THE ANGELS, and Other Verse. By MABY COLBOBNE-VEEL. Fcap. 8to., cloth boards, 8s. 6d. 44 Some of the shorter lyrics are much above the average, being clear in thought and musical in expression. The merits of the collec- tion are considerable.11—The Bookman. THE WANDERER IN THE LAND OF CYBI, and other Poems (188S-93). By CLIFFOBD BBOOKS. Fcap. 8vo., cloth boards, 3s. 6d. POEMS. By THOMAS BARLOW. Crown 8vo., bevelled boards, gilt edges, price 6a. POEMS. By LEWIS BROCKMAN. Crown 8vo., cloth boards, 6a. 44 The ballads are full of the spirit and directness of style proper to the ballad.11—Saturday Review. 11 Mr. Brockman is a writer of good poetic mettle, and no doubt the reading world will hear more of him yet."—Glatgcne Herald. "The graceful smoothness of Mr. Lewis Brockman's poems."— Daily Tthgraph. "He is decidedly inventive, and often highly imaginative . . The element of originality pervades the book. . . ■ His long poem, 4 Ronald's Cross,' is well sustained ... it is like the plaint of the 'Mariner,1 and it holds us."— Queen. 14 A reader who values cultured sentiments and flawless versiflca. tion will find much to admire."—Scottmmi. London: Horace Cox, Windsor House, Breom'» Buildings, E.O Crown 8vo., cloth boards, price 6s. HATHERSAGE: A Tale of North Derbyshire. BY CHARLES EDMUND HALL. Author of " An Ancient Ancestor," &c. London: Horace Cox, Windsor Houae, Bream's-buildingB, E.O. Royal 8vo., price 16s. not. Sporting Days in Southern India: BEING REMINISCENCES OF TWENTY TRIPS IN PURSUIT OF BIG GAME, CHIEFLY IN THE MADRAS PRESIDENCY. BY Lieut -Col. A. J. 0. POLLOCK, Royal Scots Fusiliers. WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS BY WHYMPBR AND OTHERS. CONTENTS.—Chapters I, II., and HI —The Bear. IV. and V.—The Panther. VI., VII., and VIII.—The Tiger. IX. and X.—The Indian Bison. XL and XII.—The Elephant. XIII.—Deer (Cervidaj) and Antelopes. XIV.—The Ibex. XV. and XVI.— London; Horace Cox, Windsor Houae, Bream's-buildings. E.O. Boyal 8vo., cloth, profusely illustrated, price 12s. 6d. net. TEXAN RANCH LIFE; WITH Three Months through Mexico in a " Prairie Schooner." By MARY J. JAQTJE« London: Horace Oox, Windsor House, Bream's-buildings, E.O. Crown 8vo., cloth boards, 3s. 6d. Crimean & other Short Stories. BY WILLIAM .A-IDDISOIN". CONTENTS. — An Adjutant's Adventure: an Episode of the Crimean Campaign—From an Uuseen World—Characteristic Stories of Boyal Personages—The TBar'B Axe—An Indian Legend Modernised —A Love Test—Atta; or. The Circassian's Daughter—Father Con- fessor—His Word of Honour (from the German)—Dearer than Life— A Polish Princess—The Evil Eye: a Story of Superstition—The Parson'B Daughter—Old Love Never Busts. London: 'Horace Cox, Windaor Houae, Bream's-buildinga, E.O. ## p. 24 (#42) ############################################## iv AD VER TISEMENTS. THE TEMPLE TYPEWRITING OFFICE. TYPEWRITING EXCEPTIONALLY ACCURATE. Moderate prices. Duplicates of Circulars by the latest process. References to the Society of Authors. ! OPINIONS OF CLIENTS.—Distinguished Author-.— "The most beautiful typing I have ever seen." Lady of Title:—"The work was very well and clearly done." PROVINCIAL Editor :—14 Many thanks for the spotless neatness and beautiful accuracy" ; MISS GENTRY, KLDON CHAMBERS, 30, FLEET STREET, E.C. THE WEST KENSINGTON TYPEWRITING AGENCY. Established 1893. MISS E. JVL. SIKES, 13, Wolverton Gardens, Hammersmith, W. Authors' MSS. carefully and promptly copied. Is. per 1000 words. Duplicate copy half price. Legal and General Copying, 1 Jd. per folio. Typewritten Circulars, Notices, Ac., by special copying process. Terms on application. References kindly permitted to authors. miss pXtt]En\ TYPIST. 44, Oakley Street Flats, Chelsea S.W. Authors' MSS. carefully transcribed. References kindly PERMITTED TO MANY WELL-KNOWN AUTHORS. Eire-Proof Safe for MSS. 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Extra copies (carbon) supplied at the rate of 4d. and 3d. per 1000 words. Type-writing from dictation 2s. 6d. per hour. Reference kindly permitted to Sir Walter Bosant; also to Messrs. A. P. Watt and Son, Literary Agents, Hastings. House, Norfolk-street, Strand, W.C. THE AUTHOR'S HAIRLESS PAPER-PAD. (The Leadenhall Press Ltd., E.C.) Contains hairless paper, over which the pen slips with perfect freedom. Sixpence each: 5*. per dozen, ruled or plain. MESDAMES BRETT & BOWSER, TYPISTS, SELBORNE CHAMBERS, BELL YARD, TEMPLE BAR. Authors' MSS. carefully and expeditiously copied, from is. per 1000 words. Extra carbon copies half prioe. Rofer- enoes kindly permitted to Augustine Birrell, Esq., M.P., and "Anthony Hope." ECLAIR TYPEWRITING COMPANY, GRANVILLE HOUSE, ARUNDEL STREET, STRAND. Typewriting, Copying, and Translating carefully and expeditiously executed. References kindly permitted to Sir Frank Lockwood, Q.C., M.P., T. P. O'Connor, Esq., M.P., and E. A. Fardon. Esq., Middlesex Hospital. Super-royal 8vo., price 20s., post free. CROCKFORD'S CLERICAL DIRECTORY 1896. BEING A STATISTICAL BOOK OF REFERENCE For facts relating to the Clergy In England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland and the Colonies; with a fuller Index relating to Parishes and Benefices than any ever yet given to tho public. Crockford's CLERICAL DIRECTORY is more than a Directory: it con- tains concise Biographical details of all the ministersanddignitaries of the Church of England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, and the ColoniOB; alBO a List of tho Parishes of each Diocese in England and Wales arranged in Rural Deaneries. T w ENTY-EIGHTK ISSUE. Horace Cox, Windsor House, Bream's-buildings, E.C. Printed and Published by Horace Cox, Windsor House, Bream's-buildings, London, E.C. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Author, Vol. 07 Issue 01 (June 1896) Subject The topic of the resource The Author, Vol. 07 Issue 01 (June 1896) Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015049239455" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015049239455</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Publication Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 1896-06-01-The-Author-7-1 publications The Author https://historysoa.com/files/original/4/290/1897-The-Author-7-index.pdf 697406f4c9a7c38e8b14b5a46aa408da 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 Society of Authors Publications Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context publications Publication Date The date of an event (in YYYY, YYYY-MM or YYYY-MM-DD format) 1897 Volume 7 Publisher(s) When used for publications, publisher of the periodical or book. When used for people, list of publishers they worked with during their lifetime The Society of Authors Horace Cox Location The location of the event or organisation London 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 Index to The Author, Vol. 07 (1897) Subject The topic of the resource Index to The Author, Vol. 07 (1897) Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015049239455" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015049239455</a> Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1897 Type The nature or genre of the resource Publication Index Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 1897-The-Author-7-index publications The Author https://historysoa.com/files/original/5/289/1896-05-01-The-Author-6-12.pdf 180a078531d939a0d12c4c56cd662622 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 The Author Description An account of the resource A digitised run of the Society of Authors' monthly periodical, The Author, 1890–1914, made available together for the first time. Currently users can browse issues and <a href="https://historysoa.com/items/browse?search=&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bjoiner%5D=and&advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=51&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Index&collection=&type=&tags=&exhibit=&date_search_term=&submit_search=Search+For+Items&sort_field=Dublin+Core%2CTitle">indices</a> (not available for all volumes). Full text search for all issues, and other additional search functionality, will be added in 2022. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1890–1914 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context The-Author-Issues Publication Date The date of an event (in YYYY, YYYY-MM or YYYY-MM-DD format) 1896-05-01 Volume 6 Issue 12 Pages Page range in volume 269–288 Ngram Date Version of the date in YYYYMMDD format for use by the Ngram plugin 18960501 Ngram Text Version of the text with no HTML formatting for use by the Ngram plugin C be El u t b or, (The Organ of the Incorporated Society of Authors. Monthly.) C O N DU C T E D BY W.A. L TER BES.A. N. T. VoI. VI.-No. 12.] MAY 1, 1896. [PRICE SIXPENCE. For the Opinions eaſpressed in papers that are signed or initialled the Authors alone are responsible. None of the papers or para- graphs must be taken as eaſpressing the collective opinions of the committee unless they are officially signed by G. Herbert Thring, Sec. ---- HE Secretary of the Society begs to give notice that all remittances are acknowledged by return of post, and requests that all members not receiving an answer to important communications within two days will write to him without delay. All remittances showld be crossed Union Bank of London, Chancery-lane, or be sent by registered letter only. Communications and letters are invited by the Editor on all subjects connected with literature, but on no other sub- jects whatever. Articles which cannot be accepted are returned if stamps for the purpose accompany the MSS. *- - --→ r- ºr ~, WARNINGS AND ADWICE, I. RAWING THE AGREEMENT.—It is not generally understood that the author, as the vendor, has the absolute right of drafting the agreement upon whatever terms the transaction is to be carried out. Authors are strongly advised to exercise that right. In every form of business, this among others, the right of drawing the agreement rests with him who sells, leases, or has the control of the property. 2. SERIAL RIGHTS.–In selling Serial Rights remember that you may be selling the Serial Right for all time; that is, the Right to continue the production in papers. If you object to this, insert a clause to that effect. 3. STAMP YOUR AGREEMENTS. — Readers are most DRGENTLY warned not to neglect stamping their agreements immediately after signature. If this precaution is neglected for two weeks, a fine of £10 must be paid before the agree- ment can be used as a legal document. In almost every case brought to the secretary the agreement, or the letter which serves for one, is forwarded without the stamp. The author may be assured that the other party to the agree- ment seldom neglects this simple precaution. The Society, to save trouble, undertakes to get all the agreements of members stamped for them at no eaſpense to themselves eaccept the cost of the stamp. 4. ASCERTAIN WHAT A PROPOSED AGREEMENT GIVEs To BOTH SIDES BEFORE SIGNING IT.-Remember that an WOL. WI. arrangement as to a joint venture in any other kind of busi- ness whatever would be instantly refused should either party refuse to show the books or to let it be known what share he reserved for himself. 5. LITERARY AGENTs.—Be very careful. You cannot be too careful as to the person whom you appoint as your agent. Remember that you place your property almost un- reservedly in his hands. Your only safety is in consulting the Society, or some friend who has had personal experience of the agent. Do not trust advertisements alone. 6. COST OF PRODUCTION.——Never sign any agreement of which the alleged cost of production forms an integral part, until you have proved the figures. 7. CHOICE OF PUBLISHERS.–Never enter into any cor- respondence with publishers, especially with those who ad- vertise for MSS., who are not recommended by experienced friends or by this Society. 8. FUTURE WORK.—Never, on any account whatever, bind yourself down for future work to anyone. 9. PERSONAL RISK.—Never accept any pecuniary risk or responsibility whatever without advice. IO. R.E.JECTED MSS.—Never, when a M.S. has been re- fused by respectable houses, pay others, whatever promises they may put forward, for the production of the work. I I. AMERICAN RIGHTS.—Never sign away American rights. Keep them by special clause. Refuse to sign any agreement containing a clause which reserves them for the publisher, unless for a substantial consideration. 12. CESSION OF COPYRIGHT.-Never sign any paper, either agreement or receipt, which gives away copyright, without advice. I3. ADVERTISEMENTS. — Keep some control over the advertisements, if they affect your returns, by a clause in the agreement. I4. NEVER forget that publishing is a business, like any other business, totally unconnected with philanthropy, charity, or pure love of literature. You have to do with business men. Be yourself a business man. - Society’s Offices : — 4, PORTUGAL STREET, LINCOLN's INN FIELDs. *~ 2- 2–º HOW TO USE THE SOCIETY, I. VERY member has a right to ask for and to receive advice upon his agreements, his choice of a pub. lisher, or any dispute arising in the conduct of his business or the administration of his property. If the advice Sought is such as can be given best by a solicitor, the member has a right to an opinion from the Society’s solicitors. If the case is such that Counsel's opinion is desirable, the Com- H. H. 2 ## p. (#624) ################################################ 27O THE AUTHOR. mittee will obtain for him Counsel’s opinion. All this without any cost to the member. 2. Remember that questions connected with copyright and publisher's agreements do not generally fall within the experience of ordinary solicitors. Therefore, do not scruple to use the Society first—our solicitors are continually engaged upon such questions for us. 3. Send to the office copies of past agreements and past accounts with the loan of the books represented. This is in order to ascertain what has been the nature of your agree- ments, and the results to author and publisher respectively so far. The Secretary will always be glad to have any agreements, new or old, for inspection and note. The infor- mation thus obtained may prove invaluable. 4. If the examination of your previous business trans- actions by the Secretary proves unfavourable, you should take advice as to a change of publishers. 5. Before signing any agreement whatever, send the pro- posed document to the Society for examination. 6. The Society is acquainted with the methods, and—in the case of fraudulent houses—the tricks of every publish- ing firm in the country. 7. Remember always that in belonging to the Society you are fighting the battles of other writers, even if you are reaping no benefit to yourself, and that you are advancing the best interests of literature in promoting the indepen- dence of the writer. 8. Send to the Editor of the Awthor notes of everything important to literature that you may hear or meet with. 9. The committee have now arranged for the reception of members’ agreements and their preservation in a fireproof safe. The agreements will, of course, be regarded as con- fidential documents to be read only by the Secretary, who will keep the key of the safe. The Society mow offers –(I) To read and advise upon agreements and publishers. stamp agreements in readiness for a possible action upon them. (3) To keep agreements. (4) To enforce payments due according to agreements. > cº THE AUTHORS' SYNDICATE, EMBERS are informed : 1. That the Authors' Syndicate takes charge of the business of members of the Society. That it submits MSS. to publishers and editors, concludes agree- ments, examines, passes, and collects accounts, and, gene- rally, relieves members of the trouble of managing business details. 2. That the terms upon which its services can be secured will be forwarded upon detailed application. 3. That the Authors' Syndicate works only for those members of the Society whose work possesses a market value. 4. That the Syndicate can only undertake any negotiations whatever on the distinct understanding that those negotia- tions are placed ea clusively in its hands, and that all communications relating thereto are referred to it. 5. That clients can only be seen by the Director by appointment, and that, when possible, at least two days' notice should be given. 6. That every attempt is made to deal with all communi- cations promptly. That stamps should, in all cases, be sent o defray postage. (2) To 7. That the Authors' Syndicate does not invite MSS. without previous correspondence; does not hold itself responsible for MSS. forwarded without notice; and that in all cases MSS. must be accompanied by stamps to defray postage. 8. That the Syndicate undertakes arrangements for lectures by some of the leading members of the Society; that it has a “Transfer Department’’ for the sale and purchase of journals and periodicals; and that a “Register of Wants and Wanted '' is open. Members are invited to communicate their requirements to the Manager. There is an Honorary Advisory Committee, whose services will be called upon in any case of dispute or difficulty. It is perhaps necessary to state that the members of the Advisory Committee have no pecuniary interest whatever in the Syndicate. NOTICES. HE Editor of the Author begs to remind members of the Society that, although the paper is sent to them free of charge, the cost of producing it would be a very heavy charge on the resources of the Society if a great many members did not forward to the Secretary the modest 6s. 6d. subscription for the year. The Editor is always glad to receive short papers and communications on all subjects connected with literature from members and others. Nothing can do more good to the Society than to make the Author complete, attractive, and interesting. Will those who are willing to aid in this work send their names and the special subjects on which they are willing to write P Communications for the Author should reach the Editor not later than the 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. Members and others who wish their MSS. read are requested not to send them to the Office without previously communicating with the Secretary. The utmost practicable despatch is aimed at, and MSS. are read in the order in which they are received. It must also be distinctly under- stood that the Society does not, under any circumstances, undertake the publication of MSS. The Authors’ Club is now open in its new premises, at 3, Whitehall-court, Charing Cross. Address the Secretary for information, rules of admission, &c. Will members take the trouble to ascertain whether they have paid their subscriptions for the year P If they will do this, and remit the amount, if still unpaid, or a banker's order, it will greatly assist the Secretary, and save him the trouble of sending out a reminder. Members are most earnestly entreated to attend to the warning numbered (8). It is a most foolish and may be a most disastrous thing to enter into an agreement binding for a term of years. Let them ask themselves if they would give a solicitor the collection of their rents for five years to come, whatever his conduct, whether he was honest or dishonest ? Of course they would not. Why then hesitate for a moment when they are asked to sign them- selves into literary bondage for three or five years P Those who possess the “Cost of Production ” are requested to note that the cost of binding has advanced 15 per cent. This means, for those who do not like the trouble of “doing sums,” the addition of three shillings in the pound on this head. In other words, if the cost of binding ## p. (#625) ################################################ THE AUTHOR. 271 is set down in our book at eight pounds, to this must now be added twenty-four shillings more, so that it now stands at £9 4s. The figures in our book are as near the exact truth as can be procured; but a printer's, or a binder’s, bill is so elastic a thing that nothing more exact can be arrived at. Some remarks have been made upon the amount charged in the “Cost of Production ” for advertising. Of course, we have not included any sums which may be charged for inserting advertisements in the publisher's own magazines, or in other magazines by exchange. As agreements too often go, there is nothing to prevent the publisher from sweeping the whole profits of a book into his own pocket, by inserting any number of advertisements in his own magazines, and by exchanging with others. Some there are who call this a form of fraud; it is not known what those who practise this method of swelling their own profits call it. *- r- - ---e. FROM THE COMMITTEE, T a meeting of the Committee held on Wednesday, the 18th inst., it was decided, as it had been impossible to arrange the Authors’ Society dinner in May, to postpone the date until the autumn. It was also decided to have a soirée after the dinner as usual. When the date is settled the notices will be issued from the office. The Committee are at present engaged in considering the question of a reform in the Copyright Law. G. HERBERT THRING, Secretary. April 28, 1896. LITERARY PROPERTY. I.—CANADIAN COPYRIGHT. LETTER on this subject addressed to Mr. Goldwin Smith by Mr. Henry Charles Lea, of Philadelphia, has been sent by the former to the Times (April 27). The writer points out, as if it were a new thing, that the real aim of the pro- posed legislation on the subject is the American market, and that if a certain section of Canadian legislators have their way, the long fought for, and hardly won, International Copyright will be more certainly lost. It is absurd to suppose that Mr. Hall Caine was ignorant of this danger when he went to Canada last autumn. The whole object of his mission was to avert that danger. Recent alarms and newer dangers have for the moment obscured this; but it still remains. Mr Lea’s letter reminds us of what we all knew very well eight months ago: it is useful as a reminder, though as a warning it comes too late. The gist of the reminder is in the following paragraph : tion of sales in the United States. Its most serious aspect is the peril to which it exposes the Act of 1891, which permits the copyright of English books in this country, subject to the condition of manufacture here. For fifty years there has not been a copyright measure discussed in which I have not taken a more or less active part, and I am familiar with the influences which for so many years prevented the enactment of international copyright, and which finally secured the adoption of the existing law. So long as the labour interests opposed it there was no chance of its passage. When they were won over to its support it was adopted, though not without prolonged exertion against strenuous opposition. If it be once fairly understood that Canadian printers are enjoying an advantage which is denied to our labour and is used to its detriment, there is no little danger that the labour organisations will seek to undo the work in which they assisted five years ago; and, if once aroused to this, you know as well as I do how respectfully their remonstrances will be received. If you have means of warning the English interests which are threatened, it would be wise for you to do so, for I am sure that they do not recognise the danger inherent in the present and prospective anomalous condition of Canadian copyright. II.--THE “Twent IETH CENTURY.” The following paragraph is taken from the Westminster Gazette :- “In the Queen's Bench Division to-day, before Mr. Justice Grantham, sitting without a jury, Dr. Forbes Winslow sued Mr. Graham, the editor of the Twentieth Century, for £48, for two magazine articles supplied in May and June, 1895. The price agreed upon was £2 a page, and the articles ran to twenty-four pages. Defendant was not represented, and judgment was entered for the plaintiff for the amount claimed, with costs.” Readers are requested to take a note of this case. The secretary has in his hands claims of the same kind against the same person repre- senting, together, over £60. He does not take action for the reason that it would be of no use, as the defendant has disappeared. III.-Associate D AUTHORs’ PUBLISHING CoMPANY. I have read with much interest your admirable review of the prospectus of this company, in your last issue, and your remarks seem to me to be very much to the point. You say that, given certain conditions, there can be no doubt whatever that an immense business awaits such a company. These conditions you specify as, (1) Sufficient capital; (2) An established business; (3) A manager of probity and experience; (4) “Methods of publishing based upon the points always advocated by the Society,” viz.: (5) No secret profits; (6) No charge for unpaid advertise- , ments; (7) A full understanding of what the The importance of the matter to the English author and iſ agreement means on both sides; (8) The right publisher, however, by no means rests solely on the diminu- of access to the author's own books; (9) The con- ## p. (#626) ################################################ 272 THE AUTHOR. fidence of authors; and (IO) professions honourably carried out. These points, I think, cover the ground abso- lutely, and I can give English authors the most complete assurance that the importance of each has been foreseen and special provision made to meet it. - It has been felt that the question of honest and accurate book-keeping would be a very important one from the authors' point of view, and after careful reflection it has been decided to secure the services of some eminent firm of accountants, known both in London and New York, for the purpose not only of auditing the accounts but of keeping them properly posted up. Messrs. Price, Waterhouse and Co. have agents in this city—Messrs. Jones and Caesar, chartered accountants—and they have been seen on the subject, and preliminary arrangements discussed for the proper keeping and auditing of the company’s books. This question will be settled at an early date. - The standing of the incorporators and directors will no doubt influence the members of your Society. General James Grant Wilson is president of the American Authors’ Guild and is himself a well-known author; Mr. Frank R. Lawrence is president of the world-renowned Lotos Club, whose hospitality so many of England's most illustrious men have enjoyed both under his presidency and that of Mr. Whitelaw Read, pro- prietor of the New York Tribune and late American minister to Paris. Mr. Lawrence is an eminent counsel. Col. Sickely is late American minister to Siam and vice-president of the great American Surety Company. Hon. R. S. Ransom is late surrogate of New York. It is unnecessary to go further. New York has no better or sounder business men than these, and all are interested in literature and acquainted with the publishing business. It is expected that this company will begin business immediately. - C. L. BETTS, Sec. pro tem. *— = -º e- - - NEW YORK LETTER, April 17, 1896. - HE number of short stories of New England T life published during the last year is un- usual. It is true that the number of short stories of all kinds published during the year was unusual; it is true also that Americans produce short stories in much greater number, and of a much higher degree of excellence, than their novels; but even after these two things are taken into consideration the especial attention given to New England life is noticeable. Just why the short story is in so much favour here cannot be dogmatically stated; the publishers are said not to favour them, yet last fall some of the leading publishers published more volumes of them than they did of novels. Commenting on the superiority of our stories to our novels, Mr. Howell asks: “Is this so because the American life is scrappy and desultory, and instinctively seeks its expression in the sketch, the little tale, the miniature romance; or because the short story seems in all literatures to find its development earlier than the full-sized novel? Did our skill in writing short stories create the demand for them in the magazines, or did the demand of the magazines foster the skill P If the reader likes them so much in the maga- zines that the editors feel they must supply them at all hazards, why should they abhor them so much in the bound volume P” Each month seems to give a greater sign that the publishers abhor less and less the short stories in volumes. Where we have one novelist of high and deserved reputation, we have a number of story-tellers. In studies of Western life, Bret Harte, and now Hamlin Garland and Owen Wister, give us some of our best writings. On New England there are several writers who, in substance and especially in execution, are among the first, Miss Mary E. Wilkins and Miss Sarah Orne Jewett being easily first. In the works of each of these writers there is a thorough mastery of the New England types, combined with a sufficiency and lack of redundance of means that is not approached by any of the newer comers in the field of New England fiction. It is, however, of the less known names that this paper is to say a few words. First in importance among writers of New England stories whom the past year has brought into notice is Alice Brown. Her first book, “Meadow Grass,” published last summer by Cope- land and Day, of Boston, gives promise that she will shortly stand on a level with Miss Jewett and Miss Wilkins. Although she deals, like them, with the homely, well-known New England characters and events, in which humour and pathos are brought nearer together by being set in the bleakness of the physical surroundings, the crudity of expression, and the stern, ascetic Puritan spirit, her study is altogether first hand, and suggests no other writers. Her tone is less severe than that of Miss Wilkins, but she has much of the same austerity. She is more fond of humour than Miss Wilkins, and this is both a merit and a fault. It sometimes gives charm to her stories, and sometimes leads her to weaken ## p. (#627) ################################################ THE AUTHOR. 273 them by prolixity. entertaining, and is not used to excess. Her touch in suggesting the intimate, especially the lighter, details of the New England country life, is particularly happy. The reputation which less than a year has established seems to be well founded. “Tales of the Maine Coast,” by Noah Brooks, published by Charles Scribner's Sons, should be mentioned in an account of recent New England fiction, although it was published a little over a year ago. His stories deal mainly with life in seaport towns, and bring in close contrast the native village traits and the odd bits of foreign life brought by the sailors. No one has recently given the character of these amphibious towns in some ways as well as Mr. Brooks. “Lover's Saint Ruth's, by Louise Imogene Guiney, published last year by Copeland and Day, is the writer's first attempt at fiction, although she has been well known in other branches of literature for some years. She touches in this volume some aspects of New England life with decided intelligence, but without any natural gift of narration. Another little book, “The Love Story of Ursula Wolcott,” is announced for an early appearance by Lamson, Wolffe, and Company, of Boston. It is to be a tale of early New England life, and to be historical. The same firm has recently issued a book by Mrs. Harrison, called “A Virginia Cousin and Bar Harbor Tales,” which are popular, but of no special value. They announce a novel by John P. Wheelwright, author of “Rollo's Journey to Cambridge,” which is to portray New England types of character at the time of the war of 1812. This firm, like several others of our newest firms, pay special attention to sectional stories, especially by new writers. They have another novel by F. J. Stimson (J. S. of Dale), who wrote “Guerndale.” during his law school course at Harvard and made his reputation at once, but since then has given most of his time to the law, although his ten or twelve books of fiction show him to be one of our strongest writers. This story will deal with early life in Devonshire and the early settlement of the American colonies. As he has worked for five years on the novel, it is likely to be of some permanent importance, as the writer's work has unusually strong dramatic qualities as well as subtle character drawing. By the same writer, a novel called “Pirate Gold,” a story of Boston in the middle of this century, is published by Houghton, Mifflin and Co., of Boston. It reproduces with a great deal of charm the special social characteristics of the town. Copeland and Day, also one of the newer firms of Boston, announce a New England story by Pier dialect is accurate and William M. Cole, formerly a Harvard professor; and they have also recently published “Moody’s Lodging House,” a collection of stories of Boston life, which has had considerable vogue. The Chicago firm of Way and Williams, also but a few years old, publishes a volume of New England stories by Mrs. Madeline Yale Wynne, a new comer in the field. She has considerable skill, especially in plot, but the thread of her stories is very slight, and their execution not distinguished. Among the stories published by Copeland and Day within a few months is “An Old Man's Romance,” by Christopher Craigie. Although this book, which is also a first attempt, has no special power, it is remarkably full of the real, typical New England spirit. It deals less with the picturesque externals which tempt most writers, and more with the social spirit as it seems to persons who have been long familiar with it. Bliss Perry is a writer already known for his pictures of New England life. “The Plated City,” published by Scribners, gives a picture of the social atmosphere in one of the New England manufacturing towns, which for distinctness, vividness, and faithfulness deserves a high place. These towns bring into sharp contrast the lowly life of the mill operatives and the prosperous life of those who have made their fortunes in the business. These classes are sharply separated geographically, the low lands being occupied by the poorer classes, and the hills further from the rivers by the rich. It is especially the picture of the more prosperous parts of such populations that Mr. Perry gives, but when he does touch the poorer parts of the town he is equally success- ful. His stories are romantic and old fashioned in a sense, but deal with entirely modern problems. An accidental find of considerable interest in New England literature was made by Lamson, Wolffe, and Co. of two essays by Ralph Waldo Emerson that date from his college days. One is a study of Socrates, and the other a study of the state of ethics at that time. Both are crude and decidedly young, but of importance in any study of Emerson's development. D. Appleton and Co. have issued recently several books dealing with New England life. “In Old New England,” by Hezekiah Butterworth, is a popular novel of a crude, fairly clever story- teller. “In Defiance of the King,” by Chauncey C. Hotchkiss, another first work, has some value as to plot, but is rambling, and, although it deals with important facts in American history, has no value as a character study either of indi- viduals or of the times. A stronger story than ## p. (#628) ################################################ 274 THE AUTHOR. either of these deals not with New England, but with life in a closely neighbouring State, Penn- sylvania, among a class of labourers in the mining and manufacturing towns who have been very little studied. It is called “Stone Pastures,” is by Eleanor Stuart, and has vividness and strength enough to give promise. - Among the new books of interest is a novel by Gilbert Parker, called “The Pomp of the Lavil- lettes,” a story of forty-five thousand words, of which the scene is in Canada, and the story relates to the French-Canadian War. This has not yet been announced, but will be within two or three weeks. Another story by Gilbert Parker, “The Seats of the Mighty,” a romance of old Quebec, is pub- lished by D. Appleton and Co. Miss Ida C. Tarbell’s “Madame Roland’” is one of the most valuable books of the year. It will be handled by the Scribners in England. Miss Tarbell is one of our most conscientious students of history, and has within a few years gained a high reputation through her lives of Napoleon and Lincoln, which appeared serially in M“Clure’s Magazine. Next fall she will study in London preparatory to writing a history of that part of Lincoln's life which is connected with the Civil War. During five years of study in Paris, she obtained evidence about the life of Madame Roland which had not hitherto been used by biographers. These new letters showed that Madame Roland at one time sought a title, and they show the more important fact that at the time of her marriage she was passion- ately in love with her husband. All earlier biographers have accepted the statement made in her journal, that the marriage was one of cool reason. Miss Tarbell is able to show conclusively that this story was made up by Madame Roland after she was hopelessly in love with Buzot. Miss Tarbell goes deeply into the general move- ments of the Revolution with which her heroine was associated, and on them, as on the individual, she has produced a valuable study. Rudyard Kipling has come down from his home in Vermont to spend two weeks in the city. He has just finished his first serial, which deals entirely with American character. It is a tale of the sea, of a fishing fleet. The serial rights have not yet been disposed of. . The fourth volume of Theodore Roosevelt’s “Winning of the West” is published this month by Putnam. It covers the North-West and Louisiana, and brings the story down to 1809. On March 30, J. Selwin Tait, a New York publisher, started again by a letter to a newspaper the discussion about the present fortunes of American Literature—a subject which just now is very much in vogue. He speaks especially of the dark outlook for the native novelist. The result, of his reading of the thousands of manuscripts submitted to him is that the young American novelist has as much ability as the English beginner, though of a different kind. He is on the average less wordy, more sympathet c, and quicker to learn, but is over-confident, less patient, and more slovenly, and less willing to work. Mr. Tait gives several reasons for the cloud which he believes is hanging over American fiction. He says that last year foreign authors contributed two-thirds of the presentable fiction published in this country, whereas American authors con- tributed less than I per cent. of the fiction pub- lished abroad. The Io cent magazines, which have a very large circulation, and are supported mainly by advertisements, publish a great deal of fiction, and this cuts into the heart of the book trade and lessens the demand for new works. The daily papers are also blamed, on the ground that their sensational nature is doing much to spoil the public taste for fiction of the better kind. He thinks that the papers also fail to do. their duty in not giving more space to reviews of domestic literature. This subject was discussed the other night at a meeting of the Lanthorn Club given to Mr. Stephen Crane, author of the “Red Badge of Courage,” in which Mr. W. D. Howells took a view directly the contrary of that of Mr. Tait. He thought that the work of Mr. Crane, like that of Miss Wilkins and Miss Jewett, showed that the work produced by American story-tellers and novelists was as good as that produced anywhere, and would be recog- nised in a short time, if it is not already. *- > * * NOTES FROM PARIS. HERE is one unpleasant day every year in M. Emile Zola's life, and that day is rapidly coming round upon him once more. On this day his pen will be busily occupied for some hours in a task unremune- rative and tedious. He will have to go to Charpentier's warehouse, where, in an office specially arranged for the purpose, he will find stacked up some hundred copies of his new novel “Rome.” There will be two tables in the room. At one of these M. Zola will seat himself; at the other will be a clerk with a book of addresses before him. Another clerk will stand between the stack of volumes and the table at which the master is seated. Zola will sigh and say “Allons.” Then a copy of the book will be handed to him, and at the same time the clerk ## p. (#629) ################################################ THE AUTHOR. 275 with the address-book will read out the first name on his list. Then Zola will write on the fly-leaf of the volume his “ dédicace,” the formula of which will vary according to the degree of intimacy in which he stands towards this person. For strangers, amongst the pressmen and re- viewers who are entitled to receive presentation copies of his book, he will merely write “A Monsieur X., son dévoué confrère.” For a friend, or a brother author of distinction, he will write several lines of comment and compliment. This will go on until the whole stack of yellow backs has been exhausted, when Zola will throw down his pen with an “Ouf!” of relief and go off to lunch at Foyot's. There are more presentation copies of Zola's books distributed than of any other French author, and Zola makes a point of writing an autograph dédicace in each. Journalism and literature in France most often lead to a political career and to office, though the very highest office in France is usually given to the candidate who has attracted least attention to himself. In most cases men who have passed from journalism to politics do not return to it. There are, however, notable exceptions. There is Henri Rochefort, who threw up his seat in the Chamber because his political work did not leave him enough time for his journalism. But a more striking example is Clemenceau ; more striking because, whilst Rochefort never took any pro- minent part in politics at the Chamber, Clemenceau was always a most ardent politician, ever forming Ministries or overthrowing them. Well, he too, like Rochefort, to use the expression of Monsieur Thiers when he had resigned the Presidency, has returned to his chères études. And so notable a success has he made of it, that we who read the French papers cannot but regret the many years that Clemenceau was talking when he might have been writing. It is true he was writing all the time, for nearly every day he contributed an article to his own paper, La Justice, but that was political writing of limited interest, whereas now he gives us critiques, feuilletons, and general articles, which are as good as anything in the French Press. Everybody looks out for the Clemenceau article in Le Journal, and Daudet has often said to me that with Coppée Clemenceau is the foremost journalist in France. He seems to write, and to write well, on every conceivable subject. I think that his last article was about a man with a tail, who had been discovered in Annam, and on this subject Clemenceau wrote two sparkling columns. The politician, of course, always betrays himself. For instance, he con- cludes the article on “The Man with a Tail” in the following words: “All we need now is the man with a tail. The Government has him. WOL. VI. Tet the Government show him to us, instead of keeping him selfishly for its own enjoyment. This should be easier to do than to reform taxation.” - - Gounod's Memoirs have been published by Calman-Levy under the title of “Memoires d'un Artiste.” The book is made up of articles written by Gounod and various letters to and from him. It divides itself into “Memoires de Jeunesse” and “Souvenirs Artistiques.” His account of the difficulties he had in getting a hearing for Faust should prove interesting to brother artists who have had similar experiences. We very nearly missed having Faust altogether. It was refused everywhere: publisher after pub- lisher bundled it back. At the first performance it was nearly hooted off the stage. Jules Massenet has often told me of that memorable night. At that time he was playing in the orchestra, where he wielded the cymbals. He said that he was so enraged with the public for hissing what he considered a masterpiece that it was with difficulty that he restrained himself from jumping over the partition and using his cymbals on the blockheads in the orchestra stalls. Another interesting volume of memoirs is the second of Rochefort's autobiography, which takes us from the author's first exile up to the Com- mune. The third volume, dealing mainly with the part that Rochefort played in these troubled times, should be still more interesting, as it will give him an opportunity of vindicating his con- duct, which has been bitterly attacked. But I think most people will look with most anticipation for the story of his connection with the unfor- tunate General Boulanger. That, however, will not come for some time yet. - At a recent literary soirée the idea was pro- pounded that the immense popularity of some books may be attributed to the fact that, public interest having been whetted by preceding works on the same subject, they arrive at the psycho- logical moment, so the authors of the preceding works, by being too previous, act only as the pioneers of the success of the book which comes just at the right moment. A number of instances were cited which bore out this theory. Sic vos mon vobis might be said to the pioneer authors. I know of more than once French writer who has adopted the typewriter. Daudet tried it, but abandoned its use, as the noise was too great for his nerves. The French printers are delighted at the increasing popularity of the machine-pen. This, I believe, is the opposite of what was mani- fested by English printers when the machine first came into general use for the production of copy. But, then, was there not some talk of reducing the rates per IOOO ems, for type set up I I ## p. (#630) ################################################ 276 THE AUTHOR. from typed copy P. In France no master would dare to suggest such a diminution, as the working printers are a very powerful body. And as most French hommes de lettres write a terrible hand, the advantage to the printers is great. Much of the MS. copy sent into the composing- room of a French newspaper would be absolutely undecipherable to an English comp. Your French homme de lettres often prides himself on the number of erasures, corrections, and addenda On his page. Balzac is still famous amongst French printers for his beautiful copy, but then Balzac reserved his corrections, erasures, and addenda for the first proofs. These were so numerous that most of his royalties were swallowed up by the expenses. A pretty present was sent me the other day from Hawkshead. It was a Paschal-egg, or Easter-egg, carved by James Dixon, who was for forty years valet to William Wordsworth. After the poet's death he went to live at Hawks- head, and used to spend most of his time in carving Paschal-eggs with his pocket-knife. He had gone into Wordsworth’s service from the workhouse, and was much attached to his master. The cottage at Hawkshead, where Wordsworth lived as a boy, when he was attending Hawks- head Grammar School, was recently taken by a lady who lives in America, and has been hand- somely furnished. She does not, however, appear to have any intention of living there. ROBERT H. SHERARD. *-- ~ *-* NOTES AND NEWS, T has been resolved by the Committee to hold | the annual dinner of the Society in the autumn instead of May or June. This step has been often advised, chiefly on account of the great number of functions which are held in the spring months, some of which always interfere with our own. It has also been suggested that after the dinner there should be one speech only, after which a conversazione should be held. The late after dinner gatherings have hitherto been too short on account of the long speeches made at the dinner. A member of the Society sends me the circular of a newly-established agency for playwriters. I do not present the name of the agent, because, as I know nothing at all about him, I should be unwilling to seem to be recommending him on the one hand, or, on the other, to be saying any- thing that might injure him. We have said so * - much in favour of the literary agent that the playwriters' agent might expect some considera- tion as well. Now, it is notorious that the number of plays written and submitted to managers is, like the articles submitted to editors, very far above the number which can be produced; and, for many reasons, it is, and always must be, very much more difficult to get a play put on the stage than to get a MS. published in a magazine. The managers, however, keep their theatres open under the present system : they seem never at a loss for a new play : and it is not easy to discover in what way an agent can be useful to them. How then can an agent help a candidate for the stage P Let us see how this agent before us proposes to help. First, he will give the author, for a small fee, a “thoroughly competent” opinion of his work; if the opinion is favourable he will “use his utmost influence and energy" to get the play accepted by a manager. There is more: but this is the only important part. If the agent gets hold of a good play he will try to introduce it. This brings us to the important question of the qualifications of such an agent. They seem to be : first, that he should know a good play when he reads one; next, that he must be personally acquainted with, and trusted by, managers or actors or both. Of course, he must also be an entirely honourable person. This is understood without further words. Now, if any of our readers desire to avail themselves of such a dramatic agent they are hereby invited to con- sider carefully the following advice and warning: Let them ascertain for whom the agent has worked before they entrust any work to him : let them find out who knows him : who recommends him ; and what is his “record,” so far. If in all these points their inquiries prove satisfactory, they may save themselves a great deal of trouble by going to him. Whether he will be able to persuade managers to produce their pieces is quite another matter. - The first and inaugural meeting of the Society of Publishers was held at Stationers' Hall, on Tuesday, the 21st April last. The proceedings consisted of the presidential address by Mr. Charles J. Longman. The address was eminently Calculated to inspire confidence that the new Society, whilst prepared to stand firmly for the rights of publishers, is not contemplating destructive measures against the two classes on whom publishers live and flourish—viz., those who do the real work: the authors and the book- sellers. This Society will welcome Mr. Long- man's Sober and sensible address, and will gladly recognise in the words of the President a sincere desire that their business should be conducted ## p. (#631) ################################################ THE AUTHOR. 277 fairly and equitably ; which, of course, means, among other things, that both parties should know what proportion of the returns by any agreement shall go to each. It is said that a certain writer, enraged, justly or unjustly, at his treatment by the reviewers, has resolved that in future he will not allow any of his books to be sent to the Press for review. As editors can hardly be expected to buy books for review, this means that in future he will dispense with the publicity and therefore, in a sense, the assistance hitherto given him by the critic. The question arises whether this course of action is wise or not. First, what does he gain by it P. He will get rid of the reviewer: not only the incompetent, the venomous, and the lying reviewer: but he will also get rid of the honourable, capable, and con- scientious reviewer—the truest friend to literature that exists. It is, of course, exasperating for a writer to find his book “slated” venomously by some anonymous person who shows in every line that he has not read the book : observe, that to “slate” a book is perfectly easy without reading it; but to praise it requires first some study of the book, otherwise the reviewer is certain to make blunders that will expose him. Next, it will be a relief to him to feel that the man who does not read will not review. At the same time, in order to get rid of him, he must at the same time lose the unbiassed and impartial and conscientious critic. But there are other losses: he will throw away a large and very valuable advertisement of his his book. If fifty press copies are sent round and forty notices appear; if only half are appreciative, what an excellent and wide-spread recommenda- tion is thus given On the whole, it seems better to go on under the present system; to groan under the affliction of the venomous and the incompetent, and to be thankful for the man who understands the duties and the responsibities of his post. A letter has been written to the Times by “An Author” concerning the payment of income tax. It was needless to write to the Times, because his solicitor would have set that matter straight for him with no difficulty whatever. The letter, how- ever, was useful in calling attention to the fact that the “office expenses” or “outgoings” of an author must be taken into account whether in sending in an income tax return or in sending in an agreement to a publisher. The writer of the letter says, “I wrote a book not long ago about a distant country. In order to make myself competent to treat the subject I spent three-fourths of the price in visiting and studying it.” By the “price” he means the sum for which he parted with this literary estate of his. The principle applies to almost every kind of book. Here, for instance, before me is a volume of literary essays. The investment of house, furniture, library, and years of study, corresponds exactly to the publisher's investment of capital, time and work of clerks, personal services, atten- tion and experience. In the case of a book of travels, of course, there is an enormous preliminary outlay which can hardly ever be recouped. In fiction work it would seem as if all came straight from the brain. Not at all : it comes from observa- tion of humanity, and it means sketches, journeys, observations, books, all kinds of things. For instance, I once wrote a novel dealing with life in Northumberland nearly two hundred years ago. For this novel I made four journeys into that county: I bought a great quantity of books: in my journeys “en zigzag" I had to resort to the old method of posting, which is pleasant but costly. Now, when one sees a claim of so much per cent, for “office expenses” one thinks of these things, and naturally asks what right the publisher has to charge office expenses while the author does not. There is another curious point about this letter. The writer says, “I am a member of the literary profession so much overstocked, and which has been subject to so many diminutions of profit in these latter days.” This is amazing. The lite- rary profession has never been so flourishing, so well paid, so prosperous as at present. Very large incomes are made by educational writers; by dramatists; by historians; by novelists; by writers of religious books; by writers of travels. Never before have literary men and women been so prosperous. And there seems room for all. The field enlarges daily and rapidly. Perhaps—but he says that his income is in the four figures— this writer is considering the immense gap between those who wholly succeed and those who only half succeed. Literature, as a profession, is like the Bar: there are a great many solid prizes in every branch of it. Between the prize winners and those who come after them there is too often a huge gap. The secretary of the Associated Authors’ Publishing Company has sent a letter on my remarks which will be found under the head of “Literary Property.” He claims that all the conditions which were laid down as necessary for success are fulfilled in his company. Without endorsing his statement, I have inserted it because, if a bond fide attempt to publish on those terms is to be made, it will be necessary to inquire further into the matter, WALTER BESANT, ## p. (#632) ################################################ 278 THE AUTHOR. ADDRESS TO PUBLISHERS’ ASSOCIATION, APRIL 21, 1896. Reproduced from a copy presented by Mr. Longman to the Chairman, Mr. H. Rider Haggard. |ENTLEMEN, It is with a considerable (i. feeling of responsibility that I rise to address you to-day. Your Association has been formed owing, I believe, to the fact that a real need for such a body has been widely felt throughout the trade. That feeling received expression in the motion made by Mr. Murray at our first meeting here, in November last, to the effect that steps should be taken to form an Association of the Publishers of Great Britain and Ireland, and the fact that the motion was carried by acclamation in so large a gathering of publishers, coupled with the unanimity and har- mony which have attended our subsequent pro- ceedings, prove that the feeling of which I have spoken was widely felt and deeply rooted. But so far no attempt has been made to lay down the lines of policy which our Association shall follow. In our rules the objects of the Association are stated to be to promote and protect by all lawful means the interests of the publishers of Great Britain and Ireland. This definition is wisely drawn very widely, and it is now necessary to come to closer quarters with the work that lies before us. The character of the Association and its usefulness in the future will much depend upon the position it takes up during the first year or two of its existence, and it is on this account that I feel a great weight of respon- sibility in expressing to you my views of what work it is that we should take in hand. Since, however, you have done me the great honour of electing me your first President, I feel that I should be failing in a duty which you have a right to expect from me were I to shrink from the task, and, though of course I speak for myself alone, I hope that what I say may be so fortunate as to meet with your approval. The first subject that naturally must claim the attention of such an Association as ours, is also perhaps the most complicated and difficult—I allude of course to the question of copyright. A satisfactory law of copyright is the prime need of all who are engaged in the production and sale of books, whether as authors, publishers, booksellers, printers, or in any other capacity whatsoever. This subject is so complex, so many sided, and has such an extraordinary faculty for cropping up at the least opportune times and places, that it is obviously impossible for me to attempt now any lengthy examination of the question. At the same time I should like to state briefly my view of what is the ideal to the attainment on which this Association should devote its efforts. The Copy- right Law which I should like to see is one which should have four salient features: it should be easy to comprehend, liberal in its provisions to the producers of literature, universal in its application, and capable of being readily enforced. Whether such an ideal is attainable I will not undertake to say, but you will all, I believe, admit that we are at present far short of it. This subject has long been under the attention of the Copyright Associa- tion (a body which has done much good work) and also of the Society of Authors. A draft Bill has been prepared by each of these bodies, which drafts have since been compared and consolidated, and no doubt when the time comes for seriously pressing this question on the attention of Parlia- ment your Association will be able to render valuable assistance in this difficult question. In the meantime I think it very necessary that we should have this important matter constantly before us, and be prepared, at suitable oppor- tunities, either to promote fresh legislation, to ascertain definitely what the law now is on obscure points, or to assist to enforce obedience to the law where we have reason to think it is being violated. I would especially at this moment call your attention to the third of the four points which I think should be found in any satisfactory copy- right law—viz., that it should be universal in its application, because I believe that we are at the present moment in some danger in this country of taking a step of a retrogade character which may put back the hope of a single universal copy- right law indefinitely. I do not know that any- one will claim for the British Law of Copyright that it is in all points particularly simple or easy to define ; still less will it be said that it is under all circumstances easy to enforce; it has, however, at present this virtue, that, within the limits of the British Empire, it is universal in its application. There are certain local modifications in existence even now, but it is at present true that any man, whether he be a British subject or an alien, who writes a book and first publishes it within the limits of the British Empire does by that act of publication secure a copyright in it for a term of forty-two years, or for his life and seven years after, which ever term is the longest; and, moreover, he will at the same time acquire rights of copyright in all countries which are signatories of the Con- vention of Berne. It is, however, now in contemplation to intro- duce a bill into the Legislature of the Dominion of Canada, which will absolutely destroy this inesti- mable boon which we now have—viz., that British copyright runs throughout the British Empire. By demanding certain special conditions on which ## p. (#633) ################################################ THE AUTHOR. 279 copyright is to be granted in the Dominion, the Canadians also run the risk of defeating their own claim, and possibly the claims of their fellow sub- jects throughout the Empire, to reciprocal advan- tages from the Powers who have signed the Berne Convention. There is also a possibility that by their action British subjects may be deprived of copyright in America. It is fortunately the case that at the present moment we have no bill before us. The draft which was sent over last year has not been proceeded with. Since then Mr. Hall Caine and, on behalf of the Copyright Association, Mr. Dalby, have been in Canada, and it is said that these gentlemen, by their tact and courtesy, have produced a better feeling, and that it is probable that the next bill may be less disas- trous than the last one would have been. But, gentlemen, this is no case for compromise. We are playing with fire. If it is once admitted that copyright is a subject on which the Colonies are free to legislate—not only for their own citizens, but also to the detriment of the inhabitants of these islands—the mischief will not stop with Canada. We shall soon have to deal with half a dozen different and conflicting codes, I trust, therefore, that the influence of this Association, and I trust that the influence of all who are in- terested in any degree in the trade of bookselling, will be exerted to the full to prevent any tampering with the unity of British copyright, and I hope that when the true interests of literature are better understood, both at home and abroad, the result will be that a simple, liberal, easily enforced law of copyright will come into existence, not only in the British Empire, which is much—not only aluong all English-speaking peoples, which would be much more—but throughout the whole of the civilised world. I now turn to a widely different subject, but one that is not less interesting or important, I mean the relations between publishers and authors. A society such as this can hardly fail to have some effect on those relations. If its policy is guided in the narrowest trade union spirit it seems to me improbable that much advantage will arise. If, however, we endeavour to handle any questions that may from time to time be subjects of con- troversy in a liberal and broad spirit; if, while firmly maintaining our rights, we at the same time endeavour to consider such subjects not only from our own point of view, but also from the point of view of other interested parties, then it seems to me that we shall be in a fair way to promote what is the greatest interest of all to those who are engaged in the publication of books—namely, harmonious and pleasant rela- tions with their authors. Fortunately, we are all of us able to testify, from our own experience, that in the large majority of cases these cordial relations now exist—that, in fact, as many close friendships exist between authors and their publishers as between solicitors and their clients, between doctors and their patients, or between any other classes which have intimate business relations. Still, no doubt, differences do from time to time occur, and as human nature is constituted it is probable that they must occur. I believe that it will be in the power of this Association, if its proceedings are guided in the spirit I have indi- cated, to do something to minimise the occasions on which such differences could arise, and also to render them easier of arrangement. I have one subject in my mind that seems to me ripe for treatment, and should it be successfully treated I believe that much opportunity for friction will have been removed. It is sometimes said that there is a natural antagonism between authors and publishers, owing to the fact that their pecuniary interests are divergent; and, on the other hand, it is not less frequently asserted that there is no such antagonism—that we row in the same boat, and that what is good for one is necessarily good for the other. Neither of these views is true, or rather neither is the whole truth. In the first stage of the business between the author and the publisher there is an obvious diversity of interest —the diversity which always exists between the buyer and the seller. When this stage is got over the antagonism should cease, and for the future the interests of the two parties should be identical. Nevertheless, when disagreements arise it is not seldom that they occur at this second stage, when any real cause for difference ought to have disappeared. The reason of this is that in a large number of cases a simple sale is not effected. Where an author comes with a MS. ready for the printer and offers it for sale the transaction is a simple one: so much money is offered, and if it is accepted the MS. is handed over and the money paid, and there is an end of it. But though this often takes place the business frequently takes a different course. Possibly the MS. is not in existence—the author merely con- tracts to deliver it at some future time. Possibly it is in existence, but the author, instead of selling it, publishes it on one of the many systems of payment by results known in the trade—such as royalties, division of profits, publication on com- mission, and so forth. It is in the subsequent interpretation of the arrangements made that an opportunity occurs for differences of opinion. These arrangements are not always committed to paper, and even when they are expressed in an agreement the agreement is not always explicit, ## p. (#634) ################################################ 28o THE AUTHOR. comprehensive, and easy to enforce. Now I think this Association would do well to take up seriously this question of agreements. I think it is most advisable that we should draw up model forms of agreement, designed to cover all the usual terms on which books are published, and that those model forms should be supplied to anyone, whether author or publisher, who may require them. The task would probably not be an easy one, and it would no doubt be most desirable that it should be undertaken in concert with able and experienced authors. It would perhaps be presumptuous on the part of so young an Association as ours to issue any invitation to co-operate in this work to the older established Society of Authors. But it is obvious that if any given form of agreement should receive the sanction of both Societies, it would have very great authority, and that an important step would have been gained. Before leaving this subject I would add that I do not for a moment propose that this Society should interfere in the preliminary arrangements which must of necessity be carried on by the individual author and publisher. Our functions would commence when a bargain has been struck ; we should then endeavour to supply the means of recording accurately and simply, and of duly enforcing, the contract. Another important interest of the publishing trade is that cordial and satisfactory relations should exist with a numerous and a prosperous body of retail booksellers. It is matter for deep regret that prosperity in the retail trade has by no means gone hand in hand with the increase in the volume of the trade which has taken place. The cause is of course well known— namely, the excessive discount which is given by the booksellers to the public. This subject has been so thoroughly discussed of late, and has received so much attention from all classes in the trade, that I confess that I despair of any satisfactory solution being found by this associa- tion, since none has occurred to the various gentlemen of whom it is composed, in spite of the earnest thought they have given to it. I am sure, however, that the Association will do well to give sympathetic consideration to any proposal which may be brought forward by the retail trade which has a reasonable chance of success. I do not propose now to go over this well-trodden ground in detail, but I feel it incumbent on me to say that I believe that no good purpose would be served by reviving a proposal which has been recently made, and, after thorough consideration, rejected by the publishing trade. I mean the proposal for the establishment of a ring of publishers to raise prices, and to maintain them by the application of coercion to those who did not obey its regulations. I trust that this Asso- ciation will never fall to the level of a ring. The large and influential meeting of publishers which constituted the Association also declined unani- mously to discuss this proposal further, which I believe to be entirely outside the region of what is practicable or desirable. It is my object to-day to lay before you the general lines on which I hope to see the busi- ness of this Association conducted, rather than to enumerate in detail the points which will occupy the attention of the council. These will, no doubt, be numerous and varied. Many points will come up which are at present entirely unforeseen; others are already in contemplation, of which I would mention one as an example. It has come to the notice of several publishers recently that a large contraband trade is going on in some of our colonies in pirated editions of copyright books. Steps are now being taken by individual pub- lishers, and by groups of publishers acting together, to abate this nuisance. The matter has been brought before your Council, who are considering whether it will not be possible to go further in this matter and devise some means to stamp it out altogether. This is one instance of useful work which may be properly undertaken by this association. There seems, in fact, to be every prospect that the hands of those gentlemen whom you have honoured by electing as your officers and council will be full. I would ask you, therefore, to judge our work leniently, and if the results seem to you, as is very probable, to be scanty and long in coming, I hope you will remember that we are all men whose time is already fully occupied, and that the hours which we have already given, and shall continue to give, to the affairs of this association must be taken from a leisure which has not been hitherto regarded as excessive. But whether our work proves fruitful or whether it be barren, it will always be our endeavour so to conduct the affairs of this association that it shall not be an unworthy representative of your ancient and honourable trade. In conclusion, I would like to say with what great satisfaction it is that we have received the kind permission of the Worshipful Company of Sta- tioners to hold in their ancient hall our general meetings and the meetings of our council; further, by their kind permission we have been able to engage the services of Mr. Poulten as secretary to the council; and it is also a matter of congratulation that we shall be able to rely on the valuable legal assistance of Mr. C. R. Rivington, the clerk of the company. The Stationers' Company have—unlike many of the ## p. (#635) ################################################ THE AUTHOR. 281 City companies—always preserved their connec- tion with the trade from which they derived their origin, and I hope that from this friendly alliance, which undoubtedly will be a source of great con- venience and stability to our Association, the company itself may eventually derive some benefit. C. J. LONGMAN. *-*. 2.-- -> AMERICAN AND ENGLISH FICTION, HE following appeared in the Evening Post, New York, on March 31 last :- “Sir, The Evening Post has always been prominent in the cultivation of arts and letters, and for that reason I invite its attention to the darkening fortunes of the native novelist of respectable tastes. To some it may seem a matter of Small importance if, as a class, he should become altogether extinct, because, say they, “as a nation we have not got the “novel habit”’; but I am very certain that such a judg- ment is hastily snatched, and is, moreover, entirely wrong. During the past five years I have read—personally and not by deputy—fully as many manuscripts as any single publisher in this country—read them, too, carefully and criti- cally, and, although sympathetically as a brother author, still, with a perfectly unbiassed mind, and with this great advantage over the pro- fessional reader, that I come in contact with the book trade and know what is wanted by its members, who are the book-buyers crystallised. As a result of this experience I would say that, in my judgment, the young American novelist has just as much ability and natural aptitude for novel- writing as an English beginner, while he is less wordy—excepting where he has taken an over- dose of our classic writers—and quicker in getting at the point or pith of his subject. He is more sympathetic too, swifter to learn, and brings a freer mind to his task. On the other hand, he is over-confident, he lacks the patient drudgery of his British rival, his work is apt to be slovenly, he is prone to think that success in fiction-writing is all a question of native talent, whereas, unlike the poet, the novelist is made and not born— made by years of patient toil, study, and observa- tion, Still his faults are those of strength and not of weakness; and if his countrymen believe in the wholesome novel as an institution, and in my judgment it is one of the greatest in the world — he should be encouraged and not strangled. Is that too strong a word P. Well, let the reader reserve his judgment until he has glanced at a few of the influences dragging at the rope: - “(I.) Last year foreign authors contributed two-thirds of the presentable fiction published in this country—reciprocally, our authors con- tributed less than I per cent. of the fiction published abroad. “(2.) Of the ten cent magazines subsidised by generous advertisers to the extent of probably 2,OOO,OOO dols, per annum, 2O,OOO,OOO copies are sold annually at a third of the price possible without the advertising. This business cuts right into the heart of the book trade, and so lessens the demand for new fiction. “(3.) The daily press throughout the country is so superabundant in its sensationalism that it leaves the ordinary reader—male and female— neither time nor inclination to take up fiction, unless it be of the kind which tends to further vitiation of the taste. - “ (4.) The sellsationalism which the press culti- Vates in its news it denounces—even when in its most harmless form—in its reviews of fiction, as if it wanted a monopoly of the business; so that When a native writer endeavours to cater in an honest way to the appetite made by the press and writes a book after the style of the works of Doyle, Weyman, or Hope, the reviewers promptly dub his work ‘a dime novel,' solely on account of its romanticism and without regard to its style or general merit. “(5.) The adoration of the foreign writer. London's imprimatur is omnipotent; without it nothing in fiction goes. The result is our American writers are carting themselves off to the English metropolis in the same ships with California claret and with the same object, a foreign label ! - “(6.) And the result of all these actual condi- tions is that the majority of our domestic pub- lishers do not care to publish native works, because it is so much easier and more profitable to handle the foreign article. “Is ‘strangling’ too severe a term F Scarcely a year passes without London making three or four great literary reputations. How long is it since New York made one, and whose fault is it that this great city has to accept such a subordi- nate position in literature ?' I will vouch for the fact that it is not the fault of the domestic authors. I think, however, that it is very largely the fault of the press, which could do so much, and, with one or two notable exceptions like the Evening Post, does so little. There is no busi- . ness in the country which deserves so well of the press as the publishing business, because none advertises so freely in proportion to its profits; nevertheless, the tendency of the sensational press to-day is to encourage the demand for literature which does not advertise at all, and is never sub- ## p. (#636) ################################################ 282 THE AUTHOR. mitted to the criticism of the reviewer. A glance at the average bookstall will convince the most sceptical, as the space not occupied by magazines and periodicals is covered by books which it would be outrageous flattery to call ‘literature.’” *... a 2-sº s- * == THE CHICAGO PRIZE COMPETITION. T will be remembered that the Record of Chicago recently offered prizes to the extent of 30,000 dols. for novels. They were to be of what used to be known here as “three volume '’ length, i.e., consisting of about 150,000 words divided into chapters of 2500 words each. The prizes ranged in value from Io,000 dols. to 600 dols. There were 816 candi- dates. The winners of the prizes are enumerated in the Author's Journal (New York), from which paper we copy it, as follows: FIRST PRIZE–Io,ooo dols. : Harry Stillwell Edwards of Macon, Ga... for the story entitled “Sons and Fathers.” SECOND PRIZE - 3000 dols. : Bernard Edward Joseph Capes of Winchester, England, for the story entitled “The Mill of Silence.” THIRD PRIZE—1500 dols. : Bert Leston Taylor and Alvin T. Thoits of Manchester, N. H., for the story entitled “Under Three Flags.” . FourTH PRIZE—IOOO dols. : William Augustine Leahy of Boston, Mass , for the story entitled “The Incendiary.” FIFTH PRIZE—8oo dols. : Edward S. Ellis of Engle- wood, N. J., for the story entitled “The Eye of the Sun.” SIXTH PRIZE—6OO dols. : Miss Edith Bland of Grove Park, Lee, England, for the story entitled “The Marden Mystery.” SEVENTH PRIZE – 600 dols. : Jesse C. Cowdrick of Ogdensburg, N.J., for the story entitled “The Cask of Gold.” EIGHTH PRIZE–5oo dols.; Thomas H. A. McGill of Denver, Col., for the story entitled “Tangled Threads.” NINTH PRIZE–5oo dols. : John D. Parsons of Newbury- port, Mass., and Frederick R. Burton of Yonkers, New York, for the story entitled “The Mystery of a Time-Lock.” TwPLFTH PRIZE — 5oo dols. : Crittenden Marriott of Shelbyville, Ky., for the story entitled “The More Mystery.” - SPACE RATEs—500 dols. : William Sands Laurie, B.A., of Manchester, England, for the story entitled “The Yellow Horse Caravan.” SPACE RATEs—5oo dols. : Miss Blanche Timmonds of Louisville, Ky., for the story entitled “A Mystery of Resemblance.” SPACE RATEs—500 dols. : Miss Katherine Lee Bates of Wellesley, Mass., for the story entitled “The Turret Chamber.” SPACE RATEs—500 dols. : Miss Belle Moses of New York City, for the story entitled “The Quest for Sophie.” SPACE RATEs—5oo dols : Frederick W. Davis of Chelsea, Mass., for the story entitled “Under Oath.” SPACE RATEs—500 dols. : Edgar Pickering of Margate, Rent, England, for the story entitled “The Wanishing of Cornelius Druce.” SPACE RATEs—500 dols. : E. H. Clough of Oakland, Cal., for the story entitled “The Going Out of Gordon Ledyard.” SPACE RATEs—5oo dols. : Miss Bessie E. Duffett of St. Leonard’s-on-the-Sea, England, for the story entitled “The Mysteries of Legh Hall.” SPACE RATEs—500 dols. : Mrs. Jeanette H. Walworth of New York City, for the story entitled “Under One Star.” SPACE RATEs—5oo dols. : Miss Amy Skene of Hatfield, Herts, England, for the story entitled “The Swansborough Diamonds.” Twenty prize winners in all and six from our country. Now let us get up such a competition here and see what the proportions would be. It is remarkable that, although MSS. were sent in from all parts of the world, no competitor from any part except the United States and England succeeded. Meantime we shall look forward with interest to the appearance of the first three or four of the prize stories. sº wº. -- LITERATURE IN THE PERIODICALS. THE LAW OF DRAMATIC CoPYRIGHT. Correspondence of the Times: H. Beerbohm Tree, April 16; H. H. Morell and James M. Glover, April 17; G. Herbert Thring (Society of Authors), April 18. Leading article in Daily Chronicle, April 16. CANADIAN COPYRIGHT. Letter from Henry Charles Lea to Goldwin Smith. The Times for April 27. A QUESTION OF COPYRIGHT. Frances Hindes Groome. Athenæum for April II. BEN JONSON. T. E. Brown. New Review for May. HAMPSTEAD AND KEATS. Edwin Oliver. Atalanta for May. THE DUTY OF A BIOGRAPHER. Sign of the Ship.” Andrew Lang. for May. M. ZOLA AND THE POOR AUTHOR. for April 18. GEORGE BORRow. National Observer for April 18. BOOTS AND Books. National Observer for April 18. THE ENGLISH DICTIONARY AND THE CLARENDON PRESS. Saturday Review for April 18. DANTE IN AMERICA. Speaker for April 4. DEAF AND DUMB HEROINEs IN FICTION. Cromarty and the author of “In a Silent World.” spondence in Athenaewm for April 4 and I 1. ENGLISH LETTER-WRITING IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. Edinburgh Review for April. UNFINISHED Books. Macmillan’s Magazine for April. THE CONNECTION OF NAMES AND CHARACTERs. Inter alia in “Without Prejudice.” I. Zangwill. Pall Mall Magazine for May. THE ART OF NoMENCLATURE. May. THE SUPPosLTIOUs WICKEDNEss of MINor PoETs. F. Norroys Connel. To-Morrow for May 5. SOME MEMORIES OF HAwTHORNE : III. Rose Haw- thorne Tathrop. Atlantic Monthly for April. THE NEw EDITION OF PoE. Atlantic Monthly for April. MARK TwAIN. Joseph H. Twichell. Harper's Monthly for May. JEAN BAPTISTE AND HIS LANGUAGE. ennedy. Contemporary Review for April. NATURE IN THE EARLIER Roman PoETs. The Countess Martinengo Cesaresco. Contemporary Review for April. Inter alia in “At the Longman’s Magazine National Observer Deas Corre- Cornhill Magazine for Howard Angus ## p. (#637) ################################################ THE AUTHOR. 283 BEVIEWS AND REVIEWING. J. Leisure Howr for May. NOVALIS. May. The Rev. J. Rice Byrne. Humanitarian for NoTABLE REVIEWs. Of H. G. Wells’s “The Island of Dr. Moreau.” Daily Telegraph for April 3. Satwrday Review (by P. Chalmers Mitchell), for April 11. Of Mr. Fraser Rae’s “Sheridan.” Of H. S. Salt's “Shelley.” April 23. Of Mr. Gladstone on the Bible. Spectator for April 18. Of the “Centenary" Burns. Times for April 13. Of “Recent Poetry '' (Austin, Watson, Thompson, David- son, and others). Edinburgh Review for April. Mr. Beerbohm Tree calls attention to the in- adequate protection which the dramatic copyright laws afford to novelists, playwrights, and theatrical managers. He is advised, he writes, that (accord- ing to the Fauntleroy decision) in certain circum- stances the author, in order to prevent his story being dramatised and played without his consent, has to base his claim not, as a layman might suppose, on the fact that a dramatic version of his book has been played, but on the fact that there has been a multiplication of copies of the play in manuscript or in print containing sub- stantial extracts from his book. The author of a play and the manager who has bought it, Mr. Tree continues, are so beset with difficulties in protecting their property against “pirates” that before long piracy will probably be far more profitable than legitimate labour. Mr. Tree's precise case, then, is that “by the anomalies and weakness of the copyright laws, and the cumber- some and costly procedure which has to be resorted to in order to protect property of this kind,” provincial speculators are enabled to play “Trilby,” the rights of which in the British Isles are his, without paying a farthing. A side point is that “the public is likely to be seriously prejudiced against the play by the manner in which it is represented by persons who have neither money nor reputation to stake.” He suggests that the time has come for combined action towards formulating a draft of a moderate and practical Bill such as is likely to be accept- able to the Legislature. Mr. Thring, for the Society of Authors, writes cordially seconding Mr. Tree's suggestion for combined action, and adding that “such a Bill ought to secure the rights of an author to the dramatisation of his own work at any time during which copyright exists in his book, and also to secure to the author a like property in his title.” In America, the dramatisation at any rate is secured to the author, and this point, Mr. Thring observes, was not neglected in a Bill drafted on behalf of the Society of Authors and placed in Lord Monkswell's hands in 1886. The following Times for April 27. Daily Chronicle for are the remaining passages of Mr. Thring's letter:— There is no need to point out that the case commonly known as the “Little Lord Fauntleroy Case ’’ has no proper protection for the author against “pirates.” If the un- authorised dramatiser had, instead of duplicating copies of his play with dialogue taken from the novel, chosen to buy copies of the novel and cut out those portions of the dialogue that he required for his dramatic version, then it would have been, according to the present law, impossible for the author of the book to have obtained redress. TJnder these circumstances, it is highly essential that the remedial measures suggestions should at once be taken, and with the authority of the chairman of the Society of Authors I have much pleasure in stating that the Society will gladly aid Mr. Tree or any one else interested in dramatic copyright in their endeavour to amend and strengthen the law. Mr. Morell’s letter concerns a personal point, namely, it makes known that he and Mr. F. Mouillot leased the play from the proprietor of the provincial rights. [Mr. Tree, in an after- note, explains that his charge, of course, does not refer to companies thus legitimately leasing the play.] Mr. Glover argues that Mr. Tree's failure to obtain an absolute injunction in the case of “Tree v. Bowkett’’ was due merely to an irregu- larity in procedure; that is to say, that the judge obviously would have granted it if the proprietor of the provincial rights, Mr. Abud, had raised the action, or had been joined with Mr. Tree in it. The Daily Chronicle is sympathetic, but oppressed by the difficulties of drafting such a bill, and remarks that, unless Mr. Tree and his fellow-managers are prepared to go the length of demanding that any dramatic representation should be penalised which a jury might consider to be based in whole or in part upon a copyright novel, they will not succeed in making such alteration in the present situation. Even then a man would have to prove his case, and there would be the question of costs. It thinks that on the whole the authors are very handsomely pro- tected by the law. Mr. Francis Hindes Groome says that “The Oracle Encyclopædia’’ has reprinted verbatim et literatim an article on Guizot, which he wrote in “The Globe Encyclopaedia.” Replying to his complaint, Messrs. J. S. Virtue and Co. Limited wrote that :— We are afraid we differ from you entirely on the question of copyright. Had you written to us in a more friendly strain some time ago, we should have been pleased to give you further particulars. We may say, however, that although our opinion at that time was that you had neither the right nor the power to interfere with our publication, we have since confirmed this by consulting several gentlemen respecting copyright, and, amongst others, one of the lead- ing authorities on the subject—a gentleman, we may add, who is always consulted by the Government on copyright matter. He informs us that you have not the slightest right to interfere with our publication. Therefore their solicitors would be prepared to ## p. (#638) ################################################ 284 THE AUTHOR. defend any action brought. “Comment upon this letter (says Mr. Groome to the Athenæum) were superfluous. But I should like a set-off to record the fact that a few weeks since I received from the American publishers, Messrs. Appleton, the munificent sum of £7 18s. Iod. for the mere revision of the articles ‘Fan' and “Gypsies’ in their new edition of ‘Johnson’s Cyclopaedia.’” Astonishment and indignation, says the Saturday, will be felt by many upon hearing that the delegates of the Clarendon Press are now considering whether they will continue to defray the expense of carrying on the great English Dictionary, except on the condition that its scale is greatly reduced. Such a decision would be a national calamity; and if matters come to this pass it feels sure that an appeal to the public, and perhaps even to the Government, would not be made in vain. En passant, our contemporary expresses surprise that the chief seat of learning should have given no official recog- mition of the immense services of Dr. Murray. In the article “Boots and Books’’ the National Observer bestows praise of the flippant order upon the action of the Parisian poet M. Jacques de Lorrain in turning from the pen to shoemaking. “If all our minor poets and novelists would follow his example and choose a second string to their bow, there might be less confusion in the world of letters, and less debate in public about these mysterious phrases— limited editions, the cost of production, and the price per thou.” Mr. Andrew Lang takes that view of the duty of a biographer which the majority of commen- tators on the question—raised out of Mr. Purcell's “Life of Cardinal Manning ”—have supported, namely, that limits must be placed on “the whole truth.” If a biographer discovers a single action (of which no trace is now left) in an honourable life in which his hero “ sails near the wind,” truth does not compel him to drag it into the central lights; the feelings of other people, too, must be considered, and the secrets of the dead. “Ali the characters of interesting persons long ago with Tullus and Ancus are part of our stock of pleasure in life. If I discovered, per impossibile, that Jeanne d’Arc ever did a wrong thing, my duty to the stock of human pleasure would out- weigh my duty to the truth.” Writing upon the presentation by Mr. Willard Fiske of 3000 Dante works to Cornell University, the Speaker declares that this case is a striking illustration of the advantage of having a millionaire as librarian, but hopes, nevertheless, than an effort will be made to establish a Dante library in London, the adopted home of Baretti and Foscolo, Rosetti and Mazzini. BOOK TALK, D" JOSEPH PARKER, of the City Temple, has just issued three works of fiction: (1) “Wilmot's Child” (Fisher Unwin), price 1s. 6d. ; (2) “Walden Stanyer” (Sampson Low), 6s. ; (3) “Tyne Folk : Masks, Shadows, and Faces” (Allenson), 3s. 6d. Mr. E. J. Goodman, author of “The Best Tour in Norway,” has in the press “New Ground in Norway,” so called as it relates to the Ringerike, Telemarken, and Soetersdalen, which are very little known to English travellers. It will be illustrated with a large number of pictures from original photographs by Mr. Paul Lange, of Liverpool, and will be published by George Newnes (Limited) about the middle of May. Professor Saintsbury has written a paper on the literature of the age, for the fifth volume of Mr. Traill’s “Social England.” Mr. Quiller Couch’s volume of “Adventures in Criticism" is expected to be ready this month. Mr. Churton Collins (the Athenaeum under- stands) has in view the preparation of an anno- tated anthology of examples of verse drawn from hitherto unknown sources, or from the less- known works of authors known to the public by single masterpieces only. Mr. Swinburne has an important work in the press, namely, a poem on Malory's story of Balen. It is told in an elaborate rhymed measure, but with great closeness to the original. Messrs. Chatto and Windus will publish the work. A story in English by M. Alphonse Daudet and Mr. R. H. Sherard will shortly be published. Mr. F. W. Bussell, a young Oxford man, is engaged on a work on “The School of Plato,” in which he will endeavour to trace the origin and revival of the Platonic school under the Roman Empire. In the first volume (to be published immediately by Messrs. Methuen) he will give a general survey of the Roman period, and in the second the various philosophic systems of that time will be dealt with in detail. The selection from the poems of the late Pro- fessor Blackie, edited, with an appreciation, by his nephew, Dr. Stodart Walker, will be pub- lished shortly by Mr. John Macqueen. The Hon. Mrs. Henniker is bringing out a volume of stories, some of which she has contri- buted to periodicals, while others are now to appear for the first time. One of the tales was written in collaboration with Mr. Thomas Hardy; it is of a dramatic character, and styled “The Spectre of the Real.” The title of the volume will be “In Scarlet and Grey.” ## p. (#639) ################################################ THE AUTHOR. 285 Mrs. Oliphant writes a volume on “Joan of Arc,” in the Heroes of the Nations Series pub- lished by Messrs. Putnam. It will appear in a few days hence. Mr. J. E. Muddock, who was in India during the time of the Sepoy Rebellion, has finished a story on that subject which Messrs. Hutchinson will publish shortly, called “The Great White Band.” A South African story, entitled “Isban Israel,” by Mr. George Cossins, will be published this month by Messrs. Gay and Bird. Isban Israel of the story is the high priest of a powerful tribe of cave-dwellers who kidnapped the daughters of an English sportsman. The author took part in the Zulu War, and he lays his story in the Transvaal and Matabeleland. Mrs. Hylton Dale has written a romantic novel of the French Revolution around the characters and exploits of Camille Desmoulins and his wife Lucile. It will be published at once by Mr. H. S. Nichols. “The Wooing of Phyllis,” by Katherine E. Colman, and “Kate's Wise Woman,” by Clara Louise Burnham, are among the new books which Messrs. Gay and Bird will send out this month. They have also nearly ready a volume of verse by Eleanor Foster, entitled “With the Tide, and other Poems.” The three-volume novel by Mr. Justin M’Carthy, which we mentioned some time ago as one of several productions to be expected from him early, is to be called “The Riddle Ring,” and will appear this month from Messrs. Chatto and Windus. His monograph on “Pope Leo XIII.” will be issued also before long by Messrs. Bliss, Sands, and Foster. Mr. “Sutcliffe March" has laid the scene of his new novel in Holland. It will be called “A Stumbler in Wide Shoes,” and Messrs. Hutchinson will publish it soon. The biography of Dr. Jowett has been under- taken by his old Balliol friends, Professor Lewis ‘Campbell and Mr. Evelyn Abbott. It will be in two volumes, and its publication—by Mr. Murray —will not take place for some time. Major-General Robley has written and illus- trated a book on “Moko or Maori Tattooing,” an art which, it seems, is fast disappearing in New Zealand. Messrs. Chapman and Hall will publish the book. Professor J. K. Laughton, R.N., is writing a volume on “Naval Strategy and the Protection of Commerce,” for the popular series of naval handbooks published by Messrs. Bell. Sir Benjamin Ward Richardson is preparing a Volume with reminiscences of his professional life, an account of some of the aims of his career, and a number of essays on scientific and philo- sophical topics. The house of Messrs. Longman will publish the work. Sir Benjamin has also finished a work on the question of experimenta- tion on living animals, which will be issued by Messrs. Bell shortly, called “Biological Experi- mentation.” Mr. Henry James is writing a love story for the Illustrated London News, beginning in July and lasting to thirteen instalments. He has finished a new volume of stories which is to be called “ Embarrassments.” Mr. Standish O'Grady has edited a new two- volume issue of “ Hibernia Pacata ; or The Wars in Ireland during the Reign of Queen Elizabeth.” Among the illustrations will be some new portraits. A book of travel by Katharine S. and Gilbert S. Macquoid is to be published by Messrs. Butchinson, entitled “In the Volcanic Eifel : a Holiday Ramble.” Three maps, and over fifty pictures by Mr. Thomas R. Macquoid, R.I., will adorn it. “Dr. Johnson and the Fair Sex" was published a few months ago, and more recently there has been a book on Queen Elizabeth’s Courtships. The same class of literature is about to receive “The Story of Sir Walter Scott's First Love,” now told for the first time in all its detail. There will be portraits of Sir Walter and Lady Scott, and of Sir William and Lady Forbes in the book, of which Messrs. Macniven and Wallace, Edinburgh, are the publishers. Mr. W. Roberts, in the Athenæum of the 4th ult., told that the missing MSS. of the first two volumes of the Paston Letters are in the hands of Captain Pretyman, of Orwell Park, Norfolk. As a part of the King's Library they are, he says, legally and morally the property of the British Museum. Mr. Fr. Norgate, in the issue of the 18th, says he announced five years ago where the MSS. were, and as to the right of possession, he says, George IV. made over to the Museum what he had — and these MSS. he certainly had not. A London bookseller suggests, in the April number of the Bookseller, that publishers should imitate in some respects the German system by sending to selected booksellers in each neigh- bourhood a suitable quantity of their publica- tions, on terms of “sale or return.” This custom, he thinks, would lead to increase circu- lation. A too sanguine friend of an author, evidently, has created some perturbation in the mind of Messrs. Chapman and Hall, publishers. By common course an announcement was issued to the Press of a new book about to be issued. ## p. (#640) ################################################ 286 THE AUTHOR. Extraordinary statements were added, however, including one that “we have read the author's manuscript, and his arguments appear quite unassailable.” One London paper in printing this remarked sapiently that it preferred as a rule to take its opinions from its reviewers. A letter of surprise immediately followed from the pub- lishers, totally disclaiming the “puff,” and stating that they had now been informed by the author that a friend of his was responsible for the information and the opinions put forward. More Napoleon, and this time from no other than Mr. T. P. O'Connor. The M.P. has just finished a book on Napoleon's social and domestic life, which will come from Messrs. Chapman and Hall in a week or two. A bibliography of the works about Napoleon published during, say, the last four years would probably be chiefly interesting because of its length. Mr. David S. Salmond, whose name as a lecturer on South Africa is familiar to many parts of the kingdom, especially to central Scot- land, is publishing a book called “The Diary of a Trip to South Africa.” The publishers are Messrs. Brodie and Salmond, Arbroath. The author is connected with the Castle Line of vessels. The most important books which have appeared during the past month are: in fiction Mr. William Black’s “Briseis” (Sampson Low), which has run in Harper's, was most noticeable ; of political interest “Boer and Uitlander,” by Mr. William F. Regan, got a good deal of attention. The outstanding work in April was, however, Mr. W. Fraser Rae's biography of Sheridan (Bentley). It is in two volumes, with an introduction by the Marquess of Dufferin and Ava, Sheridan's great grandson, who roundly condemns previous bio- graphies as vastly imperfect. An interesting point cleared up in the new work is the circum- stances of Sheridan's death, which were not, as is so generally supposed, sordid, but peaceful, the patient having every comfort and suffering no pain. - Another of a common pattern of story is supplied by a correspondent of the New York Critic. “Searching in St. Louis for a de lure copy of ‘Trilby,’” he says, “I called at Boland's —the largest and oldest establishment in that city—and, on asking if they had a copy, received the answer, “We have Du Maurier’s ‘Trilby,' but do not keep Deluxe's.’” A new work on “The Labour Problem,” by Mr. Geoffrey Drage, M.P., will be published during May by Messrs. Smith, Elder, and Co. The life of Sir Frederick Gore Ouseley, of ecclesiastical music fame, has been written by the Rev. F. W. Joyce, rector of Burford. Two. chapters on Sir Frederick as a musician are: by Mr. G. R. Sinclair, organist of Hereford Cathedral. Messrs. Methuen will publish the book. A volume of varied Ulster stories, by Mr. Caldwell Lipsett, entitled “Where the Atlantic. meets the Land,” will be published immediately by Mr. Lane. The same publisher announces. that the second volume of his Pierrot Library will be a historical story called “My Little Lady Anne,” by Mrs. Egerton Castle. The following extract is from the New York. Critic. It is Mr. Arthur Waugh who speaks, and upon a practice reported common in a section of the London publishing trade :- It would appear that nowadays no book can be called successful which does not pass through several editions. before it is published at all. This morning's papers are full of advertisements of a new book by a well-known purveyor. of sensational fiction, whose story is not to be issued till. Monday, and will then be in its fourth edition. Whether. the public is taken in by this sort of thing or no, it is diffi- cult to say ; but it is certainly the cheapest kind of mani- pulation. It means either one of two things. The pub-. lisher may, firstly, have underrated the number of copies. likely to be sold upon subscription, and so given a first. printing-order inadequate to the demand; or, secondly, he may have printed the words “First Edition ” upon the first, few thousand, “Second ’’ on the next batch, and so on. In neither case do the additional copies constitute a genuine. edition, which means, if it means anything, a reprint, rendered necessary by the exhaustion of stock placed upon the market in the usual course of business. “Soaps and mustards,” adds Mr. Waugh, “ have their methods, but one wishes better treat- ment for even the most vulgar and incompetent. of novels.” Carrying out a family arrangement, Mr. Theodore Watts has added to his surname that. of his mother, and will in future sign himself as Theodore Watts Dunton. In periodicals a new penny morning paper for London has to be recorded this month. This is the Daily Courier—owned by Sir George Newnes, and edited by Mr. Earl Hodgson assisted by Mr. L. F. Austin—of which the first number appeared on the 23rd ult. It eschews a political side, but, cultivates social interest, and contains thirty-two. pages of the St. James's size. Messrs. Harms- worth will start a new halfpenny daily paper, the Daily Mail, on the 4th inst. Cheshire is about to follow the example of Essex and Kent by establishing a quarterly journal of local anti- quarian record and folk-lore, called “Cheshire Notes and Queries.” It is now definitely stated that Mr. Clement. Scott's first volume of dramatic criticisms will appear in the course of a few days. It will be concerned exclusively with the Irving productions ## p. (#641) ################################################ THE AUTHOR. 287 at the Lyceum, and will be called “From ‘The Bells' to “King Arthur.’” The publisher is Mr. Macqueen. A six-volume edition of “Boswell's Life of Johnson,” with an introduction and some notes by Mr. Augustine Birrell, is about to be published by Messrs. Constable. Mr. James Baker, who last year was acting as special correspondent upon the Nile, is going to Moscow for the coronation festivities ; he will journey to St. Petersburg by the “ss. Midnight Sun * instead of by the overland route. Messrs. A. Constable and Co. have just pub- lished a collection of short stories by Mrs. Nella Parker, entitled “Dramas of To-day.” A report on the conference at Ottawa on the copyright question, at which Mr. Hall Caine and Mr. Daldy were present, has been published as an appendix to the annual report of the Minister of Agriculture for 1895. Copies of this appendix may be obtained at the offices of the High Commissioner for Canada, 17, Victoria-street, S.W. Mr. Charles J. Mansford has in the press, to be published very shortly (Mentz, Kennor, and Co.), a romance of sea and shore called “The Dutchman’s Luck.” The same author will pro- duce in the autumn (John Hogg, Paternoster- row) a story of adventure in Northern India, illustrated by Mr. J. Ayton Symington. Esmé Stuart has just published “A Mine of Wealth” (3 vols., Hurst and Blackett), and “Harum Scarum, a Poor Relation,” in one vol. (Jarrold and Sons). Mrs. Hartley Perks has in the press and will shortly publish a novel entitled “Among the Bracken” (Archibald Constable). Commander Claud Harding will shortly publish (Sampson Low, Marston and Co.) a new story entitled “Jack Stapleton,” or “The Romance of a Coral Island,” the scene of which is laid in the West Indies and Central America. Mr. John Lascelles’ new volume of verse— “The Great Drama and Other Poems”—will be issued immediately by the Leadenhall Press Limited. This will be the second volume of a “Sun and Serpent Series” of books of verse, each complete in itself, which will be published, at intervals, by the same author. - A long letter from Mr. Thomas Hutchinson, Dublin, the well-known Wordsworth authority, appeared in the Academy for April 18, with refer- ence to the recent edition of the poet by Professor Enight in the Eversley series. Mr. Hutchinson bitterly complains that his name has not been included in the acknowledgments which Professor Enight makes for assistance rendered in detecting errors in the previous text. It is shown, more- over, that Professor Knight acknowledged these services by letter. Mr. Anthony Hope's next book, “The Heart of Princess Osra,” will be published early in the autumn, by Messrs. Longmans. From time to time the Rev. Frederick Lang- bridge has produced verses, which, if slight, are yet pleasing, and have the true ring. He has now published, through the Religious Tract Society, a little volume of verse called “A Cluster of Quiet Thoughts.” Mostly they are quite short, as the following: Deem thou of no estate— As doomed and reprobate, And call thou no man devil, brute, or clod: One worketh in the dark, Whose ways are long to mark; Despair of man is black despair of God. Mrs. Helen C. Black has just published (Spottiswoode and Co.). “Pen, Pencil, and Mask,” being a collection of biographical sketches of sixty eminent persons connected with Art and the Drama. Mr. Tuer, author and publisher, has at last completed his “History of the Horn Book” after three years’ work. In his latter capacity no one excels Mr. Tuer in the “mounting ” of the book. In three volumes he has collected 3oo illustra- tions, including I 50 examples. Seven horn books and A. B. C. Battledores are recessed within the covers. In the binding a return has been made to the thick vellum so much used formerly. It is understood that both publisher and author are completely satisfied with the agreement as to the production of this book. In the Cymmrodorion section of the National Eisteddfod at Llandudno, Mr. W. Edwards Tirebuck is to read a paper entitled “Welsh Thought and English Thinkers.” Mr. Tirebuck's “Tales from the Welsh Hills,” which appeared in serial form in English, Scotch, and Welsh papers last year, are to be shortly published in cheap volume form, illustrated by a Welsh artist. Mr. Heinemann has added Mr. Tirebuck's latest book, “Miss Grace of All Souls',” to his Colonial Library. *- ~ *-* e- - -s CORRESPONDENCE, I.—Is IT RIGHT P ILL it be credited that, although I sent a W W stamped directed envelope to the editor of a certain weekly magazine, to know the fate of a poem, I never had the slightest inkling as to its fate, either directly or through the “Answers to Corrrespondents’ columns ! ## p. (#642) ################################################ 288 THE AUTHOR. I am quite aware, of course, that an editor is not bound to give his reasons in any case, but all I asked for was “Yes” or “No.” In the mean- time I could not send the poem elsewhere, as I had no copy of it (my own fault that (); but even had I kept one I should not have sent it else- where until I knew it would not appear, in the paper to which I had sent it. Assumption of rejection, through delay in answering, or no answer at all, is dangerous ; and I have got into trouble that way, and been charged for it ! This is an unanswerable argument, is it not? But my real grievance was that I could get no reply as to fate of verses in the acknowledged channel—i.e., “Answers to Correspondents”—where hundreds of comparative no-bodies were replied to weekly. Not very creditable to the paper in question, is it P What should we think of such a standard of courtesy—or discourtesy—in ordinary social life? And the ordinary discourtesy was intensi- fied here a thousandfold by the fact of the sub- editor having once been a friend of mine (save the mark 1), and I had offered social amenities to the editor. F. B. D. [Would it not be prudent in such cases always to keep a copy of the poem, and to send the editor a notice that if the contribution is not accepted within a certain time the author will hold himself free to send elsewhere? And may not the silence of the editor be accounted for in one of two ways: First, that, owing to the thousands of communications received, he had simply forgotten the case; secondly, that he had made it a rule never to explain his reasons for refusing or accepting 2–ED.] II.-EDITORS AND AUTHORs. An American writer asks (Authors’ Journal, April, 1896) why an editor does not, in accepting a contribution, state what he proposes to give for it before he uses it P *- “In common honesty ought not the sale of literary contributions to be conducted on the same principles that govern other mercantile transactions P Is not the author entitled, quite as much as the farmer or the merchant, to say whether he will accept or refuse the terms offered him for his wares? “‘Our regular rates’ are a very uncertain quantity, and usually an unknown one; but however liberal they may be, the author should surely be allowed his opinion about accepting or declining them.” The question is very pertinent, but there are so many contributors anxious above all things to see themselves in print that a writer must belong to the class of those whom the public desire to see º print before he can expect to be treated with the consideration that is paid to the farmer or the merchant. These two persons pursue their business from a business point of view. The young Writer does not : he is anxious, above all, to be accepted : when that is accomplished, and not till then, he begins to think about the money. III.-GRAB-ALLs of LITERATURE. Here is a pretty experience which adds to the sweets of our calling. A month back a produc- tion of mine appeared in a so-called “popular ” weekly paper. Neither MS. nor printed sketch has ever received a word of acknowledgment, notwithstanding letters to editor and proprietors. It is a scandalous shame that one’s work should be thus appropriated without even receiving the scanty bone of recognition. If this be not an example of literary theft, I know not what is. CECIL CLARKE. Authors’ Club, 21st April. [The Secretary of the Society would settle this case very quickly if it were placed in his hands,- ED.] - IV.-CoIPY OF ADVERTISEMENT IN A PARISIAN JOURNAL. “Auteurs inédits peuvent inserer manuscrit dans une revue indépendente illustrée.” This announcement appeared about a year ago, and I answered it out of curiosity, receiving the following postcard in reply: “Monsieur, La revue dont il était question dans l'annonce du Journal est la Libre Critique, 37, rue Souveraine à Bruxelles. Je vous en addresse un specimen en même temps que cette réponse. “Vous comprendrez qu'il nous soit tout à fait impossible d’accepter ou de refuser l'insertion de votre nouvelle sans l’a voir lue. Les conditions de collaboration se résument en l'acceptation par les auteurs d’un abonnement à la revue (IO francs l'an). Du Ist Octobre prochain, notre publication comportera I6 pages de texte et les pages supplémentaires seront consacrées à la littérature. “Croyez moi, Monsieur, votre tout dévoué, “ANDRE REMONT.” I could not resist sending the following reply: “Monsieur, Je vous remercie pour l'envoi de votre journal et de la carte que vous avez bien woulu m'adresser; d'après elle il me semble que l’exploitation des auteurs a fait un pas de plus— demanderait-on à un cordonnier de payer le plaisir de vous chausser P “Acceptez, monsieur, tinguées, - mes salutations dis- “ M. M. M.” 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. 06 Issue 12 (May 1896) Subject The topic of the resource The Author, Vol. 06 Issue 12 (May 1896) Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015013732253" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015013732253</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Publication Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 1896-05-01-The-Author-6-12 publications The Author https://historysoa.com/files/original/5/288/1896-04-01-The-Author-6-11.pdf 87920e45423e4b89f8409779ff7a0c78 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 The Author Description An account of the resource A digitised run of the Society of Authors' monthly periodical, The Author, 1890–1914, made available together for the first time. Currently users can browse issues and <a href="https://historysoa.com/items/browse?search=&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bjoiner%5D=and&advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=51&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Index&collection=&type=&tags=&exhibit=&date_search_term=&submit_search=Search+For+Items&sort_field=Dublin+Core%2CTitle">indices</a> (not available for all volumes). Full text search for all issues, and other additional search functionality, will be added in 2022. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1890–1914 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context The-Author-Issues Publication Date The date of an event (in YYYY, YYYY-MM or YYYY-MM-DD format) 1896-04-01 Volume 6 Issue 11 Pages Page range in volume 245–268 Ngram Date Version of the date in YYYYMMDD format for use by the Ngram plugin 18960401 Ngram Text Version of the text with no HTML formatting for use by the Ngram plugin C be El u t b or, (The Organ of the Incorporated Society of Authors. Monthly.) CONDUCTED BY WALTER BESAN. T. Wol. VI.-No. 11.] APRIL 1, 1896. [PRICE SIXPENCE. For the Opinions earpressed in papers that are signed or initialled the Authors alone are responsible. None of the papers or para- graphs must be taken as eaſpressing the collective opinions of the committee unless they are officially signed by G. Herbert Thring, Sec. *— a 2-2 z--- - - HE Secretary of the Society begs to give notice that all remittances are acknowledged by return of post, and requests that all members not receiving an answer to important communications within two days will write to him without delay. All remittances should be crossed Union Bank of London, Chancery-lane, or be sent by registered letter only. Communications and letters are invited by the Editor on all subjects connected with literature, but on no other sub- jects whatever. Articles which cannot be accepted are returned if stamps for the purpose accompany the MSS. *- a 2-2 WARNINGS AND ADWICE, { . RAWING THE AGREEMENT.-It is not generally understood that the author, as the vendor, has the absolute right of drafting the agreement upon whatever terms the transaction is to be carried out. Authors are strongly advised to exercise that right. In every form of business, this among others, the right of drawing the agreement rests with him who sells, leases, or has the control of the property. 2. SERIAL RIGHTS.—In selling Serial Rights remember that you may be selling the Serial Right for all time ; that is, the Right to continue the production in papers. If you object to this, insert a clause to that effect. 3. STAMP YOUR AGREEMENTs. – Readers are most URGENTLY warned not to neglect stamping their agreements immediately after signature. If this precaution is neglected for two weeks, a fine of £Io must be paid before the agree- ment can be used as a legal document. In almost every case brought to the secretary the agreement, or the letter which serves for one, is forwarded without the stamp. The author may be assured that the other party to the agree- ment seldom neglects this simple precaution. The Society, to save trouble, undertakes to get all the agreements of members stamped for them at no ea pense to themselves eaccept the cost of the stamp. 4. AsCERTAIN WHAT A PROPOSED AGREEMENT GIVES To BOTH SIDES BEFORE SIGNING IT.-Remember that an WOL. W.I. arrangement as to a joint venture in any other kind of busi- ness whatever would be instantly refused should either party refuse to show the books or to let it be known what share he reserved for himself. 5. LITERARY AGENTs.-Be very careful. You cannot be too careful as to the person whom you appoint as your agent. Remember that you place your property almost un- reservedly in his hands. Your only safety is in consulting the Society, or some friend who has had personal experience of the agent. Do not trust advertisements alone. 6. CosT OF PRODUCTION.--Never sign any agreement of which the alleged cost of production forms an integral part, until you have proved the figures. 7. CHOICE OF PUBLISHERS.-Never enter into any cor- respondence with publishers, especially with those who ad- vertise for MSS., who are not recommended by experienced friends or by this Society. 8. FUTURE WORK.—Never, on any account whatever, bind yourself down for future work to anyone. 9. PERSONAL RISK.—Never accept any pecuniary risk o responsibility whatever without advice. - Io. REJECTED MSS.—Never, when a MS. has been re- fused by respectable houses, pay others, whatever promises they may put forward, for the production of the work. II. AMERICAN RIGHTS.—Never sign away American rights. Keep them by special clause. Refuse to sign any agreement containing a clause which reserves them for the publisher, unless for a substantial consideration. 12. CESSION OF COPYRIGHT.-Never sign any paper, either agreement or receipt, which gives away copyright, without advice. - I3. ADVERTISEMENTS. — Reep some control over the advertisements, if they affect your returns, by a clause in the agreement. 14. NEvKR forget that publishing is a business, like any other business, totally unconnected with philanthropy, charity, or pure love of literature. You have to do wit business men. Be yourself a business man. - Society’s Offices :- 4, PORTUGAL STREET, LINCOLN's INN FIELDs. *-*. e- HOW TO USE THE SOCIETY. I . VERY member has a right to ask for and to receive advice upon his agreements, his choice of a pub. lisher, or any dispute arising in the conduct of his business or the administration of his property. If the advice sought is such as can be given best by a solicitor, the member has a right to an opinion from the Society’s solicitors. If the case is such that Counsel’s opinion is desirable, the Com- E E 2 ## p. (#600) ################################################ 246 THE AUTHOR. mittee will obtain for him Counsel’s opinion. All this without any cost to the member. 2. Remember that questions connected with copyright and publisher's agreements do not generally fall within the experience of ordinary solicitors. Therefore, do not scruple to use the Society first—our solicitors are continually engaged upon such questions for us. 3. Send to the office copies of past agreements and past accounts with the loan of the books represented. This is in order to ascertain what has been the nature of your agree- ments, and the results to author and publisher respectively so far. The Secretary will always be glad to have any agreements, new or old, for inspection and note. The infor- mation thus obtained may prove invaluable. 4. If the examination of your previous business trans- actions by the Secretary proves unfavourable, you should take advice as to a change of publishers. 5. Before signing any agreement whatever, send the pro- posed document to the Society for examination. 6. The Society is acquainted with the methods, and—in the case of fraudulent houses—the tricks of every publish- ing firm in the country. 7. Remember always that in belonging to the Society you are fighting the battles of other writers, even if you are reaping no benefit to yourself, and that you are advancing the best interests of literature in promoting the indepen- dence of the writer. 8. Send to the Editor of the Author notes of everything important to literature that you may hear or meet with. 9. The committee have now arranged for the reception of members’ agreements and their preservation in a fireproof safe. The agreements will, of course, be regarded as con- fidential documents to be read only by the Secretary, who will keep the key of the safe. The Society now offers —(1) To read and advise upon agreements and publishers. (2) To stamp agreements in readiness for a possible action upon them. (3) To keep agreements. (4) To enforce payments due according to agreements. THE AUTHORS’ SYNDICATE, EMPERS are informed : 1. That the Authors' Syndicate takes charge of the business of members of the Society. That it submits MSS. to publishers and editors, concludes agree- ments, examines, passes, and collects accounts, and, gene- rally, relieves members of the trouble of managing business details. 2. That the terms upon which its services can be secured will be forwarded upon detailed application. 3. That the Authors' Syndicate works only for those members of the Society whose work possesses a market value. - 4. That the Syndicate can only undertake any negotiations whatever on the distinct understanding that those negotia- tions are placed ea:clusively in its hands, and that all communications relating thereto are referred to it. 5. That clients can only be seen by the Director by appointment, and that, when possible, at least two days' notice should be given. 6. That every attempt is made to deal with all communi- cations promptly. That stamps should, in all cases, be sent to defray postage. 7. That the Authors' Syndicate does not invite MSS. without previous correspondence ; does not hold itself responsible for MSS. forwarded without notice; and that in all cases MSS. must be accompanied by stamps to defray postage. 8. That the Syndicate undertakes arrangements for lectures by some of the leading members of the Society; that it has a “Transfer Department' for the sale and purchase of journals and periodicals; and that a “Register of Wants and Wanted” is open. Members are invited to communicate their requirements to the Manager. There is an Honorary Advisory Committee, whose services will be called upon in any case of dispute or difficulty. It is perhaps necessary to state that the members of the Advisory Committee have no pecuniary interest whatever in the Syndicate. * As-º NOTICES. HE Editor of the Author begs to remind members of the Society that, although the paper is sent to them free of charge, the cost of producing it would be a very heavy charge on the resources of the Society if a great many members did not forward to the Secretary the modest 6s. 6d. subscription for the year. The Editor is always glad to receive short papers and communications on all subjects connected with literature from members and others. Nothing can do more good to the Society than to make the Author complete, attractive, and interesting. Will those who are willing to aid in this work send their names and the special subjects on which they are willing to write P Communications for the Author should reach the Editor not later than the 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. Members and others who wish their MSS. read are requested not to send them to the Office without previously communicating with the Secretary. The utmost practicable despatch is aimed at, and MSS. are read in the order in which they are received. It must also be distinctly under- stood that the Society does not, under any circumstances, undertake the publication of MSS. The Authors’ Club is now open in its new premises, at 3, Whitehall-court, Charing Cross. Address the Secretary for information, rules of admission, &c. Will members take the trouble to ascertain whether they have paid their subscriptions for the year P If they will do this, and remit the amount, if still unpaid, or a banker's order, it will greatly assist the Secretary, and save him the trouble of sending out a reminder. Members are most earnestly entreated to attend to the warning numbered (8). It is a most foolish and may be a most disastrous thing to enter into an agreement binding for a term of years. Let them ask themselves if they would give a solicitor the collection of their rents for five years to come, whatever his conduct, whether he was honest or dishonest ? Of course they would not. Why then hesitate for a moment when they are asked to sign them- selves into literary bondage for three or five years P Those who possess the “Cost of Production ” are requested to note that the cost of binding has advanced 15 per cent. This means, for those who do not like the trouble of “doing sums,” the addition of three shillings in the pound on this head. In other words, if the cost of binding ## p. (#601) ################################################ THE AUTHOR. 247 is set down in our book at eight pounds, to this must now be added twenty-four shillings more, so that it now stands at £948. The figures in our book are as near the exact truth as can be procured; but a printer's, or a binder's, bill is so elastic a thing that nothing more exact can be arrived at. Some remarks have been made upon the amount charged in the “Cost of Production” for advertising. Of course, we have not included any sums which may be charged for inserting advertisements in the publisher's own magazines, or in other magazines by exchange. As agreements too often go, there is nothing to prevent the publisher from sweeping the whole profits of a book into his own pocket, by inserting any number of advertisements in his own magazines, and by exchanging with others. Some there are who call this a form of fraud; it is not known what those who practise this method of swelling their own profits call it. *- FROM THE COMMITTEE, HE Committee beg to remind members that the Subscription for the year is due on January the First. The most convenient form of payment is by order on a Bank. This method saves the trouble of remembering. The Secretary will in future send reminders to members who are in arrear in February. The Author will not be sent to members in arrear after the month of March. The members of the Society were invited by the General Meeting of Feb. 17 to nominate certain men and women of letters willing and able to serve on the sub-committee for the con- sideration of changes—if any—that might be thought desirable in the constitution and manage- ment of the Society, and especially with the view of making the Committee more representative of the whole body of members. It was also ordered by the second resolution— see the Author for March, pp. 223, 22.4—that the names thus proposed and seconded should be published in the April number of the Society's paper, and that this list should be accompanied by a balloting paper. The second Resolution cannot be carried out for the reason that no names at all have been sent in. The subject will be laid before the Com- mittee at the next meeting. G. HERBERT THRING, Secretary. March 30, 1896. LITERARY PROPERTY. Mºº of the Society are invited to observe that when a case is quoted in these pages, they can learn the name of the publisher, if they desire to do so, by calling upon the Secretary. The name of the author concerned in the case is however confidential, and will not be divulged without his direct sanction. It is found necessary to make this known, as it has been suggested that the cases quoted in the Author have no real existence, but are inventions of some persons connected with the Society. ſ.—AN EXAMINATION OF Accounts. In this case an author receiving the accounts of his book was not satisfied with certain figures, and demanded an audit. The account, as ren- dered, showed a balance of so much against the author. The auditor examined the books and found the exact contrary—a balance due to the author. Such a case by no means necesssarily implies dishonesty, but a certain amount of care- lessness; it shows very strongly the necessity for auditing the accounts. The balance due to the author, on the amended account, was paid. II. THE CASE OF ABERNETHY v. HuTCHINson : A MUCH QUOTED CASE OF COPYRIGHT LAw. This was a very extraordinary suit, and as one of the three decisions upon its merits now forms the legal precedent upon which most disputes as to copyright in lectures are decided, we think that the account of the case, as published recently in the Lancet, will have interest for many of our readers—for all, indeed, who have made a study of questions of copyright. The Lancet, upon its appearance in 1823, started the practice of reporting certain medical lectures delivered to the classes of students at the Borough Hospital, St. Bartholomew's Hospital, and in other public or semi-public places. The first victim—for so the reported men con- sidered themselves—was Sir Astley Cooper, who tacitly acquiesced in a publicity that served him well. The second was Abernethy, who brought an action against Hutchinson, the publisher of the Lancet, for infringement of copyright. “On the hearing of the motion,” says the Zancet, “an affidavit was put in by Abernethy which at great length cited the circumstances of the delivery of the lectures and gave an account of his calling forth ‘the hireling of the Lancet’ from the ranks of his students without response. He bitterly inveighed against the appropriation of his copyright, but at the same time protested that he would never withhold ## p. (#602) ################################################ 248 THE AUTHOR. from mankind any words of his the publication of which was for the true good of the public. The affidavit of the defendant Hutchinson con- tended that the publication was made exactly for the good of the public, and, such being the case, free publication ought to be permitted without legal restriction. He further tried to show that there was no precedent for the recognition of copyright vested in verbal utterances. The Lord Chancellor (Lord Eldon) on the third day refused to grant an application, but several times in the course of his judgment said that he would hear an argument upon the point whether there had been a breach of trust or of implied contract. Thus it was temporarily decided that words used in lectures for the public benefit had no copyright vested in them, and were liable to be published without reserve for the good of humanity.” Four months were allowed by Abernethy to elapse before he made his second application to the Lord Chancellor for an injunction on the ground suggested to him by his lordship, viz., that his lectures were delivered to persons under an implied contract not to publish them ; but at the end of May the application was made and the hearing was commenced on June I.O. Abernethy renewed his application obviously rather in the interests of other lecturers than his own, for at the time his lectures were not being printed in the Lancet, having been discontinued at the completion of the course some two months previously. “He may possibly have vamity enough to suppose that we shall reprint his lectures,” wrote Thomas Wakley, the editor of the paper. “On this point his mind may be perfectly at ease; our pages have been already obscured with his hypothetical nonsense during six tedious months, and when we read the proof of the last paragraph we felt relieved of a most intolerable incubus.” The result of the second application was that Abernethy was successful. The Lord Chancellor in his judgment to a certain extent went back on himself. He held that the lectures could not be published for profit, that if any pupil who had paid only to hear them afterwards sold them to the publisher he infringed the law, and that the publishers in so publishing them enacted “what this Court would call a fraud in a third party.” He dwelt upon the practical difficulty that existed in bringing home this fraud to anyone where no manuscript was in existence, but did not other- wise allow that there was any difference as far as the author's rights were concerned whether the lecture was delivered from a manuscript or as an extemporary effort. This is the judgment which forms the precedent upon which cases of infringe- ment of copyright in lectures are always decided, and in text-books upon the subject it is the case that is always quoted. Mr. Lely, in his excel- lent little pamphlet, “Copyright Law Reform,” published by the Society of Authors, quotes the case of Caird v. Syme; but the judgment here was, we believe, founded upon Lord Eldon's judgment in Abernethy v. Hutchinson. Mr. Scrutton, in our edition of “The Law of Copy- right” (1890), refers only to this judgment in Abernethy’s second application, and gives the place of the delivery of the lectures in question wrongly. He says they were delivered at Guy’s Hospital. They were delivered at St. Bartholo- mew’s Hospital, a distinction, as will be seen, with some difference. The lecturers at Guy’s Hospital never disputed the right of the Lancet to publish their lectures. Six months later Wakley applied to the Lord Chancellor to dissolve the injunction restraining him from continuing to publish or sell Abernethy’s lectures in the Lancet. The motion was un- opposed, and Lord Eldon dissolved the injunction. This judgment did not, and does not, affect the value of his previous judgment with regard to the legality of the publication of lectures, for the dissolution was granted upon new facts which were brought to the knowledge of the Court. Wakley had all along contended that it was monstrous that Abernethy should by one Act confer upon himself as a member of the Court of Examiners of the Royal College of Surgeons the exclusive right of lecturing in the character of a public functionary, and by another Act claim. the protection due to private lecturers on the ground of the injury which his reputation or pecuniary interests might sustain from the issue of his lectures in cheap form. For it must be understood that the said Court of Examiners, of which Abernethy was a member and at one time Chairman, decided who were to be the official lecturers to the students, and would take no other man’s certificates as to the competency of candidates for diplomas. After the injunction Abernethy had delivered an address to the students on the occasion of the opening of the session at St. Bartholomew's Hospital, and this address had appeared in full in the Lanceſ, precisely as if no injunction existed, on the ground that it had been delivered by Abernethy in a public capacity. No retaliatory steps were taken by Abernethy. Shortly after this, a few days only before Wakley's application for a dissolution of the injunction, Abernethy tendered his resignation as a surgeonto the governors of St. Bartholomew's Hospital whilst desiring to remain a lecturer to the institution. The governors refused to accept his resignation as a surgeon unless he also tendered his resig- ## p. (#603) ################################################ THE AUTHOR. 249 nation as a lecturer. This recognition of an inseparable tie between the two posts of surgeon and lecturer reached Wakley's ears, and supplied him with the very point in his argument for a dissolution of the injunction that he required. “Of course Abernethy’s lectures were public property,” he said: “they are delivered in his public capacity as surgeon to a public charity, and the students of the metropolis must attend them, or lectures from some five or six other functionaries similarly situated, whether they like or no.” The five or six others being the other lecturers licensed by the Court of Ex- aminers. The facts of Abernethy’s offer of resig- nation to the governors of St. Bartholomew's Hospital were set out in the form of an affidavit, and, no one appearing to represent Abernethy in opposition to a motion for dissolution of the injunction, Lord Eldon removed the restriction. The practical termination of this case, therefore, was, curiously enough, in exact opposition to the temporary termination which forms a precedent that is so widely quoted, and the Lancet, in publishing the whole story, has furnished us with an interesting piece of old-world literary history. III.--THE AMERICAN AUTHORs' GUILD. Some account appears in the Author for March of the Associated Authors' Publishing Company in New York, an enterprise destined, I trust, for good service to European as well as American authors. A remark in the Author, that the (English) Society of Authors could hardly enter upon the business of publishing, may lead to the inference that the American Guild has entered upon such business. But the Guild takes no responsibility for the new publishing company. On the other hand, it is important to add that the incorporators of the company include the president (General Grant Wilson) and other active members of the Guild, and that a majority of our Board of Manage- ment have recorded their “cordial approval and endorsement of the objects of the proposed corporation.” The American Guild, founded in May, 1892, incorporated in January, 1895, grows rapidly, and by latest accounts numbers more than 400 members. Its aims, as stated in the act of incorporation, are “to promote a professional spirit among authors; to foster a more friendly feeling, and create greater confidence, between authors and publishers, and to devise some practical means of securing accurate returns of sales by publishers; to advise authors as to the value of literary property and the different methods of publishing books, and to see that their contracts are so drawn as to secure to them their lawful rights; to determine disputes between authors and publishers by arbitration, or, if necessary, by an appeal to the courts; to maintain and defend literary property, and to advance the interests of American authors and literature; the furtherance of library, literary, benevolent, and social purposes.” There are twenty-one officers of the Guild. The monthly meetings have been well attended by these, and by unofficial members. The con- ferences have been quick with interest, and there has been a steady development of practical purposes. The Guild is about to establish a sort of club, or “Guild Home,” in New York, a relief insurance fund, a library, and the monthly Bulletin will be enlarged into a magazine. Thus far the only action towards national reform has been a petition to Congress for a manuscript post ; for it is one symptom of the long neglect under which our authors have suffered, that they must pay letter postage on manuscripts, though the very same manuscripts, when accompanied by the publisher's proof, pass as printed matter. When the presidential election is over this petition will probably be granted, but the reform- ing tendencies of the Guild constitute its raison d'être, and will ultimately deal with more serious evils than the postal anomaly. This organisation represents, as I believe, the awakening of literary men in America to the fact that in the republic of letters their nation is placed in the rear of civilised States by injurious external conditions, while possessing ample intellectual ability to keep abreast of other States. For the present the Guild is gathering its forces, and organising them; it is also studying seriously the causes of the injurious conditions, and steadily reaching a consensus thereon ; and on several occasions I have beard in its meetings the rights and wrongs of foreign authors, as affected by American legis- lation, considered with deep concern. The leaders of the Guild are men of experience and practical wisdom, and any Quixotic efforts at reform are as little to be apprehended as passive acquiescence in the oppressions under which American literature is suffering, and by which foreign authors are largely burdened. From letters just received from the president of the Guild and others I learn that international questions were to be discussed at an ensuing monthly meeting, and it is probable that I may ask space in a future number of the Author for a further state- ment. Mon CURE D. ConwAY. IV.--THE TRELOAR BILL. At a meeting of the Executive Committee of the American Publishers’ Copyright League, held ## p. (#604) ################################################ 25O THE AUTHOR. on the 2nd of February, the following resolutions were presented and adopted:— Resolved : That the American Publishers' Copyright League disapprove, on the following grounds, of the pro- visions of the bill introduced into the House of Represen- tatives by Mr. Treloar (H. R. 5976) for the revision of the copyright law : I. The bill provides for the restriction to “citizens of the United States” of the privilege of securing copyright under the statute. The Act of 1891 extended the privilege of securing copyright within the United States to the citizens of foreign states which conceded to American citizens the benefit of copyright. The Act of 1870 had limited the privilege of securing copyright to persons who were “residents * of the United States. The restriction now proposed, limiting the copyright privilege to citizens, would bring about a revocation or cancellation of the copyright relations which have been entered into by the United States, under the Act of 1891, with Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, and Denmark, and would constitute a distinct step back of the policy of even our most primitive copyright laws in the recognition of literary and artistic property. 2. The bill provides for the addition to the list of articles which, in order to secure the privilege of copyright in the United States, must be wholly manufactured within the limits of the United States, of musical compositions and of reproductions of works of art in the form of engravings, cuts, or prints. In the discussion of the provisions of the Act of 1891 it was held by those having expert knowledge of the subject that the application of the manufacturing requirement to the production of foreign musical composers would in practice prevent such composers, in the majority of cases, from securing the benefit of American copyright, and would simply perpetuate the practice previously existing of the appropriation by American reprinters of the property in such productions. It was further established, during this discussion, that a condition requiring the manufacture or production in the United States of an engraving of a work of art by a foreign designer must, in the majority of in- stances (and particularly in the cases of the more important works of art which could not be brought across the Atlantic for the purpose of being engraved) render impracticable the securing of American copyright, and would leave open, as heretofore, the property in such reproductions to be appro- priated by unauthorised publishers. In connection with the difficulties in the way of securing simultaneous publication in the United States for editions of Continental books printed in the language of the country of their origin, the authors of France, Germany, and Spain have thus far secured but inconsiderable advantage from the American Copyright Act ; although the several nations which have entered into copyright relations with the United States have extended to our citizens, without any restric- tions of local manufacture, the full copyright privileges enjoyed by their own citizens. This result has naturally brought about, on the part of the nations referred to, a large measure of dissatisfaction with their copyright relations with the United States, and these relations would before now have been terminated (greatly to the disadvantage of American authors and artists) if it had not been for certain advantages secured under the Act of 1891 to the foreign producers of works of art. If the protection of American copyright is to be withdrawn also from the productions of foreign artists (as would be the result under the Treloar Hill), international copyright relations between the United States and the nations above specified will inevitably be brought to a close. 3. The provision in the bill under which the total amount to be collected for the infringement of the copyright of a literary production is limited to 5000 dollars is inequitable in itself, and constitutes a distinct departure from the principles heretofore controlling the law of copy- right throughout the world. An authorised reprinter might easily secure, through the appropriation of copyrighted work, proceeds which would enable him to pay such a penalty as that provided for, and still secure a satisfactory return from his undertaking. The penalty should be left, as under the present law, proportioned to the extent of the injury caused to the owner of the copyright, and proportioned also to the proceeds secured to the person appropriating the copyrighted property, which proceeds have been diverted from the right- ful owner. - 4. The plan for instituting the office of commissioner of copyrights can, in our judgment, be dealt with more effectively in a separate bill, such as has already been introduced in the House by Mr. Bankhead and in the Senate by Mr. Morrill. It is also our opinion that the staff provided under the Treloar bill for the Copyright Bureau would be unnecessarily large and expensive, and that the services of so many employes would probably not be required, at least during the earlier years of the opera- tion of the office. 5. The purpose expressed in clause XXVIII. of the bill for securing adequate protection for the property rights of dramatic authors can also, in our judgment, be better brought about under the provisions of the Cummings bill now pending the House of Representatives. - For these several considerations it is our judgment that the enactment of the Treloar bill would constitute a serious injury to the rights of producers of copyright property and to the interests of the community for the use of which such copyright property is brought into existence. It would further constitute, on the part of the United States, a breach of international good faith with the several nations of Europe that have extended copyright privileges to American citizens. We, therefore, ask that the bill may receive the unfavourable action of Congress and of the Executive. On motion it was also resolved “that this com- mittee cordially approves the purpose of the bills introduced in the House by Mr. Bankhead, and in the Senate by Senator Morrill, for instituting a separate bureau for the registry of copyrights. It is, however, the judgment of the committee that a larger staff of assistants than that specified in these bills will be required for the effective conduct of the work that is to be confided to this bureau; and it is further our opinion that more effective service will be secured if the responsibility for the selection of all the members of his working staff be placed in the hands of the proposed register of copyrights.” W.—A GREAT CHANCE. The following are certain novel conditions under which any writer may make a certainty of being heard in a Paper especially provided for him. It affords one the greatest pleasure to give publicity to this noble offer. “THIS offer is made to provide a means whereby Authors, Writers, and others of a literary bent or ability, may obtain ## p. (#605) ################################################ THE AUTHOR. 251 publication for their work, and receive adequate remumera- tion from the owtset, besides bringing them into public notice, without ea pense to themselves. The Paper, which will be of a high class, will be issued at a popular price, and its circulation will ensure to its con- tributors a position unobtainable by other means. CoNDITIONs. (1) The Editor will receive, accept, and pay for on publication, at a liberal rate, any Article or Work, either in prose or verse, sent in by a Contributor, provided it be original. (2) The Editor shall have power to delete, alter, cut out, shorten, or expand any Article or Work as he may think fit, and any alteration so made shall be accepted by the Contributor. (3) The rate of remuneration shall be fixed on a basis according to the literary merit, ability, and length of the Work, but in no case shall it be less than at a rate of £5 58. for an Article of 5000 words, and at proportionate rates for other quantities. (4) The decision of the Editor as to the remuneration for any Work shall be accepted as final and binding upon all parties concerned. (5) A copy of each issue of the Paper will be sent post free to every Contributor. (6) Every Contributor is required to agree to subscribe to the Paper for a period of seven years, and to pay each year the Annual Subscription of £3 3s., in advance, failing which their contributions will not be accepted, published, or paid for. (7) The work of the Paper, such as reviews, reports, criticisms, notices, &c., will be distributed (and paid for at liberal rates) amongst Contributors only. This will give further opportunities of remuneration to them apart from their own original contributions. r (8) Every Contributor has the right under these Con- ditions of sending in work to the Paper, which will be accepted and paid for on publication in accordance with Conditions 1, 2, and 3. . (9) Every Contributor, on signing these Conditions and sending the Subscription, will be duly registered, and obtain the privileges contained herein. I agree to become a Contributor in accordance with the foregoing condidions, which I accept and agree to, and I inclose here with the sum of £3 38. as my first year's subscription. Signatwre............ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Address in full * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * I think that a few questions should be sent to the editor before we make haste to pay our annual subscription of £33s. 1. Does the first condition really mean that every contribution sent in by any subscriber or contributor must be accepted and published by the editor? In that case the Tower of Babel itself would be intelligible and interesting in com- parison with a paper which published everything sent in. - 2. Does the second condition contradict the first P In the first the editor seems to bind himself to publish whatever is offered him. In the second he reserves the power to delete, i.e., to cut out, whatever is offered him. WC) L, WI. 3. The third condition appears to contradict itself. The pay is to depend on the literary merit and length of the work offered. But it is never to be less than a guinea for a thousand words. How, then, in the case of articles of no literary merit whatever, which the editor, by the first condition, is bound to publish P 5. A copy to be sent post free to each contri- butor. This is unheard of generosity. 6. This is the most startling condition. We are to engage to pay an annual subscription of 33 3s. a year for seven years | That is to say, we are to promise £3 3s. a year—we can get Longman's for 6s.-for a magazine of which we know nothing—for seven years to come ! This betrays an amount of confidence in the artlessness of literary aspirants which with all our experience we could never reach. For seven years l Blind confidence in the unseen for seven years! Wonderful - 8. The eighth condition clears up the doubt expressed above. The contributor by this con- dition seems to receive the absolute right of having his work, whatever it is, however impos- sible, however miserable, accepted, published, and paid for Another question or two: I. How many contributors will be accepted for each number P A thousand P Ten thousand P 2. What is to be the form, size, price, of the organ in question ? 3. What guarantee does the editor offer (I that the paper will continue; (2) that it will appear; (3) that he can carry out his promises P 4. Is it to be a political, a literary, or scientific organ P A weekly, monthly, or a daily organ P A London or a provincial organ P 5. Suppose it to be a monthly organ : suppose it to have acquired a thousand “contributors: ” has every contributor the power of contributing a contribution every month P If so, the maga- zine would contain something like 500 pages at least every month. Will not this bulk somewhat tax the resources of the enterprising editor P If the projector will enlighten us upon these points he may perhaps attract a large number of contributors. He will observe that I have given him for nothing an excellent advertisement. W. B. F. F. ## p. (#606) ################################################ 252 THE AUTHOR. NEW YORK LETTER, NEVERAL bills affecting copyright have been introduced into the present Congress. There T are first two short bills, providing for a separate bureau of copyright registry, differing chiefly in matters of salary and of sources from which the assistants in the proposed bureau are to be appointed. A third bill, by Mr. Cummings of New York, embodies the views of the owners of dramatic copyrights as to an adequate provision for enforcing the law against pirates of their works. A fourth bill, introduced by Mr. Treloar of Missouri, includes Mr. Cummings' bill ver- batim, and provides also for the much needed copyright bureau. It also extends the terms of copyright from twenty-eight and fourteen to forty and twenty years respectively, a provision suffi- ciently acceptable to the owners of copyright, but one for which there is no organised demand, and one which is deemed by the Authors' League im- practicable at the present time. It also makes some minor changes looking to the greater efficiency of the law as respects copyright in photographs. The rest of the bill is irredeemably bad, and would operate as a virtual repeal of the copyright law. It provides, first, that copyrights shall be given only to citizens of the United States, a provision repealed by the present Act. The exceptions to the non-importation clause in the case of copyright material are all omitted, with the exception of books in foreign languages. The present importation of two copies of a foreign edition of a copyrighted book for use and not for sale is stricken out. Newspapers could lio longer be imported if they contained copyright material, nor could books over twenty years of age, or books for libraries, governments, &c. This section is perhaps the most clumsy and unintelligent of the whole measure. Third, the manufacturing clause is extended to pe iodicals, maps, charts, musical compositions, engravings, cuts, and prints, in addition to the four articles from which that condition is now exacted, namely, books, chromos, lithographs, and photographs. The other details show that the bill is constructed in the most provincial spirit; but the changes provided for are so radical that the bill has already, awakened a storm of indignation among the friends of international copyright. The American Authors’ Copyright League and the American Publishers' Copyright League have already plotested in vigorous terms against the measure, which was opposed at a meeting of a committee on patents of the House of Represen- tatives on March 4, by Mr. Richard Underwood Johnson, secretary of the American Copyright League. Moreover, the American publishers themselves are by no means in favour of the measure, although it evidently had its origin in the desire to extend the manufacturing clause to music, as Mr. Treloar, who introduced it, is a music publisher. Mr. Treloar, to do him justice, is somewhat aghast at the destructive work of his measure, and has shown signs of desisting. There seems to be small chance of the bills pass- ing with these objectionable features, and as the removal of them would remove what was the motive of the introduction of the bill, it is im- probable that the bill will pass in any form. Meantime it is probable that the Authors' League will follow the Publishers' League in indorsing Mr. Bankhead’s bill for a bureau of copyright registry, but as that bill carries an appropria- tion with it, it is likely to meet with consider- able opposition at this time, when the leaders of the majority in the House of Represen- tatives are endeavouring to make a record for economy. English friends of international copyright need have little anxiety about public opinion in the United States on this question. Both the Authors’ and the Publishers' League look upon it as part of their duty to resist constantly any invasion of the present copy- right law tending to a less liberal policy. During the five years of its operation the recipro- cal operation of the American law has been extended steadily, so that now the United States is in copyright relations with Great Britain and her colonies, France, Germany, Belgium, Switzer- land, Portugal, and Denmark, and efforts are being made to strengthen the law still further by similar arrangements with other countries. This policy in its results has already shown its value, for now the authors are able to show Congress that an invasion of the present law would imperil the privileges of American citizens in foreign countries. Of course any change in the direction of liberality would not be met with this objection. It is to be borne in mind, also, that all the attacks upon the law at the present time have started from provincial sources and from men who had little conception of what would be the result of their proposed legislation. Should the bill by any chance succeed in passing the com- mittee there will be a vigorous agitation against it from all sides similar to that which succeeded in defeating the less radical Hicks bill of last year. A second edition of “The Question of Copy- right,” by George Haven Putnam, will be issued immediately by C. P. Putnam's Sons, This work is sound and complete in its history of copyright legislation and discussions of the underlying laws ## p. (#607) ################################################ THE AUTHOR. 253. of property, and this edition will bring the story of the subject in America down to the present month. Another book by Mr. Putnam about to appear is the first volume of “Books and their Makers during the Middle Ages,” a study of the conditions of the production and distribution of literature from the fall of the Roman Empire to the end of the seventeenth century. Chicago is rapidly taking its place as an important publishing centre as well as a literary centre. Still, rapid as has been the progress in the last five years, there is now a magnifying of everything coming from there which shows a great deal of the provincial spirit remaining. Charles Scribner's Sons have just issued “The Love Affairs of a Biblomaniac,” by Eugene Field, in a costly edition, and are about to issue “The House,” by the same author. Mr. Field, who is probably almost unknown to English readers, was a Chicago journalist who has just died. He wrote light poems and essays entirely without permanent value, and the announcement of these volumes, with the great amount of talk that has been made about the author since his death, is one of many indications that America in general and Chicago and the new West in particular have a local literary vanity which shows itself markedly in the output of the leading publishers. Henry B. Fuller, of Chicago, author of “The Chevalier of Pensieri Vani ’’ and of “The Cliff Dwellers,” is to have a volume of one act plays published this spring by the Century Company. He is a man who has shown literary powers of several different kinds, and he is one of the writers watched with real interest in his future by observers of American literature. The principal Chicago publishers, Stone and Kimball, who publish more books of Western life than any other house, have within the half dozen years of their existence come to play a leading part in the literary world here. Their last move was to establish, two weeks ago, a branch house in New York. As John Lane is to publish their Chap-Book in England, readers on the other side will get a very fair idea of the nature of present American taste in light semi-artistic literature. One of the most promis- ing of young Western writers is Hamlin Garland. His last book, “Rose of Dutcher's Coolly,” recently published by Stone and Kimball, has been much discussed. In its strength and its crudity it represents the best of our new work from the Western States. One of the publishers of the book remarked in conversation last week that what Mr. Garland needed for a real advance in power was a wider horizon, an experience in the old countries of Europe. This subject is being discussed vigorously just now ; the general subject of the value of European influence on our the stage. writers. Mr. Brander Matthews has just aroused controversy by the introduction and the conclu- sion of his “Introduction to American Literature,” published by the American Book Company. The author lays great emphasis on the distinction between British and English literature, including under the latter term the literature of all English speaking countries, and he emphasises the wisdom of taking our keellest interest in our own writers. This has been attacked on the one hand as literary jingoism, and defended on the other as an intelli- gent emancipation from secondhand ideas and interests. Whatever the merits of the case, the book is an excellent one for the clearness with which it points out, mainly for use in schools, the broad and simple traits which have thus far marked American literature. - In New York no writer of the last two or three years has attracted more attention than Edward Townsend. His “Chimmie Fadden º’ had an enormous sale, and is now having a success on It deals with a Bowery hero, or the typical Irish-American boy of the poorer district of the city. His “Daughter of the Tenements” if about to be published in England. It gives a fair idea of the quality of a kind of literature much in Vogue here, stories of local colour written by ready, versatile newspaper men, who are quick to seize upon the aspects of our life obviously available for literary purposes. The newspaper reporter is the material from which many of our most prominent young writers are now made. Stephen Crane, the author of “The Red Badge of Courage,” was a reporter here. Richard Harding Davis, Julian Ralph, and Earnest Riis are also reporters. So much “special work,” or articles of general local interest, of a half literary quality, are required by our newspapers now, especially for their great Sunday editions, that the more successful reporters become almost inevitably magazine writers, as the magazines, especially the illustrated ones, want the same sort of matter. The Scribner’s will publish this spring “Cinderella and other Stories,” by Mr. Davis. One of our best writers of stories of western life, Owen Wister, is a grandson of Fanny Kemble. He was a class-mate of Henry Norman at Harvard University, and acted with him in the famous Greek play given there, the GEdipus. Nſr. Norman’s “The Near East” will be published this spring by the Scribner's. The May number of the Bookman will contain an article on Samuel L. Clemens called “Mark Twain as an Historical Novelist,” and about the same time the Harper's will announce officially that Mr. Clemens is the author of “The Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc,” the series which ## p. (#608) ################################################ 254 THE AUTHOR. has been running in Harper's Monthly signed Louis Leconte, announced by the Harper's as by the most popular magazine writer in the world. This article will take the position that Mark Twain is one of the writers of permanent impor- tance, especially for his pictures of south-western American life. “The Adventures of Huckle- berry Finn’’ is the book in which Mark Twain has made the solidest pictures of the characteris- tics of the people of that region, especially of the attitude toward slavery and of the conditions which still cause the violent bloody feuds. Cosmopolis is being watched with interest here. The critics have treated it kindly, but its sale has not been great. Any periodical published at a high price must have a hard time at present to compete with the mass of cheap ones. It is pointed out, by the way, with significance varying according to the point of view of the critic, that of the four Americans who have been asked to contribute to Cosmopolis but one lives in this country, Albert Shaw ; Joseph Pennell, Henry James, and Harold Frederick all live abroad. It is generally believed here that Thomas Hardy tried to withdraw “Jude the Obscure " from the Harpers’ on account of the omissions upon which they insisted. The present attitude towards realistic studies of what we call un- pleasant subjects is shown by a decision just reached, and not yet made public, by the faculty of Yale University. A course on modern novels, including George Moore’s “Esther Waters,” and several others of a similar unconventionality, is to be suppressed next year on account of the amount of unfavourable comment aroused by it. *- 2. ~~ NOTES AND NEWS. \O the members of the Society desire a more direct representation—viz., by some form of election by themselves—in the manage- ment P They have been invited to forward names of persons willing to consider the subject; they have been promised, further, the selection of three such persons from the list. The totally un- expected result has been that not one single name has been sent in. This result may be interpreted in two ways: either as a proof that the members are satisfied with the management, or that the members are apathetic on the subject. Satisfac- tion is, T venture to think, the principal cause ; for if we guard the essentials, no change would make much difference. The essentials are that the managing body shall keep steadily to the original principles of the Society, that is, that light should be constantly thrown upon the meaning of pub- new departure. lishing; the cost of production ; the meaning of agreements; the meaning of royalties; the tricks of tricky or dishonest publishers; and, in fact, on all actual facts connected with the business side of literature. Those who are not concerned with literary property have nothing to do with the Society. For those who are, the Society will, I hope, however it is governed, continue to carry on the work of ascertaining and making public the facts as connected with the production and the distribution of literature. Given the preservation of the essentials I think it matters very little indeed how the Society is governed—whether by a dictator or a Parlia- ment. At the same time there must be changes in the constitution of every society from time to time. One change that I have myself desired very strongly is the election of women on the Council. I believe that a great many other members hold this view. Considering how many women writers are members of the Society: considering, further, the place held in modern literature by wom, n: it does seem absurd that a Society of Authors should have no women on its Council. At the next meeting of Council, if no more per- suasive person takes up the matter, I propose to bring it forward and to propose members. By the Articles of Association the number of the Council is limited to sixty—I have never understood why. We limit the number when we wish to confer a distinction. In this case the distinction is conferred not upon the members, but upon the Society. However, there is the limit laid down. Now, we desire to have on our Council (I) the persons most largely interested in literary property of various kinds; and (2) those persons able to bring special knowledge on the subject of literary property and its manage- ment. A deliberative body, it may be urged, must not be too large : there should be some limit : the Council, however, is seldom called upon to exercise deliberative functions: its chief purpose is to show the world, by the guarantee of well-known names, that we are in earnest, and to supply, from its body, new members for the committee of management. -->ecº- A correspondent speaks of the Committee of inquiry into educational books as if it were a Not at all. Educational books : have hitherto been taken just as they come, with other books. It appears that it has seemed to some as if the Society was principally occupied with fiction. That is partly because fiction is a very important branch of literary property: partly because writers of fiction have now become awakened to this fact : partly because the kind ## p. (#609) ################################################ THE 255 A UTHOR. and other books as the example is the very con- venient unit — the six-shilling book—in which most works of fiction now appear : but mainly because writers of educational works do not, as yet, half understand the value of their own works. Hence they have been led to sign agreements of the most monstrous kind—taking small royalties, deferred till thousands—literally thousands—of copies have been sold. There are many other points connected with the publishing of educa- tional books which require separate and careful investigation. The sub-committee hope to receive assistance during this investigation from those members who have published educational works. My correspondent asks that a wider range of subjects should be explicitly classified and repre- sented. If the writer will turn to the prospectus, to the annual reports, to everything published by the Society, he will find that the widest possible range is already claimed. We look upon literary property of every kind as our field : there is no limit as to fiction or anything else: literary property of every kind belongs to the range of the Society’s work. The reason why my corre- spondent feels himself in the wrong corner is, to repeat, simply that educational writers as a rule do not understand their own rights or the value of their own property: therefore their cases are not often sent to the Secretary, and therefore the columns of the Author have contained, so far, very little reference to educational subjects. We approach the conclusion of another volume of this journal, and I take the opportunity of speaking about arrangements for the future. Our correspondents at Paris and New York will continue their monthly letters: Mr. Thring will communicate a series of papers from his own experience on agreements and their meaning : the members will, it is hoped, contribute notes as to their forthcoming books, with letters and papers on points of personal experience: cases and legal actions bearing on literary property will be reported : we shall repeat certain things already published in these pages: such as the meaning of royalties: and we shall continue to present certain unanswered questions: as, for instance, to the equitable remuneration due for the administration of an author's work : i.e., in those cases where a royalty or profit-sharing agreement is accepted. The warnings and notices which have hitherto been presented with every number of the journal will be recast, with certain additions and alterations. And it is hoped to present instructions of a practical and simple, kind to the WOL. W.I. of book adopted in the “Cost of Production ” candidate for literary success. As the presenteditor, I wish to point out that one cannot hope to provide a paper every word of which will be approved |by all the readers : I beg them, however, to remember that the only raison d’être of the Author is the definition and the defence of literary property: so far as it does that it is the organ and mouthpiece of the Society : as for the rest, we cannot all think alike. Further, signed articles must be taken to represent only the views of the writer: and the editor cannot, clearly, be held responsible for the opinions of his correspondents. Finally, I hope to continue for 1896-97 the feuille- tons that used to please some of our members: they were stopped because the supply was stopped: and that stoppage was caused by the pressure of other work. . t A note will be found in “Book Talk,” extracted from the Athenaeum, on the belief that a publisher, or, indeed, even an author, can command a good review. This note deserves a little attention. Ihave on several occasions “struck” this singular belief, which I think is wide spread. People write to me—“Your well-known friendship with editors: your immense influence with publishers”—it is, indeed, immense: “Your knowledge of journal- ists, your &c., &c., will enable you to procure a good review for my new work.” It is of no use to get angry with people who write in this way; it is generally a proof of ignorance to believe the worst. On one occasion a certain person—an old acquaintance—sent me a book with the usual request for assistance. I replied that the only possible way was to send round press copies: to hope for good reviews: and to advertise. He showed my letter around. “I have known this man,” he said bitterly, “for forty years—and this is all he will do for me!” What else could one do for the man? His fixed belief—it is the fixed belief of many—was that a good review is just a matter of private interest—that and nothing more. On Saturday, March 28, died, at her resi- dence at Hampstead, a gentlewoman whose writings have endeared her name wherever the English language is spoken. I do not pretend that she was a great writer, but I do pretend that what she produced always possessed the true ring; was always charming; was always delicate and pure and elevating. Mrs. Charles, the widow of the late Mr. Andrew Paton Charles, whose brother is the present Mr. Justice Charles, was a woman of wide reading, of many friends, of deep sympathies. In religion she was a strong Anglican without a touch of narrowness: among her closest friends were Dean Stanley and Lady G. G. ## p. (#610) ################################################ 256 THE AUTHOR. Augusta, of whom she wrote a memoir: and the only enemies she had in the world were those whose writings “made ’’ for what she considered evil. It is a great happiness for the Church of England that it can, and does, produce women such as Mrs. Charles; souls so pure, so high- minded, so sincere. Others will no doubt follow her, but to those who knew Mrs. Charles no one can take her place. WALTER BESANT. *~ * → THE SONNET. The sonnet is a dainty gem of rhyme, Where ten sweet syllables may smoothly flow " Through fourteen lines, all neatly set a-row, And linked together with harmonious chime ; Where some grave poet, with a thought sublime, May teach a thousand listening hearts to glow ; Or, word by word, as fancies come and go, A lighter muse may charm the flight of time. Will Shakespere wrought it, all in purest gold; Austerer beauty grew 'neath Milton’s hand; 'Mid Wordsworth’s bays it glittered like a star: And thou, presumptuous pen, dar'st thou ? Withhold ! . . Nor dream to mingle with that deathless band, But humbly follow, thou, afar—afar ! ‘. CRESANDIA. *-- ~ *-* g- > -º FEUILLETONS. I.—THE SUBLIME AND BEAUTIFUL. ** * * HEN his friends heard that Walter - . Hawkins was engaged, most of them wondered how that industrious journalist had found time to fall in love. However, they agreed, his life would be the better for a flavour of romance in it, for his daily work was more than sufficiently prosaic. He reviewed novels— which he really did read—for one paper, put together pot-boiling descriptive articles for others, was “Our London Correspondent’’ to more than one provincial journal, and, by dint of great facility and astonishing powers of work, derived from these various sources an income of about six hundred pounds a year. Once only had he been known to take a holiday, and this he had employed in falling in love with all the ardour of a beginner at that pastime. holiday was run he had found himself an engaged Iſlän. The benevolent friends who, as their kindly custom is, wondered what on earth he’d seen “in that girl” to attract him spoke in this instance with more show of reason than usual. The only daughter of a well-to-do solicitor, Margaret Wycherley had passed most of her life in her parents’ home at Wimbledon, where, despite her Before the brief course of that environment, she developed theories about life of a delightfully visionary kind. She dabbled a little in painting, and spent much of her time in an aesthetically-furnished studio, wherein she read Ruskin and Rossetti, and dreamed about Ideal Art. Is it necessary to add that she was barely twenty P Walter's daily work in town prevented him from seeing very much of his fiancée during the week, but he so far relaxed his industry as to permit himself an occasional Saturday-to-Monday visit to Wimbledon. Occasionally Margaret. questioned him about his work, but he had fenced with the subject so far, feeling uncomfortably conscious that her canons of literary taste could scarcely be satisfied by a young journalist of the modern time. He himself, he remembered, had suffered from youthful delusions like hers; but, judging from his own experience, he felt certain that her views would become more practical and less idealistic after a year or two. One Sunday evening in July, as he and Margaret were slowly pacing up and down the garden after dinner, she began to talk on her favourite theme—the dignity and responsibility of the literary life. Walter made haste, for the sake of peace and quietness, to agree with every- thing she said, and even—after several ineffectual attempts to change the subject—to quote poetry in support of her views, feeling all the time that he was an outrageous hypocrite. Unfortu- nately, his apparent sympathy only encouraged Margaret to pass from the discussion of literary work in general to that of her lover in par- ticular. “You never send me any of your things to read,” she said, reproachfully. “But I’m sure they must be noble, like yourself.” Walter laughed, rather uneasily. “Well, dearest, I didn’t think they would be much in your line. They’re not noble, by any means. I’m not a poet, you see; in fact, I gave up. writing verses years ago.” - “But noble thoughts can be expressed in prose,” replied Margaret; “and it isn’t kind of ou to laugh at me. Do you think I’m not intellectual enough to appreciate your writing P” Walter protested that this wasn’t at all his view. On the contrary, he didn’t think his work was worth showing to her. “Still,” he added, “ of course, you shall see it, if you really care to. Let me see, there’s a paper of mine on Lady Bicyclists in Wednesday's Mirror, and an illustrated article on “How Pins are Made ’’ in this month’s Fleet Street. Then there’s that 2 3 - Margaret suddenly came to a halt, and turned towards him. “Walter!” she cried piteously, ## p. (#611) ################################################ THE AUTHOR. 257 “don’t-don't tell me that you write things like that ” - - “Such is the appalling fact, I assure you. It's not very high-class literature, but it’s good, sound journalism, and pleases my editors.” “But—oh, that you should write trash of that kind | ** Now, not even a penny-a-liner likes his paragraphs to be called “trash.” So it was much to Walter's credit that he replied tenderly : “At any rate, Madge, it fills my pocket, and we couldn’t be married without its help. But don’t trouble about my work, darling. Let's talk about something else.” “But I must talk about your work,” exclaimed Margaret. “You have the power of writing, the most precious gift that man can possess, and you have—I am sure of it—the feelings and nature of a poet—how else could I have come to care for you ?—and yet you are content to stifle your better self, and to do the work of a literary hack. Walter, it is unworthy of you!” It may be conceded in extenuation of Hawkins's subsequent folly that the girl really did look very beautiful as she stood there with sparkling eyes and lips quivering with the earnestness of her appeal. “I’m afraid it's too late to change now,” he answered. “I did think once upon a time—but that's long ago. Besides, there's the money to be considered. You wouldn’t like to be the wife of a poor man.” “Of course I shouldn’t, but there’s no reason why your higher work shouldn't bring you mone as well as fame.” Walter shook his head doubt- fully. “Oh, but I’m a better judge than you suppose P And you did feel, you say, at one time the desire to write poetry P. How could you ever be false to that purpose ! But I’m sure it's not too late to return to it. Have you kept any of your poems ?” 4” “No,” replied the other; “none of the editors would have them, and so one day I burnt the lot. They seemed to me, then, precious poor stuff, though, of course, I thought them magnificent when I wrote them.” “Your second thoughts were worst, then. If only you had persevered, what splendid things you would have done by this time!” Walter reflected in silence for a few moments. Like almost every literary neophyte, he had written quantities of verse in his youth. In the light of a later wisdom they had seemed only the feeble and imitative efforts of a beginner. But supposing Margaret were right after all, and a higher path than that of journalism lay open to him P - “Well, Madge,” he replied at length, “perhaps there's something in what you say. Anyhow, I’ll have a try at verse again, if I can find time.” “You’re certain to fail if you make the attempt in that spirit,” said Margaret with much scorn. “Poetry demands a greater sacrifice than that. You must give up your present degrading work, and follow Art with all your power. I never realised before to-night, Walter, how far you had forsaken your ideal. I loved you chiefly because I thought that you were an artist, but I can never, never give myself to one who has deliberately abandoned his proper aim in life for the miserable sake of making money. Let me help to recall you to the better way. You cannot really like your present employment—will it be so hard to leave it for Art’s sake and mine P’’ Walter listened to all this eloquence in some bewilderment. It had not occurred to him that anyone could reproach him for earning by honest hard work a sufficient income wherewith to sup- port himself and his future wife. She, indeed, would have some money of her own, but still He turned desperately to Margaret. “Tell me exactly what you want me to do,” he said humbly. “Do you need to ask P You must give up this cheap and nasty newspaper work. You must write, not for the sake of filling so many columns, but as inspiration moves you. You must look deep into your own soul, and enrich humanity with noble thoughts. Consecrate your- self to Art — thus will you lead the Ideal Tlife ” As she spoke, the last faint tints of sunset were dying out of the western sky, the stars were beginning to show overhead. A gentle evening breeze had sprung up, and all the air was fragrant with the scent of flowers. And there stood Margaret beside him in the twilight, her fair face raised pleadingly toward his own. What wonder that the sober journalist was thrown off his mental balance, that the girl’s earnestness raised an answering glow in his heart, that he saw an impossible vision of his own career as a poet, enabled to do splendid things by his own dormant powers, stimulated by his wife's divine sympathy P Everyone is a fool now and then, and many of us with far less justification for our folly than Walter. He stooped over Margaret and kissed her tenderly. - “You have indeed inspired me, darling,” he said. “I will do as you wish me. Only, I’m afraid 2 3 “No l’’ cried Margaret, “say nothing more. You will—you must succeed. Oh, Walter, how happy we shall be ” - ## p. (#612) ################################################ 258 THE AUTHOR. It is one thing to make an heroic promise to a charming young lady in the summer twilight; it is quite another to keep it in the stress and hurry of everyday life. As Walter journeyed up to London next morning, he reflected with some dismay on the course to which he had committed himself. What would his editors think of him; how would his friends regard this new departure ? He put aside these uncomfortable reflections, and began to read his daily paper. In it he chanced on a paragraph which suggested a capital subject for an article. He had already drawn his note. book from his pocket with the intention of jotting down the idea, when he suddenly replaced it with a guilty start. For the moment he had forgotten his compact of the previous night, but hence- forth he was to write no more newspaper articles. He reached Waterloo in an extremely despondent frame of mind, walked quickly to his chambers in the Temple, and sat down to his writing- table to produce the soulful poetry which alone would satisfy Margaret's ambition for him. Some days later a number of men were gathered in the smoking-room of the “Pen and Ink” club, of which Walter was a member. There you may find any day at luncheon-time a miscellaneous assemblage of literary men, a sprinkling of well- known novelists, a stray editor or two, a wander- ing “Paris correspondent,” and certain humble journalists whose ambitions scarcely go further than the writing of paragraphs at three halfpence a line. “Has anyone seen Hawkins lately P” asked Johnson, the well-known critic, from his arm- chair by the fireplace. “He’s not been here for some time.” “No,” said another man; “and have you heard the extraordinary stories about him P. He must be mad, if they’re at all true. I hear he's been throwing up his commissions right and left— refused an article for Fleet Street which he had promised ages ago—declined a first-class offer for a series from the Trifler, and so on. What on earth’s come to the chap P” Johnson whistled softly. “Ah, I thought that might happen. Do any of you men know the girl he's engaged to ? No! Well, if you did, you’d understand.” - He broke off suddenly, for the door opened, and Walter himself appeared, looking very ill and worried. - “ Hullo, Hawkins,” said a novelist called Manby, breaking the rather awkward silence that followed Walter's entrance; “we were just wondering what had become of you. Have you seen my new book P. Give it a good notice in the Mirror, there’s a good chap.” Walter smiled faintly. “Delighted to do so, I’m sure, only, you see, I’ve left the Mirror.” “What ?” chorused the rest in astonishment. “Yes, it’s quite true—no, Manby, no one's left me a fortune—wish they had. The fact is, that I have come to see how degrading a profession is journalism, and I’m going to have nothing more to do with it.” Johnson shook his head sadly, while the others stared at Walter in blank amazement. “But, great heavens, man l’’ cried one of them, “you must be making near a thousand a year out Of it.” “I am going to devote myself to true literature —to essays, to poetry.” There was a roar of laughter at this announce- ment. But Johnson sat up in his chair and turned round impatiently. “This is no laughing matter,” he said shortly. “Look here, Hawkins, let me entreat you not to be an infatuated ass. I can guess pretty well where you got this mad idea "–Walter reddened —“Yes, I thought so. Well, how much do you intagine your—your adviser really knows? All that high-flown talk about Art is sheer rot for a man like you. Some of us are made to be poets, and others to be journalists. The mistaken editors seem to think you're a good journalist—no one could ever suspect you of being even a tolerable poet. Take your inoney, and be precious thank- ful you can get it. And, for heaven's sake, don’t throw up your chance in life and behave like a raving lunatic.” Walter looked at him indignantly. “You don’t know what what you're talking about,” he exclaimed. “Of course, you don’t understand— how should you?—the pure joy of pursuing Ideal Art. Anyhow, I’ve done with journalism for ever,” and with these words he left the room, It would be too painful to dwell minutely on the next two months of Walter Hawkins’ life. Hardly any of his friends saw him during that period; he spent his days in miserable solitude, racking his brains for poetical thoughts, looking for the inspiration which never came. He did, indeed, manage to compose a few short poems of a kind, which he offered to the magazines under a pseudonym. But their prompt rejection was not necessary to convince him of their exceeding badness; he knew already in his own heart that they were worthless. As almost his entire income had been derived from journalism, his lot was speedily changed from that of a well-to-do bachelor to that of a very poor man. During these two months he did not once visit Wimbledon, for it would have been impossible for him to do so without confessing ## p. (#613) ################################################ THE AUTHOR. 259 his failure to Margaret, and that might greatly change her feelings towards him. He wrote to her, however, from time to time, and at last was driven to explain that their marriage could not take place until he had managed in some way or other to secure an income. But he still hoped to succeed ultimately. - Margaret's reply to this letter did not greatly comfort him ; in fact, it seemed a little cold and heartless. She was sorry to hear that he was not making money, but she fully agreed that it would never do to marry unless they had plenty to live upon. Still, she was glad that he was striving patiently after true Art. Had he, by the way, read a little book of poems entitled “Heart - Throbs,” by Eustace Vanborough P If so, he would do well to take them for his model, they were so full of noble and beautiful thoughts. When “Heart-Throbs,” an elegant volume, beautifully printed and bound, arrived a few days later, Walter glanced at a few lines of it, and then flung it into the waste-paper basket. It was the most feeble, affected nonsense imaginable. Then he rose from his chair, and walked restlessly up and down his room. “Can Johnson have been right?” he thought. “Have I made a hideous mistake? Margaret’s view seemed far nobler than my own, and yet she admires that balderdash.” He took the volume out of the waste-paper basket again. “‘By Eustace Wanborough.” What an idiot the man must be l’’ Then he came back to his own position. “After all,” he reflected, “I have made this sacrifice for Madge’s sake, and so long as I have her love, nothing else can matter very much. And who knows whether she is not right— whether I shall not succeed—— ” There was a knock at the door, and his friend Johnson entered. “Came to see how you were getting on. How is—er, the Ideal Art prospering P Are you coming back to journalism P. " Walter groaned. “It’s no use your coming here,” he said. “I know you mean well, but it’s not a bit of good. You know—you said so that day at the club—who has made me change my work P” Johnson here.” “Well, I don’t mind confessing to you that I’m not sure whether her theories are right, at any rate for me. But if you loved that girl as I do, you would be content to follow her wishes blindly. Nothing you can say will make me alter my intention. I’ve resigned my income and my position as a journalist for her sake, and as long nodded. “Yes — that's why I'm as Miss Wycherley exists, I ask nothing better than to please her in every way I can.” “Quite so,” replied Johnson drily; “your senti- ments do you much credit, I’m sure. But as Miss Wycherley exists no longer —— ” “What 2" gasped Walter, growing deadly bale. pal Don’t excite yourself—she isn’t dead—far from it. Surely you must have heard P Why, she married the fellow who calls himself Eustace Wanborough this morning !” II.-IN THE NAME OF THE PROPHET-DESKs. There were once two shops on opposite sides of the street. They were both devoted to the sale of writing-desks – rosewood or mahogany, brass bound. One of these shops was avowedly run in order to make money, if possible; the other was run on the highest religious princi- ples possible, with prayers when the directors met, solely for thesake of spreading abroad true religion. Nothing could be more noble than the objects of this shop. Its friends called it the House Venerable; the manager they called the Hammer of Injquity; of him it was reported that at the mere sight of him Dissent curled and Infidelity. lay down and died. Now, at the first shop—the secular, worldly shop, whose interests were earthly and grovelling—the desks in the window were greatly superior to those in the window of the other shop. They were so much better that nobody would step across the street to look at the Christian writing-desks. Perhaps the reason was that, at the earthly, worldly shop the man who made the desk was paid for his desk a sum of money which was uniformly calculated on a certain proportion to the price for which the desk was sold. Thus, if a desk was to be priced at 50s., that irreligious proprietor gave the workman 25s. As he always took off large discounts and some- times sold his desks wholesale to the trade, the proprietor made a profit of no more than 158. to the workman’s 25s., so that the latter was quite satisfied, and put in his best work, and brought all his desks to this shop. At the other shop the workman was beaten down —of course, in the Cause of Pure Religion. If he was in necessity, he was offered a third, a quarter, an eighth of the price of 50s. In any case he was beaten down: he was offered a far lower price than he could get across the road. These two shops are still going on. But the desks in the House Venerable, which is managed by the Hammer of Iniquity, are reported to be growing daily worse and worse. *-* -º - - -n ## p. (#614) ################################################ 26o THE AUTHOR. BOOK TALK. M* WILLIAM LE QUEUX has almost finished “A Romance of the Land of No Return,” as the sub-title has it, called “The Eye of Istár.” He has also on hand a new novel for serial pu lication entitled “Devil's Dice.” The author of “Charles Dickens by Pen and Pencil,” Mr. F. G. Kitton, is engaged upon a new work dealing with the illustrations in the various editions of the novelist's writings. A third series of “Eighteen-Century Wignettes,” by Mr. Austin Dobson, is shortly to be published by Messrs. Chatto and Windus. Mrs. Marshall is writing a story of the period of the Jacobite rising in 1715, which Messrs. Seeley will issue. A new volume of stories by Mr. W. B. Yeates will be published immediately by , Messrs. Lawrence and Bullen. “George Egerton’’ is at work on a study called “The Hazard of the Ill,” which will appear this summer. a volume of short stories before leaving in the early autumn to join her husband in South Africa. A romance of African adventure called “The Oracle of Baal,” by J. Provand Webster, who herein makes his début, is announced by Messrs. Hutchinson for speedy publication. Mr. Robert Hichens has a new volume of stories in the press, entitled “The Folly of Eustace.” (Heinemann.) The popular thirst for information about the British Navy is at length to be gratified, as the publication of an exhaustive history is announced by Messrs. Sampson Low. Mr. W. Laird Clowes is the editor of the work, and the contributors include the foremost writers on naval matters. In the first volume the story of the Navy will be told from the beginning down to the Elizabethan period. An uncommon form of literary censorship is reported to have taken place at the Kingston Workhouse. A parcel of books for the inmates had been presented, consisting, it would appear, mostly of works which gave anything but enter- taining leading. Two of the guardians — a clergyman of the Church and a Nonconformist minister — after examining them, cast aside about one hundred and fifty as unsuitable. “Why?” asked the Chairman. “Because,” was the reply, “they are extremely dry theological works,” She will also have ready The following, from “A Publisher,” appeared in the Athenæum of the 14th ult.:— I lately had occasion to inform an author that his book, so far from having produced any profit, as he expected, had not paid expenses. In reply (I quote textually) he says, “Perhaps if you get somebody even now to give the book a good review, the remaining copies might be sold.” May authors, I have often suspected, have a Sneaking belief that a publisher keeps a stock of “good reviewers” as part of his regular staff, but I never met with such a naïve expression of the belief before. Mr. John O'Leary’s “Recollections of Fenian- ism,” will be published in two volumes by Messrs. Downey, probably this month, and also a volume of reminiscences by Mr. W. P. O'Brien, entitled “'The Great Famine.” “The Queen's Prime Ministers,” by the Hon. Reginald Brett, will be published immediately by Messrs. Macmillan. Other books from this firm will include a series of anecdotal sketches by Baron Ferdinand Rothschild, entitled “Personal Characteristics from French History ‘’’; and “A System of Medicine,” written by various autho- rities and edited by Dr. Allbutt, Regius Pro- fessor of Physics in the University of Cambridge. The discovery of a parcel of valuable old books is reported from the Cams Hall Estate, Hamp- shire. Among them are some of Caxton's, dating from 1474 to 1494, including “Justinian’s Law,” a later copy of which recently changed hands in London for over £IOOO. The books were found in a cupboard by Mr. M. H. Foster, the new proprietor, and are all in good condition. In a recent book sale at Sotheby’s, Goldsmith's “Deserted Village,” 1770, first edition, uncut, brought 345; “Paradise Tost,” 1667, first edition, presentation copy from Milton to his “loving friend” Mr. Francis Rea, 3885; and St. Jerome's “Epistles,” printed by Schiffer, 1470, on fine vellum, 38o. Mr. Clement Shorter is editing for Messrs. Ward, Lock, and Co. a series of Nineteenth Century Classics. The first volume will be “Sartor Resartus,” for which Professor T)owden writes an introduction ; the next two will also be Carlyle's, namely, “Heroes and Hero-Worship ’’ and “Past and Present,” with introductions by Mr. Gosse and Mr. Frederic Harrison respectively. These will be followed by Matthew Arnold’s poems, Mrs. Browning’s “Prometheus Bound,” and Mrs. Gaskell’s “Cranford.” A new year-book of London, “The London Manual,” in which the functions of all public bodies in the metropolis will be explained for the benefit of the ratepayers, is about to appear from the offices of London. It will have maps and diagrams, and will cost one shilling, ## p. (#615) ################################################ THE AUTHOR. 261 Mr. Edward Carpenter's new volume of essays, which is to be published shortly by Mr. Dobell, will be entitled “Love's Coming of Age.” Mrs. Meynell is publishing in book form, through Mr. Lane, a number of her essays which have ap- peared in “The Wares of Autolycus’ column of the Pall Mall Gazette. The title is “The Colour of Life.” An account of the life and times of Alexander Russel, of the Scotsman, ought to be a con- siderable contribution to the political and social history of Scotland, and particularly of Edin- burgh. Such a work has been undertaken by Sheriff Campbell Smith, of Dundee, who knew Russel and wrote articles in his columns. There will be in May a volume of short stories by Marie Corelli, under the title of “Cameos' (Hutchinson). An illustrated book on “Notable Welsh Musicians,” by Mr. Frederic Griffith, will shortly be published by Mr. Francis Goodwen, 47, Leadenhall-street, E.C. The work will be rather of a descriptive than a critical character, and will notice alike the composers, the instrumentalists, and the vocalists in the musical community of Wales. Rarely a month passes without a Stevenson item or two. This time the record includes a volume of “Wailima Table-Talk,” which Mrs. Strong and Mr. Lloyd Osbourne have edited. Stevenson, it appears, consented to be “taken down" in his everyday utterances, and inclined to make a joke of it. Secondly, a new essay, which has been found among his papers, is to appear in the summer issue of the Illustrated London News. A history of architecture, written by Professor Banister Fletcher and Mr. Banister F. Fletcher, will be published shortly by Mr. B. T. Bats- ford. It will be illustrated chiefly by collotype plates. Lady Lindsay is about to bring out, through Messrs. Longmans, a new volume of verse entitled “The Flower Sellers.” Mr. Bliss Car- men's new volume and Mr. Percy Hemingway's “The Happy Wanderer” are to be published soon by Mr. Mathews, in whose “Shilling Gar- land ” Series will appear “Christ in Hades,” by Mr. Stephen Phillips. Mr. A. Barnard Miall is the author of a book of “Nocturnes and Pastorals,” which will be published by Mr. Smithers. The verse of the near future will also include Mr. Kipling's new volume. At the annual meeting of the Royal Literary Fund it was reported that forty-three grants, representing £1905, had been awarded during 1895, males receiving £1 185 and females 3720. Thirteen were to novelists, eight to authors of historical and biographical works, and eight to classical literature and educational authors. The fund has now £51,912 invested, yielding an income of £1676. The past month had a fairly large and un- usually interesting output of new books. Mr. Lecky's large work “Democracy and Liberty” was published by Messrs. Longmans, and Dr. Traill’s “Life of Sir John Franklin” by Mr. Murray. In travel there was Captain Young- husband’s “The Heart of a Continent” (Murray); while the social and dramatic world welcomed “A Few Memories” (Osgood), by the famous actress who was Mary Anderson. Mr. Crockett's “Cleg Kelly” appeared, and Mrs. Hodgson Burnett’s “A Lady of Quality.” Mr. James St. Loe Strachey, the well-known Spectator writer, has been appointed editor of the Cornhill Magazine in succession to Mr. James Payn, who has had to relinquish the position because of continued ill-health. This old-established sixpenny monthly will now be raised to Is. Mr. H. S. Salt, who is already known for works on Shelley, is about to issue a biographical study, “Percy Bysshe Shelley, Poet and Pioneer,” in which he will claim that the verdict of time has not only pronounced Shelley to be a great poet, but has also corroborated his social and religious views. The work will be published in London by Mr. W. Reeves. An American paper recently asked why did not some British journal get Olive Schreiner to tell its readers all about life in the Transvaal. The hint has been taken or anticipated, for the authoress begins in the April number of the Fortnightly Review a series of articles on “The Boers of the Transvaal.” Miss Beatrice Harraden contributes to the new number of Blackwood’s Magazine the opening chapters of a story of California entitled “Hilda Strafford,” while Chapman's will have the first instalment of “The Herb Moon,” by John Oliver Hobbes. ‘H pumópova (stepmother) of Gregorios Xeno- poulos will be issued from the “Bodley Head” during this season, done into English by Mrs. Edmonds; also a one-volume novel by Mrs. Edmonds, entitled “Links in a Chain,” will be published by Messrs. Jarrold and Sons. Hilton Hill's novel, “His Egyptian Wife,” which has enjoyed a large sale for a first book, has just been issued in a 2s. railway edition. Mr. Hill has ready a new novel, which will be ## p. (#616) ################################################ 262 THE AUTHOR. published in the autumn, like his first book, simultaneously in London and New York. We are glad to learn that Annabel Gray's book “Comrades,” recently published by Messrs. Drane and Chant, has met with so much success that the publishers will shortly issue a second edition. In “Phinlay Glenelg's' Maxims in last number of the Author, amend one line as follows: War is more a manner of emotion than a matter of reason. Mrs. E. Rentoul Ester's novel “The Way of Transgressors” has just appeared in a new edi- tion (Sampson Low and Co.). Mrs. Ester's new book “The Wardlaws” (which Messrs. Smith, Elder, and Co. will publish immediately) treats of an Irish family of long descent. It will pro- bably be found to occupy comparatively new ground on topics Hibernian. “The Saint of Poverty,” a drama founded on the life of Frances of Assisi, by Henry N. Maughan, will be issued very shortly by Mr. Elliot Stock. The Roxburghe Press will issue, almost imme- diately, a volume entitled “Carina Songs ’’ and others, by Miss Amy C. Morant; a lady who is identified with most of the labour and social movements of the time. Mr. John Milne, late of Wilsons and Milne, Paternoster Row, has resumed publishing at Amberley House, Norfolk-street, Strand. It is his intention to issue works of a popular kind, and he is now making up a list of entirely original books of sport, travel, biography, adven- ture, fiction, and other light forms of literature. Mrs. Alec Tweedie’s article on “Danish versus English Butter-making,” which appeared in the Fortnightly, last May, has gone through several developments. It was afterwards enlarged and brought out as a pamphlet (Horace Cox) the result of which being that Mrs. Tweedie spoke on Agriculture—or more properly speaking dairy- ing—at the meeting of the Grand Council of Women at St. Martin’s Town Hall lately, when she advocated the formation of a Women's British Produce League for the encouragement of home trades generally, and more particulary to keep the £14,000,000 a year in this country which is paid out annually for dairy produce alone. She suggested women taking up dairying as a profession. A correspondent of the Bookseller suggests that as it is doubtful whether this year a dinner will be held in connection with the Booksellers' Provident Institution, a dinner representative of the three branches – author, publisher, and book- seller—should be held instead. If representative, he says, its permanent success should be as much assured as the annual dinner of the Royal Academy. Mrs. Elizabeth Rundle Charles, author of “The Chronicles of the Schönberg-Cotta Family” and other well-known works, died at her residence, Combe Edge, Hampstead, on Saturday afternoon. She came of an old Devonshire family, and was brought up in an ancient manor house near Tavistock, which town her father, Mr. John Rundle, represented for nine years in Parliament. She was born in Jan. 1828, at Tavistock, and began writing when she was twenty-two. Her first book was a translation from Neander, “Ilight in Dark Places: Memorials of Christian Life in the Middle Ages.” In 1851 she married Mr. Andrew Paton Charles, a brother of the present Mr. Justice Charles, who died in 1868. Mrs. Charles was a woman of considerable learning as well as of deep religious feeling, and she united marked literary ability with a strong, but sym- pathetic, Anglicanism. Encouraged by a certain modest success, Mrs. Charles went on writing. She published “Tales and Sketches of Christian Life in Different Lands and Ages,” 1851; “The Two Vocations,” 1853; “The Cripple of Antioch,” 1855; “The Song without Words,” 1856; “The Voice of Christian Life in Song” and “Sketches of Hymns and Hymn-Writers,” 1858; “The Three Wakings,” 1859; “Wanderings over Bible Lands and Seas” and “The Martyrs of Spain,” 1862; and “Sketches of Christian Life in England in the Olden Time,” in 1864. In 1864, also, she published “Chronicles of the Schönberg- Cotta Family.” This book was reviewed in the Times with warm eulogium, and it achieved at Once great popular success, which has continued to the present day. In America, the book was extensively pirated. Her “Diary of Mrs. Kitty Trevelyan,” 1865, was also widely read. Her. other works include : “Winifred Bertram and the World She Lived In,” 1866; “The Draytons and the Davenants’’ and “On Both Sides of the Sea : a Story of the Commonwealth and Restoration,” 1867; “The Women of the Gospels,” 1868; “Watchwords for the Warfare of Life,” 1869; “Diary of Brother Bartholo- mew,” 1870; “The Victory of the Wanquished,” 1871; “The Cottage by the Cathedral,” 1872; “Against the Stream,” 1873; “The Bertram Family ’’ and “Conquering and to Conquer,” 1876; “Lapsed, but not Lost,” 1877; “Joan the Maid,” 1879; “Sketches of the Women of Christendom,” 1880. Mrs. Rundle Charles knew many distinguished Churchmen, including Dr. Pusey, Archbishop Tait, Dr. Liddon, Professor Jowett, and Charles Kingsley. She was particu- ## p. (#617) ################################################ THE AUTHOR. 263 larly intimate with Dean Stanley and his wife, and she wrote a slight, but admirable, sketch of Lady Augusta Stanley's life. She was also the author of several popular hymns. Many of her books have been translated into German and Swedish. Of late years she did not write much, but recently she published a work on the black-letter saints, and last year appeared “Ecce Homo, Ecce Rex,” from her pen.—Times, March 30. e <3 LITERATURE IN THE PERIODICALS, MR. Low ELL IN ENGLAND. George W. Smalley. Harper’s for April. CANDOUR IN BIOGRAPHY. Wilfrid Ward. New Review for April. NATIONAL BIOGRAPHY. Leslie Stephen. National Review for March. MATTHEW ARNOLD. Frederic Harrison. Nineteenth Century for March. HERR SUDERMANN’s NOVELS. Fortnightly Review for April. THE PLAYS OF HROSWITHA. Review for March. ROBERT BURNS. for April. PEPYS AND EVELYN. April. THOMAS GENT, PRINTER. Austin Dobson. Magazine for April. MATTHEW ARNOLD’s POETRY. March 14. DEAF AND DUMB HEROES IN FICTION. Correspondence of Cuming Walters and the author of “In a Silent World.” Athenæum for Feb. 22 and March 21. M. ZoDA’s FROG. Speaker for March 7. THE ELDER. DUMAs. Emily Crawford. Century Maga- zine for March. ON AN AUTHOR’s CHOICE OF COMPANY. Wilson. Century Magazine for March. MR. HALL CAINE ON CANADIAN COPYRIGHT. Goldwin Smith. Letter to the Times of Feb. 29. LIVING CRITICS.–VI. Mr. Coventry Patmore. R. Garnett. Bookman for March. THE ETHICS OF MODERN JOURNALISM. Aline Gorren. Scribner’s for April. NOTABLE REVIEWS. Of Saintsbury’s “History of Nineteenth Century Litera- ture.” C. M. Hereford. Bookman for March. Of Crawfurd’s “Lyrical Verse from Elizabeth to Wic- toria.” Athemaewm for March 7. Of Frederick Tennyson’s “Poems of the Day and Year.” Athenaewm for March 21. Of “Brother and Sister” (The Renans). Daily Chronicle for March 25. Of Professor Bury’s “Gibbon.” Daily Chronicle for March 19. Of Lecky’s “Democracy and Liberty.” March 24. Mr. Goldwin Smith writes to the Times con- tradicting Mr. Hall Caine by saying that there was no “five years' outcry" in Canada, and no more excitement about the liberty of “self-mis- Janet E. Hogarth. G. de Dubor. Fortnightly D. F. Hannigan. Westminster Review E. E. Kitton. Atalanta for Longman's Saturday Review for Woodrow Frederic Harrison. Daily News for government” than about the question of copyright itself. Further, that the “marvellous unanimity” of the Canadian Parliament on the Act of 1889 was the unanimity of ignorance and indifference. “The Canadian Copyright Act, even supposing it to be intra vires, might with perfect safety have been disallowed as contrary to imperial policy, and subversive of the rights of subjects of the empire. It is really provoking to think of the smallness of the force which has given rise to all this trouble.” The company which an author should keep is the theme of Mr. Woodrow Wilson. While he lives a man can keep the company of the masters whose words contain the mystery of the entrance to the community of letters—and open it to those who can see almost with every accent, and in such company it may at last be revealed to him. Two tests admit to that company, namely, Are you individual? Are you conversable? He must speak with an individual note; and he must speak in such speech and spirit as can be under- stood from age to age, and not in the pet terms and separate spirit of a single day and generation. “Frequent the company in which you may learn. the speech and the manner which are fit to last. Take to heart the admirable example you shall See set you there of using speech and manner to speak your real thought and be genuinely and simply yourself.” Mr. Smalley thinks that Lowell's life in London is a much misunderstood part of his career. TI erefore the present article. In an introduction to a collection of some of the poet's letters, to be issued shortly, he will go into the subject more fully. Meanwhile he points out the important change which London made upon the character of Lowell. The recluse ceased to be a recluse; he perceived that a knowledge of men and of what is best in men was to be had otherwise than from books; he became a diner-out ; he was ripened, he got courage. The Lowell that came from Madrid “never would have written or never have delivered that essay on Democracy which probably reached the whole English mind as no other ever did.” Mr. Smalley, who was an intimate and long-standing friend, has much to say of Lowell's charity: “anybody could extract a letter from him as they could a five pound note;” “yet, if a man presumed upon his kindliness so far as to talk nonsense in bad English, or to be slovenly in his facts, woe unto him l’’ This disposition Mr. Smalley attributes to Lowell's inexhaustible faith in human nature, though surely the literary agent of to-day, if asked to explain his raison d’étre, might point to Lowell's case as sufficient answer (if “inexhaustible faith in human nature” be ruled out as not, primá facie, practicable):— ## p. (#618) ################################################ 264 THE AUTHOR. He had no notion of accounts and no capacity for private business. From the beginning, like Renan, he took what his publishers offered him for his books or other writings, and thanked God it was no less. Long after they ought to have brought him a handsome income he was content with a fixed moderate sum. When the Century and other magazines in later days sent him large cheques for verses and essays which he thought too slight for such ample pay, he seemed astonished at this wise liberality, and more than once protested. The early letters show him writing for almost nothing. As for Lowell’s ideas on style, the following single sentence, says Mr. Smalley, is more expres- sive than many an essay on the subject. Mr. Smalley had asked him to admit that Pepys, unscholarly and slovenly as he is, had often a power of expressing himself with effect and point:— Says Lowell: “I admit that Pepys was capable of writing good sentences when he tried. But Gray, for example, couldn’t write a clumsy one without trying, and this is what I mean by style.” [Again :] “Pepy's language, you must remember, has the freshness of being nowadays unfamiliar. There is a good deal of originality in having learned one’s English two hundred and fifty years ago, as Lamb discovered.” Mr. Frederic Harrison examines Matthew Arnold as poet, as critic, and as philosopher. As a poet, he says, Arnold is saturated with the clasical genius more than any in the roll of litera- ture (unless it be Milton), although his poetry is essentially modern in thought, and has all that fetishistic worship of natural objects which is the true note of the Wordsworthian school. It is perplexing that no sooner does Arnold pass into philosophy, into politics, into theology, than he disclaims any system, principles, or doctrines of any kind. His exquisite taste, his serene sense of equity, and his genial magnanimity made him a consummate critic of style, though “neither as theologian, philosopher, and publicist was he at all adequately equipped by genius or by edu- cation for the office of supreme arbiter which he so airily and perhaps so humorously assumed to fill. On the matter of criticism we extract the following from Mr. Harrison's paper:— The function of criticism—though not so high and mighty as Arnold proclaimed it with superb assurance—is not so futile an art as the sixty-two minor poets and the eleven thousand minor novelists are now wont to think it. Arnold committed one of the few extravagances of his whole life when he told us that poetry was the criticism of life, that the function of criticism was to see all things as they really are in themselves—the very thing Kant told us we could never do. On the other hand, too much of what is now called criticism is the improvised chatter of a raw lad portentously ignorant of the matter in hand. It is not the “indolent” reviewer that we now suffer under, but the lightning reviewer, the young man in a hurry with a Kodak, who finally disposes of a new work on the day of its publica- tion. One of them naïvely complained the other morning of having to cut the pages, as if we ever suspected that he cut the pages of more than the preface and table of contents. The Saturday Review article agrees with Mr. Harrison that Arnold's poetry will be longest remembered, and says incidentally that as one reflects on Mr. Swinburne's remarkable prescience as shown by his estimates (to give three) of Arnold, Dante Rossetti, and Christina Rossetti published many years ago, one regrets the more that Mr. Swinburne does not speak his mind as to the prospects of English poetry in the immediate future. The German novel, like the German nation, is still im werden, says the writer of the estimate of Sudermann in the Fortnightly. She points out, however, that Herr Sudermann has made a great. advance within the last ten years, and predicts for him a wider audience than the German. “It is a remarkable coincidence,” she continues, “that his best literary work should date from the period when he made his first appearance as a dramatic author. From that time, too, dates seemingly his popular recognition as a novelist.” His salvation in literature may have been, therefore, in learning, as a dramatist, to make his effect and make it directly. One important lesson, the writer explains in the following passage, Sudermann has been taught in his advance:— The affinity is clear between “Der Katzensteg” and that most singularly ugly play “Sodom’s Ende,” but since then Herr Sudermann has repented. He has learned to subordinate external nature to that interplay of character which might perhaps be not inaptly called morality. tº º “Man must begin, know this, where nature ends.” That. is the true answer to the naturalism of “Der Katzensteg,” and that is the lesson which the proper study of mankind had not failed to teach Herr Sudermann. Mr. Wilfrid Ward (who, by the way, is engaged on the Life of Cardinal Wiseman) sup- ports the view that there should be discreet. selection on the part of the biographer in pub- lishing documents, and considers it fortunate that the class of biography which leaves nothing unsaid which would tell in a man’s favour is more common than that which omits nothing which tells against him. Mr. Leslie Stephen indicates the value of the national dictionary of biography as preserving the commemorative instinct, and also shows how it is an amusing work. The writer on Journalism in Scribner's is concerned particularly with that of America, the personal and unliterary element of which is regarded as a result of the social system ; and European journalism is to be Americanised shortly. ## p. (#619) ################################################ THE 265 A UTHOR. TESTIMONIAL TO MR, GEORGE KNOTTES- FORD FORTESCUE. COMMITTEE has been formed of the following gentlemen:—Dr. Samuel Raw- son Gardiner (chairman and treasurer); the Rev. Dr. Samuel Kinns (hon. secretary); the Right Rev. the Lord Bishop of Ripon; the Right Hon. Lord Ribblesdale, P.C.; Sir Henry H. Howorth, K.C.I.E., M.P.; Sir George Sitwell, Bart.; Prof. W. J. Courthope, C.B.; the Rev. Sabine Baring-Gould, M.A.; Mr. T. B. Browning, M.A., of the Canadian Bar; Mr. Samuel Butler, B.A.; Mr. Alexander H. Grant, M.A.; Mr. Sidney Lee; and Mr. Alexander Macdonald, C.S.; to present Mr. George Knottesford Fortescue, the late superintendent of the reading room of the British Museum, with an illuminated address expressive of the readers' hearty appreciation of the ability and courtesy which he manifested in the performance of the duties of his office during the past eleven years, and also of the important service he has rendered to students by the com- pilation of the “Subject Catalogue,” a work of no little magnitude, involving considerable labour and care. The late Dr. George Bullen, when keeper of the printed books, tells us, in an introductory note to this catalogue, that it was compiled under his sanction, and adds:—“This useful work forms a nearer approximation to a general index of current literature than has yet been attempted. It remains for me to add that it has been compiled by Mr. Fortescue solely, and for the most part when away from the museum during non-official hours.” The committee would be very glad if any of the readers who are disposed to contribute a small sum towards this purpose, not exceeding 2s. 6d., would kindly give it to the treasurer or any member of the committee; or send it to the Hon. Secretary, at his private address, 182, Haverstock- hill, Hampstead. *~ - 2–’ z- * ~ BOOKS PUBLISHED IN 1895. HE number of publications issued in the course of last year almost exactly coincides with the output of its predecessor. We have to record an increase of thirty-one only. Theology shows a slight increase. In education the total is a little more than before. Works of fiction show a slight decline from the prodigious record for 1894, which, including new editions, furnished the reader of imaginative literature with about six fresh books for every week-day in the year. In political economy, trade, &c., the figures are somewhat higher than before Arts and sciences show a small decrease in their figures. Works of travel and adventure are also less in number than previously. History and biography in 1895 are largely in excess of the production of 1894. Of poetry we have nearly 50 per cent. more books. Serials somewhat decreased. Medi- cine and surgery show a rather remarkable in- crease in number. In general literature the figures do not call for remark, and miscellaneous publications are nearly the same in 1895 as they were in 1894. As our readers will observe, we have this year made one category of novels and juvenile works, both of these kinds being works of imagination, and very difficult at times to discriminate from the mere titles of the books. The analytical table is divided into thirteen classes; also new books and new editions: 1894. 1895. Divisions. a-— —A- -—, 2-——— New New New New Books. Editions. Books. |Editions. Theology, Sermons, Biblical, &c. - 476 80 501 69 Educational, Clas- sical, and Philo- logical - - - 615 127 660 111 Novels, Tales, and Juvenile Works... 1,584 366 1,544 347 Law, Jurisprudence, &c. * * * . . . . 126 23 57 33. , Political and Social Economy, Trade and Commerce ... 141 21 163 23. Arts, Sciences, and Illustrated Works 98 30 96 16. Voyages, Travels, Geographical Re- search ... - - - 282 68 263 75 History, Biography, &c. * * * . . . . 256 58 353 68. Poetry and the Drama ... - - - 160 21 231 16 Year - Books and Serials in Volumes 328 2 311 - Medicine, Surgery, - - &c. a º e - - - 97 59 153 53 Belles-Lettres, Es- says, Monographs, &c. 370 115 400 42 Miscellaneous, in- cluding Pamph- lets, not Sermons 767 215 749 182 5,300 1,185 5,581 935 5,300 5,581 6,485 6,516 — Publishers’ Circular. ## p. (#620) ################################################ 266 THE AUTHOR. CORRESPONDENCE, I.—ConstructION AND CHARACTER. WRITER of largely circulated fiction once A told me bluntly that his calling was a trade. I have heard the same avowal from an author whose work is taken more seriously. - Certainly the trade-test is not generally accepted by novelists or by critics. Yet at the present time, to the question whether fiction should be regarded as an art or a trade, the corpus of current criticism seems to answer—“A little of both.” But the two standards are inconsistent. trade-author writes to gain the largest number of readers that his qualifications will enable him to secure. He has to shape his utterances, guided by the formation of a whole world of tradition, prejudice, superstition, transient fashion, transient philosophy. He must suit himself to the tone of a particular decade. The larger percentage of his readers will be avid of sensation, unthinking as concerns literature, hasty in judgment, im- patient of subtle effects. He must depict “characters” that they will heartily like or utterly dislike. He must study construction ; that is to say, he must first work out his plot (to himself) and then make his puppets move along the lines of it, and hit out the situations in it, whether such folk would do so in nature or not. He must ignore the laws of character whenever needful, and make his marionettes get to and through the complications. The laws of character being to him of optional acceptance, he usually follows the course of ignoring them altogether, and works entirely by the lights of construction. A writer who writes by construction rejects the standard of characterisation ; one who writes by characterisation, ipso facto rejects the standard of construction. Yet how often do we see an author blamed because he has not combined his correct characterisation with that excellence in construc- tion which would, in fact, falsify his work, or his good construction with that true characterisation which would inevitably falsify his plot He is told, in other words, that he should have shaped up his book more with a view to the all-round requirements of the market—that he should try to get at readers by both methods, and be thorough in neither. . If we accept the dictum of Balzac.—-and Scho- penhauer was in accord with him as concerns literature—that the mission of art is to express nature, we perceive a reason for saying that “construction” work is inartistic. One does not express nature by presenting as actual events The series after series of ingeniously interwoven circumstances carrying certain lives to certain situations useful to the novelist, and happening ad hoc ; nor does one express nature by depicting as human lives trade characters bowdlerised or broadened to the taste of the fifties or the sixties, or the eighties or the nineties, of this or any other century. One expresses mature to the human soul by showing the envoi of what does subsist and consist in nature to this psyche. Certainly the laws of reality are deep and diffi- cult; as Balzac said of the fantastic beings evoked by Hoffmann, “they nevertheless have life.” But Hoffmann wrote on the plane of the avowedly fanciful, and the art-faculty can, perhaps, create phantasms showing the essence of reality on any plane. But each plane has its own truth. The ordinary trade-novel is nominally written on the plane of daily-human life actuality, and written falsely on this plane. If the recent development of fiction, the increased number of novels wrought with art- striving, be a sign that art-fiction has a consider- able audience, he surely would do both writers and readers a great service who would bring them to closer, clearer acquaintance, and find a certain, short means of communication between them, not perilous with draughts and blasts of inconsistent criticism. GODFREY BURCHETT. Farthingstone Rectory, Jan. 23. II.-AT HIS OWN ExPENSE. There ought to be no longer any confusion of thought as to the relative positions of authors and the publishers who produce their works. An author invents a book, just as an inventor invents a machine. The author employs a publisher to do the mechanical work of producing his book, sending out review copies to the Press, and selling It to the public—just as an inventor, who is not a machinist, employs a man who is, to make his machine, and perhaps advertise and sell it. The inventor is the employer, the machinist is the employed—who does the mechanical work of putting his ideas into brass and iron ready for the market. If the inventor is poor, he sells his invention to a capitalist—just as an author some- times sells his book to a publisher. An inventor, who had capital and business capacity, would not, as a rule, sell his invention; and an author, having capital and business capacity, ought not to sell his book. He ought to keep the copyright under his own control. The inventor who had capital and business capacity would start en- gineering works, and would manufacture his own ## p. (#621) ################################################ THE AUTHOR. 267 machine and sell it to the public himself. By keeping the profits of the manufacturer in his own hands, he could increase his sales, by giving better terms to the distributing shopkeepers. This is what authors, having capital and business capacity, ought to do. By keeping the profits of the book manufacturer in their own hands, they could benefit the reading public, and increase their own sales, by offering better terms to the booksellers. It is not necessary for authors to start book manufacturing works to do what I suggest. Publishers do not necessarily print and bind the books they publish. Given the capital required, the work of placing orders for printing and bind- ing, sending out review copies, &c., could be done through a central office, worked on the co-opera- tive principle. The Society of Authors might organise such a central office; and the expense of working it would not be heavy. I know there is an absurd stigma attached to an author who publishes his book at his own expense. Who attached this stigma P Probably publishers did it from interested motives. In my opinion no author, having capital to stand the risk of pub- lishing his own book, ought to part with the control over the copyright to a publisher. How is it possible that the acceptance of a book by a publisher can be any recommendation of it in the eyes of a man of sense and reflection ? What does it mean? Merely that a tradesman thinks the book is likely to take—“ catch on ”—with an uncritical and uncultured public; that it is likely to be a good business speculation. A publisher is not necessarily a man of culture or critical acumen. The probability is that, if he ever had the critical faculty, it has been so blunted by his tradesman’s way of judging of books that it has become worthless. It is not his business to judge of the literary and intrinsic value of a book; his test of merit is whether it will sell or not. His judgment has been so warped by the exigencies of his business, that he is one of the last men whose judgment, as to the literary excellence of a book, ought to be taken. 5 * JOHN LASCELLEs. III.-A SIDE LIGHT. Here is a side light on the royalty system. I have patented several small inventions, and have placed them with good firms to manufacture. The invariable terms have been these : The manufacturers have first calculated the actual cost of making : they have then added IO per cent. for working expenses and IO per cent. for their own profit; finally, they have asked me to add my royalty, with the warning that it should not exceed a certain sum, otherwise the sale would be too keenly handicapped. The total has made the selling price to the trade about one- half the selling price to the public. My royalty has varied from 12% to 33 per cent. of the selling price to the public. Why should not the same principle be applied to books? Surely it is ridiculous that (say) a novel of IOO,OOO words by a well-known author should be sold at the same price as a novel of the same length by a beginner. If the selling price were regulated by the royalty (other things being equal), the beginner, content with a small royalty, would have a better chance than he has now, while the receipts of the well-known author would not be affected, in spite of his larger royalty. I very much doubt whether his sales would suffer either. It will be observed that the manufacturer, . although his share in the production of a patented article is, as a rule, far greater than the in- ventor's, is satisfied with a profit of Io per cent. Is the publisher, small as is his share in the pro- duction of a book compared with the author's P Some time ago the editor of a London daily asked me to investigate certain financial matters, and with that object in view I inserted an adver- tisement stating that I had money to invest. Of course my name was not given. For days after- wards the postman staggered to the door with piles of letters. They came from all countries and from all sorts of people, cranks, swindlers, and a few honest men with genuine businesses. Among the last—at least I hope so — was a certain publisher, who offered me a partnership and invited me to inspect his books, which, he said, would prove his statement that he made “30 per cent. nett profit without risk.” He little thought he had hooked an author. As I did not inspect his books, I have no right to accept his statement. But unquestionably, if publishers make “30 per cent. nett profit without risk” while other business firms are content with IO, there is something radically wrong. X. IV.-EDUCATIONAL. I, and probably others, have always been in some doubt as to what was intended to be included in the term “author” as applied to our Society and Club. I joined both, as an author of educational works, and as financially interested in a Union or Mutual Protection Society of Authors in the widest sense. The first two or three pages of the Author usually reassure me; but the remaining pages always, now, raise serious misgivings as to whether I have not mis- taken the number of the house and got into the ## p. (#622) ################################################ 268 THE AUTHOR. wrong evening party. The last number of the Author suggests a kind of ea post facto invitation, for it reports that the chairman of the Society announced that it “proposed to go into the question of watching the interests of educational writers and musical composers, which was a branch quite by itself.” On the strength of that incidental remark, I venture to suggest that it would be well to define now more clearly what ground the Society really means to cover. At present I fear that the casual and thoughtless reader or observer would think it was mainly limited to fiction and light literature. If a wider range of subjects were explicitly claimed and represented, wider interests would be aroused, and wider support secured for the Club and the Society; if, on the other hand, it were felt that certain departments, e.g., educational and musical, were too large to be embraced by the Society, and explicitly disclaimed, the field would be left open for founding a Society for the protection of those interests, which are even larger and more in need of protection than those of fiction. The work already done has been so valuable that it seems a pity that it should not be made the basis for larger and wider efforts. Perhaps the new Committee might provide for the representation of such interests. [See p. 254.—ED.] J. E. N. =>e- W.—PUBLISHERS ONLY. Is it not worth recording in your columns that in the current year, 1896, for the first time “Publishers” find themselves under a separate heading in the Trades' section of the London Post Office Directory; a work which is, I believe, “official,” though emanating from the office of Messrs. Kelly and Co.? Hitherto anyone wishing to find the address of a publisher, or possibly to look through the list of publishers for an attractive name to which to consign the first fruits of his brain, found under the title “Publishers” no names at all, but only a note recommending him to see Booksellers, Diary Publishers, Engravers, Fashions (publishers of), Music, etc. Sellers, Photographic Publishers, Printers, also Printsellers, each and all of which trades had separate headings assigned under which their members’ names appeared. Now all this is changed, and publishers find a place allotted all to themselves, between a “publican’s stocktaker” and “publishers' central show rooms,” whatever these last may be. It is curious to note that each of these two trades has a heading to itself, though each is represented by a single address only. E. A. A. WI.-ON SELLING Books. Are we not in danger, while we talk so much about royalties and agreements, of forgetting the many conveniences of selling the copyright for a lump sum ? The advantages of doing this are the freedom from subsequent worry : relief from the worry of getting a proper agreement: from the suspicion of subsequent fraud. The dangers or disadvantages are — (1) that the price offered will be too low : an experienced agent would meet that difficulty; (2) the chance that the book might prove a great and unexpected success. This is most unlikely; and (3) the temptation to regard the lump sum as income, and to expect it to come in regularly for the rest of the natural span. Suppose that a book by one of the mode- rately successful would, on a 20 per cent. royalty, produce £300 the first year, and then 325 the next, getting gradually less for the next five years. Surely it would be in some cases better to capitalise this source of revenue, and to take, say, 3360 down, leaving the book in the pub- lisher's hands. A MODERATE SUCCEss. *-- ~ *-* *— - - At present, the few poets of England no longer depend on the great for subsistence; they have now no other patrons but the public; and the public, collectively considered, is a good and a generous master. It is, indeed, too frequently mistaken as to the merits of every candidate for favour; but, to make amends, it is never mistaken long. A performance indeed may be forced for a time into reputation, but destitute of real merit it soon sinks; time, the touchstone of what is truly valuable, will soon discover the fraud, and an author should never arrogate to himself any share of success till his works have been read at least ten years with satisfaction. A man of letters at present whose works are valuable is perfectly sensible of their value. Every polite member of the community, by buy- ing what he writes, contributes to reward him. The ridicule, therefore, of living in a garret might have been wit in the last age, but continues such no longer, because no longer true. A writer of real merit may now easily be rich if his heart be set only on fortune; and for those who have no merit it is but fit that such remain in merited obscurity. GoLDSMITH, “Citizen of the World,” Let. 84. 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. 06 Issue 11 (April 1896) Subject The topic of the resource The Author, Vol. 06 Issue 11 (April 1896) Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015013732253" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015013732253</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Publication Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 1896-04-01-The-Author-6-11 publications The Author https://historysoa.com/files/original/5/287/1896-03-02-The-Author-6-10.pdf 35c77cec5d05ee759e736ceff5c349ea 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 The Author Description An account of the resource A digitised run of the Society of Authors' monthly periodical, The Author, 1890–1914, made available together for the first time. Currently users can browse issues and <a href="https://historysoa.com/items/browse?search=&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bjoiner%5D=and&advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=51&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Index&collection=&type=&tags=&exhibit=&date_search_term=&submit_search=Search+For+Items&sort_field=Dublin+Core%2CTitle">indices</a> (not available for all volumes). Full text search for all issues, and other additional search functionality, will be added in 2022. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1890–1914 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context The-Author-Issues Publication Date The date of an event (in YYYY, YYYY-MM or YYYY-MM-DD format) 1896-03-02 Volume 6 Issue 10 Pages Page range in volume 221–244 Ngram Date Version of the date in YYYYMMDD format for use by the Ngram plugin 18960302 Ngram Text Version of the text with no HTML formatting for use by the Ngram plugin C be El u t b or, (The Organ of the Incorporated Society of Authors. Monthly.) CON DUCTED BY WALTER BESAN T. Vol. VI.-No. 10.] MARCH 2, 1896. [PRICE SIXPENCE. For the Opinions earpressed in papers that are signed or initialled the Authors alone are responsible. None of the papers or para- graphs must be taken as eacpressing the collective opinions of the committee unless they are officially signed by G. Herbert Thring, Sec. * - a .sº e- > -s; HE Secretary of the Society begs to give notice that all remittances are acknowledged by return of post, and requests that all members not receiving an answer to important communications within two days will write to him without delay. All remittances should be crossed Union Bank of London, Chancery-lane, or be sent by registered letter only. Communications and letters are invited by the Editor on all subjects connected with literature, but on no other sub- jects whatever. Articles which cannot be accepted are returned if stamps for the purpose accompany the MSS. *- ~ * WARNINGS AND ADVICE, I. RAWING THE AGREEMENT.—It is not generally understood that the author, as the vendor, has the absolute right of drafting the agreement upon whatever terms the transaction is to be carried out. Authors are strongly advised to exercise that right. In every form of business, this among others, the right of drawing the agreement rests with him who sells, leases, or has the control of the property. 2. SERIAL RIGHTS.—In selling Serial Rights remember that you may be selling the Serial Right for all time; that is, the Right to continue the production in papers. If you object to this, insert a clause to that effect. 3. STAMP You R AGREEMENTs. – Readers are most URGENTLY warned not to neglect stamping their agreements immediately after signature. If this precaution is neglected for two weeks, a fine of £Io must be paid before the agree- ment can be used as a legal document. In almost every case brought to the secretary the agreement, or the letter which serves for one, is forwarded without the stamp. The author may be assured that the other party to the agree- ment seldom neglects this simple precaution. The Society, to save trouble, undertakes to get all the agreements of members stamped for them at no ea pense to themselves except the cost of the stamp. 4. AscERTAIN WEEAT A PROPOSED AGREEMENT GIVES To BOTH SLDES BEFORE SIGNING IT.-Remember that an arrangement as to a joint venture in any other kind of busi- ness whatever would be instantly refused should either party WOL. WI. refuse to show the books or to let it be known what share he reserved for himself. 5. LITERARY AGENTS.–Be very careful. You cannot be too careful as to the person whom yow appoint as your agent. Remember that you place your property almost un- reservedly in his hands. Your only safety is in consulting the Society, or some friend who has had personal experience of the agent. Do not trust advertisements alone. 6. COST OF PRODUCTION.——Never sign any agreement of which the alleged cost of production forms an integral part, until you have proved the figures. 7. CHOICE OF PUBLISHERS.–Never enter into any cor- respondence with publishers, especially with those who ad- vertise for MSS., who are not recommended by experienced friends or by this Society. 8. FuTURE WORK.—Never, on any account whatever, bind yourself down for future work to anyone. 9. PERSONAL RISK.—Never accept any pecuniary risk or responsibility whatever without advice. IO. REJECTED MSS.—Never, when a MS. has been re- fused by respectable houses, pay others, whatever promises they may put forward, for the production of the work. II. AMERICAN RIGHTS.—Never sign away American rights. Keep them by special clause. Refuse to sign any agreement containing a clause which reserves them for the publisher, unless for a substantial consideration. 12. CESSION OF COPYRIGHT.-Never sign any paper, either agreement or receipt, which gives away copyright, without advice. *. - 13. ADVERTISEMENTS. —- Keep some control over the advertisements, if they affect your returns, by a clause in the agreement. I4. NEVER forget that publishing is a business, like any other business, totally unconnected with philanthropy, charity, or pure love of literature. You have to do with business men. Be yourself a business man. Society’s Offices :- 4, PORTUGAL STREET, LINCOLN's INN FIELDs. *- - --º •- * ~s HOW TO USE THE SOCIETY, I. VERY member has a right to ask for and to receive advice upon his agreements, his choice of a pub. lisher, or any dispute arising in the conduct of his business or the administration of his property. If the advice sought is such as can be given best by a solicitor, the member has a right to an opinion from the Society’s solicitors. If the case is such that Counsel’s opinion is desirable, the Com- mittee will obtain for him Counsel’s opinion. All this without any cost to the member. 2. Remember that questions connected with copyright and publisher's agreements do not generally fall within the B B 2 ## p. (#576) ################################################ 222 THE AUTHOR. experience of ordinary solicitors. Therefore, do not scruple to use the Society first—our solicitors are continually engaged upon such questions for us. 3. Send to the office copies of past agreements and past accounts with the loan of the books represented. This is in order to ascertain what has been the nature of your agree- ments, and the results to author and publisher respectively so far. The Secretary will always be glad to have any agreements, new or old, for inspection and note. The infor- mation thus obtained may prove invaluable. 4. If the examination of your previous business trans- actions by the Secretary proves unfavourable, you should take advice as to a change of publishers. 5. Before signing any agreement whatever, send the pro- posed document to the Society for examination. 6. The Society is acquainted with the methods, and—in the case of fraudulent houses—the tricks of every publish- ing firm in the country. 7. Remember always that in belonging to the Society you are fighting the battles of other writers, even if you are reaping no benefit to yourself, and that you are advancing the best interests of literature in promoting the indepen- dence of the writer. 8. Send to the Editor of the Author notes of everything important to literature that you may hear or meet with. 9. The committee have now arranged for the reception of members’ agreements and their preservation in a fireproof Yafe. The agreements will, of course, be regarded as con- fidential documents to be read only by the Secretary, who will keep the key of the safe. The Society now offers :—(1) To read and advise upon agreements and publishers. (2) To stamp agreements in readiness for a possible action upon them. - (3) To keep agreements. (4) To enforce payments due according to agreements. *- 2 =º 4- ºr *. THE AUTHORS' SYNDICATE, EMBERS are informed : I. That the Authors' Syndicate takes charge of the business of members of the Society. That it submits MSS. to publishers and editors, concludes agree- ments, examines, passes, and collects accounts, and, gene- rally, relieves members of the trouble of managing business details. 2. That the terms upon which its services can be secured will be forwarded upon detailed application. 3. That the Authors' Syndicate works only for those members of the Society whose work possesses a market value. 4. That the Syndicate can only undertake any negotiations whatever on the distinct understanding that those negotia- tions are placed eaclusively in its hands, and that all communications relating thereto are referred to it. 5. That clients can only be seen by the Director by appointment, and that, when possible, at least two days' notice should be given. 6. That every attempt is made to deal with all communi- cations promptly. That stamps should, in all cases, be sent to defray postage. 7. That the Authors' Syndicate does not invite MSS. without previous correspondence ; does not hold itself responsible for MSS. forwarded without notice; and that in all cases MSS. must be accompanied by stamps to defray postage. 8. That the Syndicate undertakes arrangements for lectures by some of the leading members of the Society; that it has a “Transfer Department' for the sale and purchase of journals and periodicals; and that a “Register of Wants and Wanted” is open. Members are invited to communicate their requirements to the Manager. There is an Honorary Advisory Committee, whose services will be called upon in any case of dispute or difficulty. It is perhaps necessary to state that the members of the Advisory Committee have no pecuniary interest whatever in the Syndicate. *... a 2-sº a- - - NOTICES. HE Editor of the Author begs to remind members of the Society that, although the paper is sent to them free of charge, the cost of producing it would be a very heavy charge on the resources of the Society if a great many members did not forward to the Secretary the modest 6s. 6d. subscription for the year. The Editor is always glad to receive short papers and communications on all subjects connected with literature from members and others. Nothing can do more good to the Society than to make the Awthor complete, attractive, and interesting. Will those who are willing to aid in this work send their names and the special subjects on which they are willing to write P Communications for the Author should reach the Editor not later than the 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. Members and others who wish their MSS. read are requested not to send them to the Office without previously communicating with the Secretary. The utmost practicable despatch is aimed at, and MSS. are read in the order in which they are received. It must also be distinctly under- stood that the Society does not, under any circumstances, undertake the publication of MSS. The Authors’ Club is now open in its new premises, at 3, Whitehall-court, Charing Cross. Address the Secretary for information, rules of admission, &c. Will members take the trouble to ascertain whether they have paid their subscriptions for the year P If they will do this, and remit the amount, if still unpaid, or a banker’s order, it will greatly assist the Secretary, and save him the trouble of sending out a reminder. Members are most earnestly entreated to attend to the warning numbered (8). It is a most foolish and may be a most disastrous thing to enter into an agreement binding for a term of years. Let them ask themselves if they would give a solicitor the collection of their rents for five years to come, whatever his conduct, whether he was honest or dishonest ? Of course they would not. Why then hesitate for a moment when they are asked to sign them- selves into literary bondage for three or five years P Those who possess the “Cost of Production ” are requested to note that the cost of binding has advanced 15 per cent. This means, for those who do not like the trouble of “doing sums,” the addition of three shillings in the pound on this head. In other words, if the cost of binding is set down in our book at eight pounds, to this must now be added twenty-four shillings more, so that it now stands at £948. The figures in our book are as near the exact truth as can be procured; but a printer's, or a binder's, bill is so elastic a thing that nothing more exact can be arrived at. Some remarks have been made upon the amount charged in the “Cost of Production’ for advertising. Of course, we have not included any sums which may be charged for ## p. (#577) ################################################ THE AUTHOR. 223 inserting advertisements in the publisher’s own magazines, or in other magazines by exchange. As agreements too often go, there is nothing to prevent the publisher from sweeping the whole profits of a book into his own pocket, by inserting any number of advertisements in his own magazines, and by exchanging with others. Some there are who call this a form of fraud; it is not known what those who practise this method of swelling their own profits call it. *– sº- FROM THE COMMITTEE. HE Committee beg to remind members that the Sub- scription for the year is due on January the First. The most convenient form of payment is by order on a Bank. This method saves the trouble of remembering. The Secretary will in future send reminders to members who are in arrear in February. The Awthor will not be sent to members in arrear after the month of March. At the end of the year the three retiring members of the committee, Sir W. Martin Conway, Mr. Arthur àBeckett, and the Hon. John Collier submitted their names for re- election and were duly re-elected members of the committee. At the meeting of Jan. 27th the committee proceeded to elect a chairman in the room of Sir W. Martin Conway, whose year of office expired on Dec. 31st, 1895. Mr. H. Rider- Haggard was unanimously elected chairman. G. H. THRING, Secretary. s: - FROM THE COMMITTEE, TVHE following are the resolutions proposed and carried at the General Meeting of the Society:— RESOLUTION I. — “That a special committee of three members of the Society be elected in the manner here- after described to confer with a sub-committee of three members and the chairman of the committee of manage- ment as to changes to be introduced into the constitution of the Society, with the object of making the managing committee more representative of the members, and as to other matters connected with the welfare and development of the Society generally.” REsolution II.-“That there be sent out with the April number of the Awthor a list of names of members of the Society, not being members of the managing committee, who have been duly proposed and seconded by members, and have signified their willingness to serve on the special committee, and that this list be accompanied by a balloting paper, to be signed by the member voting and filled up by him with the names of the three persons selected by him from the aforementioned list who he desires to serve on the special committee, and that the special committee be con- stituted of the three members who shall respectively receive the largest number of votes.” The intention is that all the members through the circulation of the Author should have the resolutions before them. That those who desire to do so should obtain the names of suitable men and women of letters to stand on the sub- committee. That they should get these names seconded by another member and should forward them to me in the course of the month of March. That all the names should then be inserted in a list in the April number of the Author, and a voting slip should be sent round with that number for three members to sit on the com- mittee. Those who obtain the greatest number of votes should then be considered elected. G. HERBERT THRING. > s: SOCIETY OF AUTHORS, º WHE annual general meeting of the Incorpo- rated Society of Authors was held yester- day afternoon at the rooms of the Royal Medical and Chirurgical Society, 20, Hanover- square, W. Mr. Rider Haggard presided, and there was a numerous attendance. The CHAIRMAN presented the report, and, in doing so, referred to the losses which the Society had sustained by death during the year. Among many others who had died were Professor Huxley, the Earl of Pembroke, Mr. Henry Reeve, Major-General Sir Henry Rawlinson, and Mr. George Augustus Sala. The question of Canadian copyright was the one which had attracted, perhaps, most attention in connection with the Society during the year. They had elected 214 members to the Society, and had lost sixty, some by death and some by resignation. The Society now numbered 1300 members, and its finances were in a satisfactory state. He thought they would admit that the year's work had been of a useful character. About IOO cases had been settled through the Society, and the secretary had written letters of advice to about half of the members; many manuscripts had been read by skilled readers for members of the Society, and also in a large number of instances money which was due to members, and which they were unable to recover for themselves, had been re- covered through the action of the Society or its solicitors. The Society proposed to go into the question of watching the interests of educational writers and musical composers, which was a branch quite by itself. It should be understood that the Society did not exist for the purpose of attacking publishers, but for the purpose of defending authors. He hoped to see in the future the establishment of an esprit de corps among authors, a feeling of fellowship in which, up to the present time, they had been greatly wanting. Complaints had been made that the Society did not do everything it ought to do. The committee especially wished to make it as ## p. (#578) ################################################ 224 THE AUTHOR. useful as it could be to the general interests of authors, and if any of them had any doubt of it he would ask them to read the resolution which was to be moved by Sir Martin Conway, and seconded by Mr. Anthony Hope Hawkins. Mr. W. H. Wilkins had a motion on the paper which ran :-‘‘That this meeting repudiates the address headed, “The Authors of England to the Authors of America,’ and regrets that the Society was in any way connected with it.” They would under- stand that he himself felt diffidence in ap- proaching and some difficulty in dealing with that subject, because anything he said might be made more of on the other side of the water than it deserved. Perhaps he could not do better than read the resolution which the committee of management came to : “The committee of management of the Society of Authors, having investigated the circumstances under which the address to American authors and its covering letter were issued from the Society's offices, have unanimously found that the address expressly purports to proceed from its signatories alone; that it was neither printed or circulated at the expense of the Society's funds; and that the use of the Society's letter-paper in soliciting signatures was unauthorised by them. The com- mittee, while entertaining all friendly feelings possible towards their American brethren, are of opinion that action on international questions does not fall within the scope of their corporate powers.” He thought that resolution explained everything that it was necessary to explain, and that the responsibility for that address had not been accepted by the Society or its committee. Perhaps under those circumstances Mr. Wilkins might on consideration see fit not to press his motion for obvious reasons. (“No, no.”) He would point out that really for political reasons it was rather a difficult matter to be violently discussed in public. (Hear, hear.) Sir MARTIN CONWAY moved—“That a special committee of three members of the Society be elected in the manner hereafter described to confer with a sub-committee of three members and a chairman of the committee of manage- ment as to changes to be introduced into the constitution of the Society, with the object of making the managing committee more representa- tive of the members, and as to other matters connected with the welfare and development of the Society generally.” He said that the resolu- tion was substantially the same as one of which notice was originally given by Mr. Wilkins. He was very glad indeed that Mr. Wilkins withdrew it, and he was also very glad to be able to adopt it and move it and have Mr. Wilkins's support in doing so, as he thought that a motion of that kind would better come from the managing com- mittee than from the body of the members. The Society owed most in its initiation and building up to Sir Walter Besant, and but for him would not exist to-day. There had been many letters in the papers, some of which seemed to cast reflections on Sir Walter Besant, and he was very glad to be able to state that Mr. Wilkins, at all events, had publicly disavowed any desire to cast any reflection on Sir Walter Besant or to disavow him as the member of the Society to whom the Society owed most. If Sir Walter Besant had been able to be present that day he would have supported the resolution. Mr. ANTHONY HoPE HAwkINs seconded the resolution in a few words. Mr. W. H. WILKINs supported the resolution. He was glad that the council had abandoned their non possumus attitude of former years. The only desire he, and those who thought as he did, had was to do good to the Society. They had no wish to make a personal attack on any prominent member of the Society. They all admitted the great sacrifices made by those who originally formed the Society, and more especially by Sir Walter Besant. The younger generation was, however, knocking at the door and wanted to come in, and although an oligarchy might be an admirable way of governing a society when it was young, yet when it had arrived at man’s estate he thought it was high time that those who kept the Society going with their own money should be admitted to have a voice in its manage- ment. He thought the committee might consider the question of admitting women to some share of responsibility on the council. There was a great deal of dissatisfaction existing in the Society. He had taken no share in agitating for reforms until a few weeks ago, and when he did so and wrote a létter to the papers he was inun- dated with letters from all sorts of people, and his chambers became for a week or two a positive Cave of Adullam. Mrs. STANNARD (“John Strange Winter”) supported the suggestion that women should be allowed to have representatives on the council. Mr. C. H. Cook (“John Bickerdyke”) strongly objected to attacks being made in the papers until the Society had heard, in their ordinary meeting, what was brought against them, and had had an opportunity of answering the charges. They were the most intelligent people in England —(laughter)—and if any member came to the general meeting and said that there were griev- ances, no doubt those grievances would be dis- cussed in a fair and proper way. He strongly supported the suggestion that women should have a place on the council, and also on the com- ## p. (#579) ################################################ THE AUTHOR. 225 mittee. He thought that only the most eminent men of letters should be allowed a place on the council. He supported the motion, which was carried. Sir MARTIN ConwAY moved:—“That there be sent out with the April number of the Author a list of names of such members of the Society, not being members of the managing committee, as have been duly proposed and seconded by members and have signified their willingness to serve on the special committee, and that this list be accompanied by a balloting paper to be signed by the member voting and filled up by him with the names of the three persons selected by him from the aforementioned list whom he desires to serve on the special committee, and that the special committee be constituted of the three members who shall respectively receive the largest number of votes.” Mr. ANTHONY HoPE HAwkINs seconded the resolution, and it was carried. Mr. W. H. WILKINs thought that after the remarks which had fallen from the chairman, and the expressions of opinion of different members of the Society, there was no course open to him but to withdraw his motion. (Cheers.) From the Times, Feb. 18, 1896. *- a .msº *—s THE APPEAL OF THE BRITISE AUTHORS, HE regular monthly meeting of the American Authors’ Guild, at the Windsor Hotel, on Jan. 8, was enlivened by an animated dis- cussion of the following resolution introduced by Mr. Charles Burr Todd : “Resolved, that the American Authors’ Guild heartily endorses the appeal of the authors of Great Britain for peace between the two countries. “A war would dismember the Anglo-Saxon race, destroy international literature, and put back the progress of the world a hundred years. “By common consent nations have established in arbitration a tribunal for the settlement of those questions formerly submitted to the arbitra- ment of the sword, and at this crisis the wise and patriotic citizens of both countries should use their influence with their governments to bring about a settlement of the questions at issue by such a tribunal, to the end that peace, with honor and self-respect, may still remain the inestimable boon of both England and America.” Col. Richard Henry Savage, Hon. Ellis H. Roberts, and others opposed the resolution, chiefly on the ground of want of authority and inexpediency; it was favoured by Secretary Hard- wicke, Rev. Dr. Flagg, Messrs. Todd, MacCulloch, and Betts, but after a sharp debate of over an hour, was laid on the table.—From the Authors’ Journal (New York). := e <3 LITERARY PROPERTY. I.—A NEW INVENTION. HE following is noteworthy. The letter explains itself. It is from the editor of a montbly magazine : Dear Sir, I am obliged to you for your short story which you sent to this magazine. The magazine is now published by this company, and as we have a department for literary agency, it is necessary to pass all magazine matter through its books. If you will allow me to do this and to charge the usual commission of Io per cent., I shall be very glad to accept the story at the price you name.—I remain, &c. This is ingenious. The spirited directors of the company apparently propose to knock off Io per cent. from the price paid for articles and papers sent to the magazine. To be your own literary agent; to pass on things to your own magazine ; and then to take off IO per cent. from everybody—observe that “all magazine matter must pass through its books”—“must " –is surely as meat, as easy, and as pretty a way of making money as ever was invented. II.-RELIGION IN DAILY LIFE. A young novelist, beginning to be successful, recently received an invitation from the S.P.C.K. to let them have a story. He had one ready, and asked them what terms they were prepared to offer. He was told that they would give him £120. He asked what rights this sum covered; if it meant anything, for instance, beyond serial rights. They said that it covered everything, serial right, American right, book right, colonial right, everything. It was a most amazing offer: it covered the face of the whole earth. The author withdrew his MS., with a few remarks on religion in daily life. Now, what has been the future of that novel? The writer, who, one repeats, has only recently made a mark, has made arrangements with that novel which will produce for him in the end more than four times the sum offered in the name of Religion The point to notice is that this excellent insti- tution, which really makes every clergyman glow with honest pride and joy in it, endeavoured to get the whole rights of a good novel—everything—for the sum of £120. They may say that they could not tell that it would be worth so much. To this there are two answers. (I.) The writer had ## p. (#580) ################################################ 226 THE AUTHOR. already done so well that £120 was an absurd price to offer for all rights of a book by him. (2.) That no provision was made for im- proving the author's position in case of the work proving a success. What is thought of this transaction ? - There are two ways of dealing with a book, which is a property. One way is to take it over on terms which recognises the proprietor's interest in it and his just rights in it. The other way is to grab at it ; to give for it the smallest sum that the exigencies of the author force him to accept, without the least heed to the possible value of the book or the real rights of the author. Which of these two ways does the Committee of the S.P.C.K. prefer in the conduct of their business? III.--THE AMERICAN AUTHORs' PUBLISHING CoMPANY. A circular has been issued in New York pro- posing the creation of an Associated Authors’ Publishing Company. The capital is 50,000 dollars, i.e., 38 Io,000 in 25oo shares of 20 dollars, or £4 each. The incorporators, who are, appa- rently, the first ten shareholders, include the President of the American Authors’ Guild, the President of the Lotos Club, and the Vice-Presi- dent of the American Surety Company. According to the prospectus, the company will buy a publishing business as a going concern and run it for a moderate dividend, the surplus, if any, to be divided among the authors whose books they produce. The first point to be considered is, that it is intended to be a perfectly straightforward, honourable company. It may be objected that there are already honourable publishers in New York. No doubt—what advantage, then, will the author obtain P First, one takes it, the right of inspecting his own books whenever he pleases; that is to say, such of the books as his agreement allows; next, his books will be managed for him, and not for the publisher. Consider the differ- ence by examining the figures. This association wants, first of all, to pay its working expenses, which with a modest business would amount to, say, 32OOO ; and next 6 per cent. On capital, say, £600; perhaps 2 per cent. On the book. If the proportion of expenses due to one successful book were Io per cent. we might have these figures: Sale of 8000 copies at 3s. 6d. ......... 3I400 Less Io per cent. for publisher £140 ,, 2 per cent, for dividend 28 , cost of production at Is. 400 568 Beturn to author... 38832 selves. Suppose the same author had taken a royalty of one-sixth he would have received £400. So that, by this arrangement, he would just double his returns. There are certain dangers which present them- The directors must not allow the shares to be sold except to persons of their own know- ledge, otherwise the shares would be eagerly bought up by persons interested in wrecking the Company. The company must be run on purely “busi- mess” lines. We are always saying, what is perfectly true, that publishers are business men, first and foremost. This company must not only be run for its 6 per cent. dividend, but it must actually make that 6 per cent., otherwise authors will not place confidence in it. The question naturally arises whether it would be wise and expedient to imitate this action over here. The council of the Society could hardly enter upon the business of publishing. Nor would authors place confidence in a publishing company unless it began with a business already established, and was ruled by a managing director of known experience and capacity. Given a sufficient capital : an established busi- mess: a manager of experience and probity ; and methods of publishing based upon the points always advocated by the Society—viz.: I. No secret profits. 2. No charge made for unpaid advertisements. 3. A full understanding of what the agreement means to both sides. 4. The right of access to the author's own books. And given, further, the confidence of authors that these professions are honourably carried out, there can be no doubt whatever that an immense business would await that company. Confidence is, however, the one thing absolutely necessary. We await with considerable interest the pro- gress and the development of this company. The address, in case any reader would like to take up shares, or at least to send for the papers, is— Mr. C. L. Betts, Secretary, Associated Authors’ Publishing Company, 65, Fifth Avenue, New York. *- - - w- w - NEW YORK LETTER, New York, Feb. 14, 1896. HE appearance to-morrow of the fortnightly Chap-Book at double its former size and double its former price marks the success of a periodical which represents so important a phase of contemporary American taste that in the two years of its existence it has had an unpara- ## p. (#581) ################################################ THE AUTHOR, 227 lelled number of imitators, many of which are still struggling for existence with small hope of success. Only yesterday I noticed the latest born of the flock, a small thing called by the name of Whims, according to the same principles, no doubt, that inspired the names of Moods, Clips, and otners of the kind. It is an exact parody of the Chap-Book in appearance and contents. It was intended by Stone and Kimball, the Chicago publishing house which gets out the Chap-Book, at the same time that they put up the price to IO cents. a copy and 2 dollars a year, to establish a London agency. The negotiations with the International News Company, however, never resulted in an agreement, and, although it is probable that before long the magazine will be re- published in England, no definite announcement can be made at this writing. The history of this venture, which has not been told before even in America with any ful- ness, is comforting to the observer of fads on this side of the water and the part they play in our literary world. In the month of April, 1894, IHerbert Stuart Stone, of Chicago, a member of the class of 1893 at Harvard, and a son of one of the wealthy business men of Chicago, with a class-mate from the South, H. Ingalls Kimball, decided that the publishing business which they had already started during their college course, with headquarters in Cambridge, needed some regular means of sending information about their books to the Press. They spoke of it to Bliss Carman, a young romantic American poet and critic, who had just become their reader. He suggested that they should issue some sort of a periodical, possibly with an occasional original contribution to make it sufficiently interesting to attract attention. This idea appealed to them, and they set to work to develop some definite scheme. As there was no necessity for a large paper, and as Stone was particularly fond of small books, magazines and newspapers—things that could be handled conveniently—the Chap-Book size was selected. For three weeks they hunted for a name, all sorts of things being suggested and discussed. It was not until innumerable titles had come up and been discarded that Stone hit one night on The New Chap-Book and Literary Review. It was suggested by some old Chap- Books which he was reading at the time, and as the size was precisely the same, the title did not seem inappropriate. It was, however, modified before the first number was made up, as both Carman and Kimball seemed to think it too long. It appealed to Stone on account of its old-time flavour. He would rather have enjoyed calling it as a sub-title A Miscellany of Polite Literature. They then had no idea of charging anything for WOL. VI. hand in the editing of the paper. the paper, and in order to give it a fair start, and to do away with the appearance of an advertise- ment, they purposely left out reviews of their own books. They expected, however, to outgrow this righteous idea very shortly. On May 15, rather less than a month after the plan first occurred, the first number appeared. They put on the outside, “price five cents a year,” but merely for form's sake, for they gave away about three thousand copies. The affair, how- ever, attracted some little attention as the latest literary Cambridge toy, as a contributor called it, and they found that by taking subscriptions they could pay at least part of the expenses. The Chap-Book thus became what it has since been called, “A Miniature Magazine and Review.” Some friends of the publishers, Charles G. D. Roberts, Marie Louise Pool, Bliss Carman, and Louise Imogen Guiney sent things for the initial number. Miss Guiney wrote the unsigned essay entitled “A Bitter Complaint of the Ungentle Reader.” The “Notes” were written by Carmen and Stone, and it was recklessly announced that prospective numbers would contain contributions from fifteen or twenty prominent young writers, from no one of whom had the publishers any assurance. This, however, was a minor considera- tion which did not worry them. The editorial duties were divided almost equally between Carman and Stone, who, with much help from Miss Guiney and occasionally from Louise Chandler Moulton, prepared all the “Notes,” and not a little part of the body of the magazine for many months. When Stone and Kimball moved to Chicago in 1894, Carmen practically ceased his connection with the firm. The idea of living in the West did not appeal to him, and, although he sent articles and notes for some time thereafter, he had no real Since that time Stone has had complete charge and, with regular assistance from Harrison Rhodes, has done all the work. The Chap-Book has grown steadily, and with speed, the circulation now averaging about fifteen thousand. The change in the price is now made to enable the publishers to pay better prices for contributions, to publish more matter, and to enlarge the department of “Notes,” which from the very start has been the chief source of interest in the magazine. Just what the effect of this advance of price will be it is impossible now to tell, but the way in which subscriptions are coming in before the new terms go into effect, makes the publishers feel easy about the change. The Chap-Book was started with absolutely no models and no inspiration this side of 1790. The whole plan has been to make a periodical of C C ## p. (#582) ################################################ 228 THE AUTHOR. IY),621). taste and judgment, which should be distinctly literary, and which, while recognising traditions and the experience of the past, should at the same time appreciate contemporary work, and record the more important of the movements in literature and art. It has been frankly faddish; it has dwelt largely on the tendencies which were shown in the Yellow-Book in its earlier days, and yet it has a conservatism which acts somewhat as a wise restraint. It is the attention paid to new things, the general look of novelty, and the typographical appearance of the Chap-Book that have inspired the hosts of imitators. There have been at least twenty-six different ones, beginning with the Biblot, the Philistine and Chips, and ending with the Fly - Leaf and Miss Blue Stocking. Many are dead, and none have any circulation. They have varied in aim, in form, and in ability, and the reasons for their failure are many; but all of them lack the backing of a successful pub- lishing house and the editorship of men who know the actual book-market, and in their search after originality are limited by common sense and a foresight of results. Some of the imitations (which word is used with some elasticity to describe all the small magazines with an aim at literary and artistic character whose existence is due to the success of the Chap-Book) have made the mistake of laying emphasis on certain things which cannot receive the sanction of any large body of American readers. This, of course, is an error similar to that made in England by the Yellow Book at its start. One of the late creations in New York is a thin Fortnightly of this order, the small sale of which must cease as soon as the small capital of its owner, editor, and principal writer is exhausted. A large part of these experiments have been made by men of no experience and no success in litera- ture, but much desire for publication, and naturally the results have been of little interest to the world. Curious observers read a copy or two and stop. - * Meantime the Chap-Book goes on alone success- ful. It appeals to the current taste for lightness, modernity, and anti-Philistinism, but it remains within the bounds of established decency always. The same practical sagacity is shown in its list of contributors. Several of the similar ventures have small success because they rely on prominent names alone, giving second-rate work of first-rate Others have made the opposite mistake of relying entirely on writers absolutely unknown. Stone and Kimball recognise the value of names, but only in rare cases is material admitted for the sake of its author, and never is suitable matter neglected because the writer is unknown. The following list of recent writers shows many known even in England. Robert Louis Stevenson Thomas Bailey Aldrich Stéphane Mallarmé Richard Henry Stoddard Gilbert Parker Bliss Carman Charles G. D. Roberts H. B. Marriott Watson Norman Dale Maria, Louise Pool William Sharp Archibald Lampman Richard Burton H. W. Mabie F. Wallotton J. F. Raffaelli H. H. Boyesen H. D. Wells Kenneth Grahame Paul Verlaine William Ernest Henley Eugene Field Hamlin Garland I. Zangwill Louise Imogen Guiney Gertrude Hall John Davidson Alice Brown Julian Hawthorne Clyde Fitch Edmund Gosse Maurice Thompson C. F. Bragdon Will H. Bradley Louise Chandler Moulton Max Beerbohm Almost as long a list, however, might be made of unknown contributors, and probably Stone and Kimball are doing more than any other of our publishing houses to bring to notice new writers, especially writers from the Western States. The same is true on the side of illus- tration. Another recent change in the magazine world is also suggestive of the interest taken in artistic things by the American reading public. With the January number Scribner's Magazine began two new departments. One is to be devoted to general subjects of present-day interest, the other to deal especially with art topics. The appeal is to a more serious interest than that reached by the department of notes and the essays in the body of the Chap-Book, but the fields overlap enough to make the two changes illustrate some of the same truths about the American reading public. We are very fond of literary talk about art. This new departure of Scribner's has dis- cussions of art subjects, all unsigned, written almost entirely by artists. A large number of our best critics of art and literature here in New York are painters and illustrators. Speaking of this fact the other day a man who is prominent in both ways said to me: “It is rather curious that although artists have become more and more specialists within the domain of art, they are becoming more and more writers.” Whatever the cause it is certainly true. A large part of our painters not only write, but write remarkably well. The little essays in Scribner's by the artists deal with their subjects in a way that the general reader can understand. Indeed, the idea is to have the subject-matter, the methods, and the ends of art explained to the public by men who have both the point of view of the expert and the point of view of the serious reader who is not a specialist. Papers which ## p. (#583) ################################################ THE AUTHOR. 229 point out the artistic aspect of some common thing near home, of some New York corner, for instance, or of some unnoticed little masterpie e to be found in the city, will often be seen in this department. There are also critical comments on movements in the art world and on particular artists. The department is in charge of August F. Jaccaci, the art editor of the magazine, who has charge of all the illustrations, perhaps the most important and most excellent feature of our three leading magazines. As Mr. Jaccaci is a literary man in taste and practice as well as a painter and illustrator, besides having the prac- tical editorial instinct which watches every ripple of popular opinion, this department is sure of success; and as his ideals are very high it is also sure to be a good influence in the struggle that is now going on here between good art and same thought and cheap chromo art and sensa- tionalism. 3. In connection with what has been said about the place at which our reading public draws the line, it may be remarked that, in spite of the popularity of Thomas Hardy, “Jude the Obscure,” which has been roughly treated by the public, will have a much smaller sale than might have been expected for the successor of “Tess.” “Tess” succeeded in spite of its revolt from what the author deems Philistine ideals, not at all on account of it; and to-day the demand for the literature of revolt is decidedly smaller. This is shown in the failure of all of the so-called problem plays put on the New York stage this year as clearly as it is shown in the book and magazine world. One of the periodicals born this month, by the way, recognises this, in spite of its name. The Parisian, published by M. L. Dexter, at Carnegie Hall, as a quarterly until August, then as a monthly, promises to give in its translations from contemporaneousleuropean articles and its notes on European literature a selection made with an eye to permanent standards of this market. * N. H. * - a -º --- NOTES FROM PARIS. Y remarks on a certain side of French journalism, which were published in the Author last month, have attracted some attention both in England and France, and certain journalists in the latter country are vowing to execute all sorts of unpleasantness upon me when they meet me. Well, at least, they will find 4 qui parler. These menaces, indeed, only stimulate me to write further on the nauseous subject, and, alas ! I have superabundant materials, There was once in a French midland town a certain journalist who conducted a certain paper, which, for reasons into which it is not neces- sary to enter, systematically and regularly attacked a certain great lady. This lady was my friend, and One day she came to me and begged me, her peace of mind being at stake, to interfere on her behalf. “It is, I know,” she said, “only a question of terms. In fact, I have proof that this fellow only attacks me because he is paid to do so by Mr. X. If we offer him better terms he will be silent.” As it was impossible for her to appear in the matter, and T was anxious to oblige her, I undertook to see the man. I accordingly took train to the Midland town, and called on the able editor. I found a miserable, consumptive individual, living en fau,v ménage with an ex-circus lady “who forced me,” as he wrote to me after- wards, shortly before his death, “to do these wretched things.” I did not mince matters. I said that Madame X. and her friends were tired of his attacks, that we knew that these formed interesting reading, and had consequently, from a journalistic point of view, a cash value, and that what we wanted to know was what that cash value was. The wretched man coughed and flushed and spoke of his dignity. He said that it was in the interests of morality and public order that he attacked Madame X., that it was an insult to offer him money. I then produced my pocket book and began counting some hundred- franc notes with which I had provided myself. His words were indignant, but his eyes, which fixed themselves greedily on the blue notes, told a different tale, and I waited patiently for the quiver of irresolution. It was, however, the ex-equestrienne who spoke the truth. “Yes, we want money,” she said, “and you know it, Arthur. We are paid to print these articles. If you care to pay us not to print them we will not print them. And mind you, the dance has only just begun, so that it is really worth Madame X.’s while to put a stop to the music. That is how I understand journalism.” I began to feel nervous, lest my funds should not suffice to meet her demands, but was reassured to find what small fry of blackmailers these were, and was able after some discussion to arrange for silence for a cash payment of twelve pounds and a monthly subsidy of eight pounds to be paid in weekly instalments. I was to receive no receipt. I was not to send regis- tered letters, and the payments were to be made in fifty-franc notes. All this, of course, to prevent any proof of the transaction. Notes in France, although numbered, are not payable on demand and consequently cannot be traced. I paid the twelve pounds, and then asked the blackmailer and his good lady to dinner. I was ## p. (#584) ################################################ 23O THE AUTHOR. anxious to study them. I found them ordinary people enough, not more corrupt than the ordinary, with average provincial French ideas on the functions and possibilities of journalism. Over the champagne the good lady told me that her husband only earned two pounds a week as editor and sole contributor to his paper, and that, of course, money had to be obtained in other ways. The blackmailer was a weak-headed man, and, after a glass or two of wine, became con- fidential and told me that he had been receiving two pounds a month from the person, whom Madame X. had named, to carry on this cam- paign. He kept his bargain with me, though now and again I received a visit from him, when he happened to be in Paris, and the call invari- ably ended in a request for a small “loan,” which I always gave. I was strictly kept, however, to my part of the bargain, and if ever by any chance the remittance was a day or two late I received a reminder. Not a letter, oh, no ! that is to say not a manuscript letter, but a message, something like this. “Friends much surprised,” in printed characters cut from a newspaper and gummed on to a sheet of paper. Once, when having been away for three days, I was three days behind hand with the remittance, the printed message ran : “The dance is about to recommence.” I subsidized these people in this way for over seven months, till Madame X. died and it was no longer necessary. The adventures of a special correspondent in a big city like Paris would afford materials for an interesting book. I was once representing at the same time a big American daily, and one of the most influential organs of the British colonies. It happened that at that time there were two rival prime donne (ought one to say prima donnas) in Paris, who hated each other with a holy hatred and were actuated by a rivalry more than pro- fessional. I knew them both and admired them both, but my position between them was as uncomfortable as that of a piece of iron between the hammer and the anvil. One day Madame A., the American, would come bouncing into my house, speechless with indignation, to show me a cutting from some miserable colonial paper in which she had been badly criticised, and to beg me, as I was her friend, to retaliate on the evident instigatrix of “the abominable calumny ” in my colonial paper. Another day it was the colonial songstress who telegraphed for me urgently and implored my good offices in combat- ing a rumour, reflecting on the genuineness of her chevelure, or on the pitch of her voice, which had been printed in some “scurrilous organ ” in Indiana or Oklohama. It was a troubled time, and I was heartily glad when it was all over. The correspondentship to a modern American daily of a certain type is extremely distasteful to any man of good breeding and some respect for the decencies of life. One American editor once explained to me that his paper was a democratic paper (democratic in the English sense of the word), and that consequently its line was “to tom hawk the uppers.” I gathered that his wish was that I should go out largely into the best French and American society in Paris, enjoy the hospitality of my hosts, and reward it by scarifying them in his paper. My connection with that particular paper ceased because I point- blank refused to execute an “assignment” given me in writing by the editor himself. He wrote me from London that he was informed that a certain well-known American actress was about to be confined clandestinely in Paris, that I was to investigate this rumour, to collect full particulars, and to “file three thousand words (i.e., to telegraph that number of words to New York) for his Sunday edition. On another occasion it was suggested to me that it would make “a good story '' if I would watch Mr. John Jacob Astor as he came out of the Hotel Bristol, follow him wherever he went, note carefully what he spent and what he spent it on, and then write an article to show how a millionaire used his money. I did not carry out the idea, but some days later I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Astor, and I told him what had been suggested, and he laughed and said that that would have been a very foolish way for a young man to spend his time. Then he added : “Well, Mr. Sherard, if you had followed me this morning you would have seen something that would have interested you. I was out two hours, and I spent one franc sixty centimes. Ten centimes I paid for this little bunch of violets, and thirty cents. for this little book of yours. I have been reading it, and it makes quite a nice tale.” It was a copy of a shilling book of mine, published by Chatto and Windus, which the dear old gentleman had bought in the Rue de Castigliome. But perhaps it is from the desire of the American editor for “personals " that comes to the special correspondent in Paris the greatest amount of humiliation. He is bound to know who has come to Paris, what he has come for, and what he is doing. He is forced to loaf about the hotels, and when anybody of any importance (i.e., rich) is in Paris to endeavour to see him. The hotel people naturally endeavour to protect their customers from importunities and send the correspondent away with scant courtesy. “Don’t come bothering here, he won't see you.” Then one insists, and an insolent message is returned. It is terrible. One has to accustom oneself to ## p. (#585) ################################################ THE AUTHOR. 23 I slights and snubs, to the contempt of servants, and to one’s own loss of self-respect. One is partly a detective, partly an eavesdropper, double- faced always. To get a “good story" is the only consideration. The American correspondent who iistened outside a hotel bedroom door whilst an Italian count was beating his rich American bride with one of the lathes of the bed, and sent over a vivid column and a half, was a hero amongst his fellow correspondents for weeks after. I remember along conversation with Mr. Blaine on the subject of this kind of American journalism, but he laughed and said nobody attached any impor- tance to the papers over there, and there were ample laws for the protection of individuals. He told me that he was quite certain that as we were talking there was a certain X. outside the door. “He is always there,” he said. “In fact, he took a room in this hotel in order to watch me, and whenever I have visitors he is out in the passage to try and hear what I am talking about.” As a matter of fact, as I left the ex- secretary’s apartment I came upon the person in question in the passage. ROBERT H. SHERA.R.D. P.S.—The anonymous paragraphist of the Pall Mall Gazette, who is responsible for the column of so-called Literary Notes, in a recent attack on the Author and its editor, favours me with the following notice: “And really the editor of the Author should revise his proofs. Thus he has allowed an egregious person to perpetrate the following egregiosity : ‘Three of the most promi- nent Parisienne journalists are now in Mazas prison.’ Parisienne !” To hang a personal attack on a misprint is hardly worthy of a paper of the standing of the P. M. G. It was all the more unworthy that this anonymous writer must know very well, perhaps too well, that the said egregious writer during the past ten years has given his best work to the P. M. G., that the quality of this work has often been most highly commended by the proprietors of that paper, and that it was mainly thanks to the quality of his work in that paper that he reached that pitch of egregiosity which so irritates his critic. Banter apart, it is only amongst English journalists that one finds such mauvais confréres, ready to vilify their colleague on a paper in that very paper. In France a person of that description would be scouted out of every salle de rédaction. But no French editor would allow one of his contributors to attack a man de la maison. VOL. VI. NOTES AND NEWS. THE return of MSS. smudged, scored with blue pencils, creased, and soiled, is a common cause of complaint. Here is an illustration of the practice which may be read with profit. It is extracted from the Authors’ Journal of New York. The author speaks : It is a property question, you see: just as if I should send. to some merchant for goods to examine. He sends them, but they prove unsuitable. Then I will wrinkle, deface, and mark them here and there, and return them with thanks, making him pay the postage. Or, suppose I want a tenement and go to an agent. He gives me access to his houses, and as I go through them and find one after the other unsatisfactory, I knock off the plastering here and there, or break a window. Thus emphasising my opinion. Well, I should be fined. But as for my MS. I put all my time and strength into it—it is my capital—and it comes back to me ruined, and I can do nothing ! There are three articles in the Authors' Journal (New York) for February, which deal with the great difficulties encountered by the American author. Somehow, he does not get on. “Most authors are groping ever in the dark, with now and then a ray of light in the shape of popular or personal approval, and in the meanwhile great stretches of dulness and paralysis, so to say, like icy plateaus, in which hope seems to have finally spread her wings and sailed to other skies.” Two or three magazines, it is said, are blocking - the way against American writers. Mr. William Chisholm, however, seems to think that the reason why British novelists are more popular in America than native novelists lies in the single fact that the British novelist produces a superior article: I think one cause of the trouble with American authors is that, although movels pay best, the genius of the people is essentially political and philosophical rather than dramatic. There are no better reviews anywhere than the American, but I am compelled to say, for one, that in the line of the specifically dramatic—in novels and the like, we are still in our earlier stages. Something is lacking. The average American novel seems to die still-born, and those which are most popular do not seem to take permanent lodgment in literature. In poetry I hold that we are superior to the English and are gaining every day. But the intense realism and practical drift of the American people keeps poetry from attaining its true place in the affections of the people. They still read to be amused and entertained, and for this purpose they must have novels—there is no alternative. He tells us, in addition, that “too many people are resorting to literature as a means of liveli- hood, and too many are taking it up from a desire to be famous. It seems, indeed, an almost universal craze in good society.” Miss Margaret D D ## p. (#586) ################################################ 232 THE AUTHOR. Tee writes to the same effect, and to the same effect is the editorial article. American authors, who, before the International Copyright Act, were ruined by the production of books which cost nothing, have still to face the British author, who costs something to the publisher, but nothing like what he should cost. The sale of the book is necessarily “forced ” by the condition of simultaneous publishing; it is got for compara- tively little; the International Copyright Act came when Americans had become accustomed to books by British authors; the American position “in the opinion of a thinking world is that of a land without the world of letters.” Miss Margaret Lee says: “We can thank our short- sighted Government to-day for our wealthy publishers, enriched for generations by the fruit of English brains, and our despicable position in the opinion of the thinking world as a land without its men of letters. Americans have no sympathy with Genius in rags. Genius must wear fine raiment and be heralded in rich in order to secure attention. So our pilgrims to Parnassus, being unable to feed Genius in her poetical and literary flights, turn the gifts into channels that pro- duce an income.” The report of the Clerkenwell Public Library for 1895 is before me. These reports are always extremely interesting. They would be more valuable if they would offer us some insight into the works read. The following is the classifica- tion of 140,558 volumes issued during the year: Theology, Philosophy, Language and Litera- &c. .................. I565 ture .................. I 183 History, Travel, and Poetry and the Drama 1226 Biography ......... II,078|Fiction and Juvenile 90,381 Social Science ......... I325 Miscellaneous ......... 23,662 Science and Art ...... Io, 138 The whole number of books is 14,882. We should like to know under each head (I) the number of authors; (2) a list of those most often called for; also one would like to see “juvenile ” fiction by itself. Boys and girls read “grown-up " books; we grown-up people do not read boys' and girls’ books. For my own part I am never tired of admiring the change in our social system which places the whole of our literature in the hands of everybody for nothing. Formerly one read what one could get ; all the pocket-money was saved for books; the greatest joy in winning a prize at school was the acquisi- tion of another book; all the books in the family library—in the case I am recalling a very fair collection—were read and read over and over again. But to plunge into the ocean of literature; to reach out one's hands and take down everything —everything; not to desire any more to read the unattainable author and to get the book beyond one’s purse—this would have been a thing beyond the reach of dreams; no one could ever think it possible. Yet it is done. All the treasuries of literature are thrown open to all the world for nothing, to have and to use and to enjoy. There are, however, dangers. It may be, of course, an inestimable advantage that the treasures are there for anyone who values them and knows how to use them. The danger may be that those who use a library like this for nothing may cease to value the individual book and may not care to possess books. Perhaps; but it is the nature and one of the external signs of the true bookish boy that he will always desire to possess books; the possession of his treasure is dear to him. So that I do not think there is much danger under that head. As for the ordinary reader he could not afford to buy books if he wanted to. Now that he can read what he likes for nothing he will still less want to buy books. The enemies of the Free Library main- tain that the people only go there to read “slush.” I don’t think they do ; in the long run the taste of the people is not only wholesome but it is true. The real answer, however, to that objec- tion is much simpler; it is this: that the Library does not, or ought not, to contain any literature which can properly be described by that juicy word. WALTER BESANT. *~ 2. --> LONDON.—LATE NIGHT. Chimes multitudinous tell midnight's hour, The traffic falters in its rush and roar, The pavement's throng, unflagging heretofore, Less frequent grows; the stars have ceased to cower Amid the indefinite blue, but gaining power, Now that the vast smoke-canopy no more The city veils, keep clearer vigil o'er The dense domain of steeple, roof, and tower. With brimming flood the regal river flows Past swarthy banks freed from the fret and din Of craft and crane, a tide of tranced repose, Save for some spot where misery seeks to win Furtive emancipation from its throes, Or shame dissolves its vassaldom to sin. - WILLIAM TOYNBEE. *- - - MAGAZINES FOR THE BLIND. sºme \ | AGAZINES for the blind, printed in a raised type called Braille, are published by the British and Foreign Blind Asso- ciation, 33, Cambridge-square, Hyde Park, W. ## p. (#587) ################################################ THE AUTHOR. 233 Recreation, a magazine for blind adults, is published on the 15th of every month, its year beginning in January. The subscription is 9s. a year, postage free, for the United Kingdom, Ios. for abroad. JPlaytime, a magazine for blind children, is published on the first of every month, its year beginning in June. The subscription to Play- time is the same as that to Recreation. The subscriptions cover the cost of the printing and paper ; the metal plates being given. The publishers make no profit on the sale of the magazines. The serial running in Recreation for this year is “Cécile; a tale of the Kiffir War.” The maga- zine also contains a short tale by Mr. R. D. Blackmore. The serial tale in Playtime is “A Toy Tragedy,” by Mrs. Henry de la Pasture. The market is fortunately a small one. Recrea- tion has seventy-one subscribers, besides many numbers selling from month to month. Play- time has forty subscribers, with also many single numbers selling. The magazines are printed from metal plates. In order to get the raised effect the paper has to be made very damp; in fact reduced almost to a pulp. The plates are warehoused, and reprints taken as required. The two magazines are gradually forming a library of raised type books for the blind. I need hardly point out that the blind have few pleasures. To brighten their lives by cheerful reading is surely doing to others as we would be done by ; only, God save the mark, for I do not think any of us with good sight would wish to try the position of the blind even for a day. FLORENCE NEVILL, Editor of Recreation and Playtime. WAR (AND PEACE), AR is oftener due to moral cowardice than W W to physical courage. War is oftener born of (moral) weak- ness than bred by (mental) wisdom. War is more a matter of emotion than a matter of reason. . . Fear of ridicule oftener makes for war than love of justice. War is one of the common symptoms of the epidemic insanity of nations. “The Peace-at-any-price party’ died young, was still-born, or never conceived. Fools may make war for the sake of their reputation, while the wise must make peace for the sake of their character. History will disastrously repeat herself so long as we are unwise enough to let her. - War is oftener due to bad temper than to good judgment. - Misunderstanding is as much a friend of War as misinterpretation is a foe of religion. So long as poverty and war are assumed to be perpetual they will be perpetuated. It is well to beware of the fool in power who fancies himself a genius. So long as cowardice passes for peace, war will pass for wisdom. The imperious is as often mistaken for the imperial, as the womanish for the womanly. The virtues of warriors are often popularly credited to the evils of war. So long as hot-headedness is mistaken for warm-heartedness, the weak will wish War—to prove themselves wise. Warlike virtues are best utilised in warring with vice and with other waste. - Any fool may make eager war, but only the wise can make educative peace. So long as history remains a popular branch of mythology, war will beset human progress. It is generally far easier to make war from a private room than to make peace from a publi. platform. There are as many crimes committed in the name of honour as there are evils perpetrated in the name of freedom. - Our native planet has never been over-peopled, and never under-fed. No true moral force has ever yet failed, but its counterfeits often may. Were there a higher sense of humour in the world, there would be more wisdom, and therefore less war. Obstinacy is one of the odious offspring of obtuseness. In communities as in individuals, two chief characteristics of youth are an enviable zeal and an amiable ignorance. PHINLAY GLENELG. *— - 2–" g--- AN OLD WORLD OF LETTERS. HAVE before me a bundle of documents rescued, apparently, from the papers of the Dodsleys, father and son, publishers. They cover a period of about twenty years in the middle of the last century. They are fragmen- tary, but at the same time they throw a flood of light upon the material side of literature at that period. This was a time, Knight says, when the book market had become greatly extended; when ## p. (#588) ################################################ 234 THE AUTHOR. publishers had ceased to carry books about to fairs or to hawk them at country sales; when authors were receiving 200 per cent. above the prices of the early years of the century; when the prices of books ranged from Ios. or 12s. for a quarto to 2s. 6d. or 38. for a duodecimo. It was also a time according to the same authority when “large and certain fortunes’’ were made by publishers. - The following extracts from these papers will furnish unexpected illustrations to the condition of author and publisher in the middle of the last century : I. The position of the author. It is generally believed that at this period the author simply sold his MS. to the publisher for what he could get. According to Dr. Johnson, “A man goes to a bookseller and gets what he can. We have done with patronage. In the infancy of learning we find some great man raised for it. This diffused it among others. When it becomes general an author leaves the Great and applies to the multitude.” In another place, which I cannot for the moment find, he speaks of the public having become the author's patron. Yet, as the publisher who bought the copyright was not obliged to let the author know what it was worth, the public only con- cerned the former while the latter became the servant of the bookseller instead of the servant of the great. However, it was undoubtedly a step in advance. Literature had to pass through the purgatory of servitude and dependence out of which it is only now slowly emerging. In these papers, however, we have examples of other methods. I take them in order. There lies before me, first of all, an agreement between three firms—Andrew Millar, the two Dodsleys, and William Sandby. It is a very simple agreement. It just arranges for an equal division of risk and profit. But the interesting point is that we are still—Anno Domini 1755—in the time when a gentleman thought it derogatory to his dignity to take money for any kind of work, including authors’ work. The author in this case was Sir George Lyttelton, Baronet, and the book was his well known “Life of Henry the Second.” He “gave” the three firms the “benefit” of printing and publishing the book on “certain conditions,” which do not appear. They probably related to the form and date of publication. Now it is absurd to suppose that Sir George Lyttelton knew or cared anything about the business details of publication. He would not have gone to the three firms in question offering to the combined three the copyright of his work for nothing. What he did, most certainly, was to give his copyright to one—probably Robert Dodsley, who seems to have enjoyed the largest share of confidence. Dodsley, regarding the gift of doubt- ful value, risk being then a factor of very great importance, called in two others, with whose assist- ance he embarked on a venture which ought to have paid him well. Noble authors have long since left off presenting their copyrights to publishers, and now ask for agreements. That is because copy- rights now represent, in many cases, property of a very substantial kind. We do not find Byron, who would certainly have tossed a ten pound cheque into the fire, refusing one for £5000. The next papers show that there were cases in which the author did not sell his copyright out- right, but retained some share in it. Thus, on Dec. 25, 1775, Rev. J. Duncombe asks James. Dodsley to pay Mrs. Jane Vigors or order the sum of £2 I and to place the same to her account. And in February, 1789, Ann Smith, executrix to the late Mrs. Vigors, accepts ten guineas of Mr. John Ince, in “full demands on account of the late Mrs. Vigors’ Letters.” Therefore, Mr. J. Duncombe either had an interest in works of his own or he worked regularly for James Dodsley and could draw money on demand. The former is the more likely. In the case of the executrix it is clear that the widow must have had an interest in the book. John Duncombe was a highly respectable person, Vicar of Herne, in Kent, and Six Preacher of Canterbury Cathedral. He wrote a poem called the “Feminead and Occasional Poems,” some of which are in Nichols’ “Collection ; ” he also edited various books of Letters; his wife also wrote poems. There was a William Duncombe of the generation before John, who wrote transla- tions, and another John Duncombe who wrote an account of his country house in 1739. A family of singing birds ! The late John Duncombe's account of a cricket match written in imitation of Chevy Chase is a sprightly performance. Another case of the author or compiler retain- ing an interest in his copyright is that of Pearch. At the “Globe” on Dec. 21, 1775, there were put up for auction the “following shares' of “Pearch’s Poems ’’:—— A Collection of Poems, “4 vols. with 170 books at . Paper and Print,” 3 s. d. One Fourth ........................ 26 O O Do. One Fourth ........................ 34 IO O Do. One Fourth ........................ 34 O O Do. One Fourth ........................ 42 IO O 3.137 o o Who bought these shares? Why was there any difference between one fourth share and another fourth share P What is the meaning of “4 vols. with 170 books at Paper and Print’ P I do not know. But on Feb. I of the following ## p. (#589) ################################################ THE AUTHOR. 235 year Ann Pearch gives a receipt to Mr. Thomas Evans for the sum of £137 “in full satisfaction for the above-mentioned shares of a collection of poems in four volumes known by the name of “Pearch's Collection of Poems,’ the property of my late husband Mr. George Pearch.” Therefore, the copyright of the work had been the property of the compiler. . In July of the same year Dodsley buys the work of Thomas Evans for exactly the same sum, which is remarkable in the history of trade A letter from Robert Orme, author of the “History of Hindustan,” to Mr. Francis Wing- rave shows that some agreement in the nature of a share in profits had been entered into. He acknowledges the arrival of his account, and begs the publisher to pay “Mrs. Dixon’—a friend or relation—330. He goes on to invite Mr. Wingrave to dine with him at Ealing where he is living. The ordinary hour of dinner was then, among the better sort, about four. But Mr. Orme will arrange the dinner-hour so as to allow his visitor to get back before dark. Now at the end of February it is dark by six, and it would take an hour and a half to get from Ealing to the City, so that the dinner must have been at three. One little touch reveals a delightful wrong-headedness about Mr. Robert Orme. He wants the British Critic to be sent him, and no other magazine. Why? “Because I know one of the gentlemen concerned in the British Critic, and he is an excellent Greek scholar.” Because he knows a contributor to the magazine who is a good Greek scholar, therefore the British Critic is the best magazine out. One more case of retaining a share in the copy- right. When Mr. Adam Adamson wrote his “Dictionary of Commerce,” he retained one- sixteenth share for himself. Growing old—he was born in 1692, and this was in 1763—he sold his share to James Dodsley for £3 1 5s. The whole value of the copyright at that time was therefore estimated at £500, a very considerable sum. We must remember that in those days of a limited book market, although the law might impose a limit to copyright, there were some works which became standard, and could only be re- printed by those who had the plates, on account of the expense of composition. A very curious case is one in which the author or his representative was paid by a certain number of books. It was this. The Rev. Dr. Leland, an Irish divine of great reputation in his day, left behind him at his death a collection of sermons which were offered by his executors to James Dodsley and William Johnstone, book- sellers. They offered to publish the sermons on the following conditions: Four hundred copies of the book were to be given to the widow, with fifty more on a second edition—in full for the copyright. The accounts are preserved—I cannot understand every point in them, but it appears that some modification was made in the agree- ment. The author's rights were valued at £300, The widow received £200 in cash, and took 200 copies, valued at £1 each, in lieu of the remainder. This singular arrangement was probably entered into in order that the widow might dispose of the books to the trade of Dublin and Ireland. Perhaps she saw the way to some advantage to herself by this arrangement. My readers will perhaps remember a curious passage in “Boswell” which shows the view which Johnson took on profit sharing :— Johnson loquitar : “Old Gardener,” the bookseller, employed Rolt and Smart to write a monthly miscellany called the Universal Visitor. There was a formal written contract which Allen, the printer, saw. They were bound to write nothing else. They were to have, I think, a third of the profits of this sixpenny pamphlet; and the contract was for ninety-nine years. I wish I had thought of giving this to Thurlow, in the cause about literary property. What an excellent instance would it have been of the oppression of poor authors Boswell adds a note to the effect that this extraordinary contract was incredible. The only incredible part is the term of years. No man could possibly bind another for ninety-nine years. What Gardener offered, as we understand it, was a third share on the profits of a magazine on the condition that these two men gave their whole and undivided attention to its welfare. Who would not jump at the third share of, say, the Century magazine, on such conditions P But Johnson understood nothing beyond payment done for work done, the purchaser to make what he could out of it. Although the old con- ditions have changed, some of the old notions survive. A man of letters observed to me the other day that he thought an author ought to take what the publisher chose to give him, and not to trouble about the rest In some cases another payment is promised On the appearance of a second edition. Thus, on Dec. 5, 1761, Mr. Edward Powlett agrees to furnish Mr. James Dodsley with a Catalogue Raisonné of the British Museum for a sum of five guineas; but if a second edition shall be brought out a second sum of five guineas was to be paid. Such a clause in these days would probably appear in the illusory form that, when the second thousand should be sold, a second sum of five guineas should be paid; the second thousand, of course, would never be completed. In the same way there is an agreement between Robert Dodsley and Mr. Archibald Campbell, in which the former undertakes to pay the latter ## p. (#590) ################################################ 236 THE AUTHOR. 150 guineas for a first edition of 500 copies of a poem. And if this poem went into a second edition he was to pay the author another fifty guineas. The agreement itself is very interesting and deserves to be reproduced. As for the poem, I can learn nothing about it. Memorandum. It is agreed this sixteenth day of March, 1754, betwixt Mr. Archibald Campbell, gent., on the one part, and Mr. Robert Dodsley, bookseller, on the other, as follows, viz.: The said Mr. Campbell doth agree to write an Epic Poem, in 24 books, entitled “Alcides,” the plan and near the quantity of 8 books of which he hath deposited in the hands of the said Mr. Dodsley. In consideration of which the said Mr. Dodsley hath advanced to the said Mr. Camp- bell fifteen pounds fifteen shillings. And the said Mr. Campbell doth further agree to produce to the said Mr. Dodsley once in three months at least one book of the said Poem compleat, till the whole remaining books are finisht, the said Mr. Dodsley agreeing to pay for every such book, when delivered, the sum of 5 guineas. And the said Mr. Dodsley doth further agree that when the said Poem in 24 books is finisint and delivered into his hands, he will make up the sum which the said Mr. Campbell shall then have received on this account one hundred and fifty guineas. And that he will immediately print an edition of 5oo of the said Poem, and if he sells the said edition and prints the work again he will give to the said Mr. Campbell the further sum of 50 guineas, and if he print a third edition 50 guineas more. Or if the said Mr. Dodsley should print 750 of the first edition he doth in that case agree to give the said Mr. Campbell IOO guineas more on printing a second edition, and 50 more on printing a third. Which the said Mr. Campbell doth hereby agree to accept as the full consideration for all his right and property in the copy of the said Poem, as witness our hands the day and year above written. ARCH : CAMPBELL. B. DODSLEY. Let us now consider the sums then paid to authors for their copyrights outright. On the 8th of April, 1749, William Cheselden, surgeon, agrees to concede all his rights in the MS. on the Anatomy of the Human Body, with all the plates, &c., to Robert Dodsley and Charles Hitch, for £2OO. The purchasers then apparently proceeded to shift some of this liability off their own shoulders by selling some of the copyright in sixteenth shares. When the book succeeded, they naturally tried to buy back the shares. Thus in 1771, the book having been then more than twenty years before the public, Dodsley gives six guineas for a sixteenth share. The copyright therefore he must have represented as worth £IOO. In 1778 Dodsley buys another sixteenth share; this time giving £4 7s. for it, so that he thus estimated the copyright as worth £69 12s. We shall consider, presently, the fluctuating value of copyrights. For a bundle of original letters, never before published, written by Alexander Pope to a lady, Dodsley gave in 1769 the sum of £52 12s. 6d.—I wonder what such a collection would be worth now. And for a collection of unpublished letters by Swift the possessor obtained £37 Ios.— which does not seem a large price to pay. For a comedy by Mr. W. Johnston called “The IPlatonic Wife,” the author received £26 5s. I wonder who would give him at the present day the odd 58. for it. Translation work is always poorly paid, so that when Mr. David Creagh undertook his translation of Winckelmann on Herculaneum for ten guineas he probably got as much as he would get now, perhaps more, for the same piece of work. The commercial value of poems and translations seems out of all proportion to what would be their present value. Thus in 1752 Joseph Warton, who had in his desk three Essays on Pastoral, Didactic, and Epic Poetry;. A Life of Virgil; a translation of the Eclogues and Georgics; and notes on the AEneid—in 1896 he would have then taken, on the strength of his reputation as a scholar, on a royalty of Is. a copy (if he was a level-headed man), and would be produced at 6s. Not more than 1500 copies probably would be sold, and his share wonld be £75, while the publisher would make about £90 by the job. Dodsley gave him £22 I for the copyright. Science was already worth something. Henry Baker, the naturalist, in 1753 sold his MS. work, called “Employment for the Microscope,” for the sum of £88 11s. 6d. Probably he was paid so much a sheet, which accounts for the odd SUIDOl. Educational books, also, had begun to possess great value. Thus, while we find, as above, a collection of unpublished letters by Swift going for £37 IOS., Dodsley gave for eight twentieth shares in Lowth's English Grammar, the sum of £315, the whole copyright being valued therefore at £777 Ios. The MSS. of a popular poet recently deceased, we should expect to be valuable. Dodsley gave £300 for those of Shenstone, two years after the poet’s decease. What did the ordinary novelist receive for his, or her, work P I can only give three illustrations from the papers before me. They all belong to lady novelists, who were very active—though the fact has now become rather misty—in the latter part of the eighteenth century. The first case is that of Miss S. Minifie. This lady, on April 22, 1765, parted with the MS. of her novel called “The Histories of Lady Frances and Caroline S.” for the sum of £59. I fear that this lady writing in the present age would have had to take 350 for her rights in the three-volume novel, which would have gone the round of the libraries for nine months—then to be forgotten, ## p. (#591) ################################################ THE AUTHOR. 237 On May 13, in the same year, Miss (or Mrs.) Ann Eliot, less fortunate, received £39 IOS. for her MS. novel called “Indiana Danby.” A lady of greater literary pretensions than either S. Minifie or Ann Eliot was Frances Brooke, née Moore. She was married to a clergyman who held the post of chaplain at Quebec, whither she accompanied her husband. On their return she became one of the earliest of the literary women— I know not if she lived by her pen, probably not; but she wrote continuously and was actually, if not nominally, a professional writer. She wrote two novels, at least. For one of these, “Tady Julia Mandeville,” she received a sum of £IOO. I have before me among these documents a letter from her, addressed to her publisher. It is exactly the kind of letter which one expects from the literary profession. She has been dis- appointed, in fact, of a remittance. Literary folk are always being disappointed of a remit- tance. N. Oakendon, 25th Aug. 1770. Dear Sir, I wrote to you a few days ago to tell you I might probably be obliged to draw on you for £2O. It has happened as I was afraid it would. I am disappointed of a remittance I expected from the country. I have therefore drawn in favour of the Rev. Mr. Parry or Order at thirty days after date, and you will oblige me by accepting the Bill, which I hereby acknowledge to be on account of the translation of the (Memoirs) of the Marquis de St. Forlaix. I expect to hear from you to-morrow in answer to the other particulars in my last. - I am, dear Sir, your most obedient servant, FR. BROOK.E. The rest of the 2nd volume will go to-morrow. The bill is inclosed among the papers. It is drawn on Mr. James Dodsley, who writes after Mrs. Brooke's signature “accepted, J. D.” It is indorsed by Roger Parry and by three other names, to whom it was passed before being taken up by Dodsley. The tone and wording of the letter; the lady's familiarity with the business of a thirty days' draft; indicate clearly the profession of letters, not the occasional indulgence in literary pursuits. Let us next turn to the relations of pub- lishers among themselves. We have seen that risks were divided and sub-divided. This led to a good deal of buying and selling among them- selves of copyrights and shares of copyrights. These sales were conducted by auctions at the Queen's Head Tavern and the Globe, the persons present, it is understood, being only those belong- ing to the trade. Sometimes the amounts realised were so small that one is astonished to find the things put up for sale at all. On Jan. 13, 1746-7, at an auction held at the Queen's Head Tavern, Robert Dodsley bought the following “copies” and “shares of copies.” One guinea was the sum he paid for the first lot; two guineas for the second :— “Life of the Black Prince.” The whole. “The Levee,” a farce. Two-thirds. “Levin's Reports.” Three parts in two volumes. An eighth. “Levin's Entries.” An eighth. “Law of Bastardy.” The whole. “Letters from a Country Whig.” author of “The Caveat.” The whole. “Letters of the Ancients.” A tenth. Machiavelli’s “Works.” Folio. Mrs. Ward’s share. Misson’s “Voyage to Italy.” 4 vols. octavo, 147 in IOOO. “Mechanism of Birds.” 4o. “Memoirs of Savoy.” “Mercurius Politicus.” Two parts. By the I47 in IOOO, I47 in IOOO. Octavo, one sixth. The second lot was as follows: Marshall’s “Penitential Discipline. One half. 3) “Defence of the Constitution.” Ditto. 22 “Sermons on the Queen.” Ditto. 32 “Sermons at Blandel’s Funeral.” Ditto. 22 “Letter to a Clergyman about Oaths.” Ditto. 2 3 “St Cyprian.” Ditto. 33 “Non Danger from Popery.” Two-thirds. Nelson’s “Abridgment.” 3 vols. folio. One-eighteenth. 22 “Rights of the Clergy.” Two-thirds. 22 “Reports in Chancery.” One-sixth. Sir Isaac Newton’s “Chronology.” A ninth. “Systema Mundi.” A ninth. 23 55 39 “Elogium.” A ninth. “Nicholl on the Pulse.” Two-thirds. “Newborough's Copies" (Mr. Osborne's share), consisting of thirty articles. The sum of three guineas purchased the copy- right, or a part of the copyright, of all these works It is amazing. At first I thought that the word “copies" meant single copies of the book; though it is difficnlt to understand book- selling when a single copy has half-a-dozen owners. That it was copyright is proved by the share being in two cases I 47 in a thousand. Now most of these books appear to have been old books: Nelson died in 1720; Marshall, pre- sumably the Dean of Windsor, in 1730; Misson was translated in 1698; Newton died in 1727. The sale then was something like the sale of remainder stock, the purchaser taking over his share of the remainder stock. The way in which these different shares wele worked is shown by an agreement between Jacob Tonson and Robert Dodsley It is dated Dec. 30, I752. The agreement is concerned with a translation of Caesar’s “Commentaries " and his “Discourse on the Art of War,” by one Mr. Duncan. The translator was to be paid by Dodsley, while Tonson for his share was to furnish the plates used for Clarke's edition of Caesar and to pay for the necessary alterations—a clause which makes one feel that the learned Duncan in his new and original translation would be made to stick pretty 32 25 32 ## p. (#592) ################################################ 238 THE AUTHOR. closely to the learned Clarke. Then the two parties to the agreement were to go halves in cost of printing and in receipts—each was to take 200 copies to begin with, and then forty more, and so on until all were gone. Sixteen years later, in 1765, Mr. Longman bought an eighteenth part of the copyright for £1 10s. And in 1771 another eighth was bought by James Dodsley for £2 2s. An instance of the fluctuating value of copy- rights is afforded by two or three entries concern- ing a book called “The Child's Plaything.” On Dec. 15, 1767, James Dodsley bought two twenty- fourth shares of this book, one share for £3 15s. and the other for £4 Ios., each being put up to auction separately. That is to say, the copyright of the book, which meant what remained of former issues and what might be expected to be made by future issues, at £99. twenty-fourth share was sold for £2 11s. The copyright was then worth £6 1 4s. In 1773, four guineas were paid for a twelfth share—the copy- right of the whole was therefore worth £50. On June 5, 1783, sixteen years later, one twenty- fourth share was sold for half a guinea; the value of the copyright having gone down to 312 12s. On May 25, 1784, one twelfth share was sold for £1 16s., so that the value of the copyright had gone up. At these auctions of copyrights there must have been a good deal of speculation. One remarks, however, that people were not so quick to forget a book as they have since become ; a book must be really remarkable to be remembered in these days after seventeen years or more. - The material before us is not sufficient to ascertain the cost of printing. Here are, however, two printed bills. I. Printed for Mr. John Nourse by William 3 s. d. Stenham “Gil Blas,” in French, 2 vols., 37% * sheets. No. IOOO, at £I IOS. .............. ..., 56 5 O March 3, 1770, Knight (“Shadows of the Booksellers”) is responsible for the following: 2. State of the account of “Gibbon's Roman Empire.” Third edition, 1st vol. No. IOOO. April 30, 1777. Printing 90 sheets at £1 6s. with notes at the £ s. d. - bottom of the page......... ........... ........ I 17 O O 18o reams of paper at 19s. ........................ 171 o o Paid the corrector extra care ..................... 5 5 O Advertisements and other incidental expenses 16 15 O *A 3IO O O 39 s. d IOOO books at 16s. .................. 8oo O O . Deduct as above ..................... 31 O O O Profits on this edition ...... 490 O O When sold. - - S Mr. Gibbon's two-thirds is ........................ 326 I3 § 6 Messrs. Stenhan and Cadell's................. • . . . . . 163 490 O O In February, 1771, a Newspapers were already worth something in the year 1747. In that year Mr. Robert Dodsley gave Mr. Richard Nutt the sum of £150 for a fifteenth share in “a newspaper called The London Evening Post”—the whole of which was therefore valued at £2250. It seems little, as newspapers go, nowadays. - Books were sent about the country by waggon. On Nov. 7, 1758, Mr. Sackville Parker—was it Professor Sackville Parker P-writes from Oxford to Mr. Nourse, bookseller, at the Sign of the Tamb, against St. Catherine-street, Strand, ask- ing for certain books; they were to be sent to him by Hibbits's waggon. If he writes for them on Monday, he might perhaps expect them on the Saturday. The following interesting document is a minute of the meeting held at the Chapter Coffee House on Jan. 22, 1745, when four publishers agreed to take upon themselves and to share the risk and the profit on the production of a new magazine: Chapter Coffee House, Jan. 22, 1745. Messrs. Longman, Hitch, Dodsley, and Rivington. Mr. Dodsley produced an agreement between him and Dr. Mark Akinside, signed by both parties, ye purport of which was that Dr. Akinside had engag’d to prepare & have ready for ye press once a fortnight, one Essay, when- ever necessary, for carrying on a Work to be called ye Musaeum, and also to prepare and have ready for ye Press Once a fortnight an account of ye most considerable books in English, Latin, French, or Italian which have been lately published, and which Mr. Dodsley shall furnish—& ye said account of books shall be so much in quantity as along with ye Essays above mentioned may fill a sheet & half in small pica whenever so much is necessary for ye carrying on ye said Design. Dr. Akinside engages to supervise ye whole, and to correct ye proofs ef his own part on con- dition that Mr. Dodsley shall pay to Dr. Akinside fifty pounds on or before ye 27th September. It is further agreed that so long as Mr. Dodsley thinks proper to continue ye paper, and so long as Dr. Akinside consents to manage it, the terms above mentioned shall remain in force, & not less than a Hundred pounds per annum be offer'd by Mr. Dodsley, nor more insisted on by Dr. Akinside. - Mr. Dodsley also reported that he had seen Mr. Camp- bell, who had agreed to write one sheet of historical occurrences for ye said work, but could not yet fix ye terms he should have for ye same. - - It was also agreed that Messrs. Longman, Hitch, and |Rivington should be partners with Mr. Dodsley in the said pamphlet, & that ye same be carried on at ye joint expense of ye said four persons, who shall be equal shares in profit and loss that may arise by ye sale thereof, & that no other partner be adımitted into ye said work. And it is further agreed that, as Mr. Dodsley has apply'd to several Gentlemen for Essays, poems & other pieces for this work, that ye Copyright of all such Essays, poems & other pieces shall remain to Mr. Dodsley excepting such as are wrote by Dr. Akinside, which are to be ye property of ye 4 Persons concern’d in this said Musaeum, as shall also ye Historical Occurrences. - - In witness whereof the parties above mentioned have sett their hands the day & date above mentioned. THO. LONGMAN & Co. R. DoDSLEY. w" CHARLES HITCH. JoHN RIVINGTON & Co. ## p. (#593) ################################################ THE AUTHOR. 239 We will conclude these extracts with a letter written by an author to his pmblisher on the pro- duction of a second edition—not that the letter illustrates anything, but because it has a pleasant old world flavour. The author, observe, points out that he ineans to have his say in the advertise- ment of the book. SIR,--I left the three sheets of the work at Mr. Hamilton’s. I did not see Mr. Hamilton himself, but I acquainted his overseer what the alterations are which are to be made in the plan of it. He told me Mr. H. would probably see you on Sunday in order to settle the plan, &c. The quantity of matter I observe, as far as I have gone, has been more than double what it was before ; which edition will, I calculate, fully supply the vacant columns and blank spaces, which there is now no occasion for, and the book will be about the same size as it now is, exclusive of the index, which will be about three sheets more I suppose. The size of the page I hope you will think with me will be best in octavo. The paper, you will excuse me if I just observe to you, was not in the last edition good enough. On looking over some letters I have, I find some complaints on that head, which I am sure you will put it out of their power to make in this edition. You mentioned that you should pay £30 at the time of my delivery of the first sheets; I should therefore be obliged to you for it if you will let it be sent to Mr. Symons’, merchant, Princes-street, Lothbury, who will give you a receipt for me. Before you advertise the book, I shall be glad if you will hear from me again—as I shall give you a few hints which will be necessary to be observed. I am Sir, your most humble servant, JELINGER SYMONs. I hope to receive a proof sheet in a few days, and that I shall be able to furnish two sheets a week. What do we learn from these papers? In the first we learn what a very small and uncertain thing the demand for books—especially new books—was a hundred and fifty years ago. We see the publishers venturing into the market by clinging together; they divide even a little book into eight, sixteen, twenty shares; they hold auctions constantly at which they put up for sale these shares, trying to get into their own hands those which are profitable and getting rid of those which look fall in value. Sometimes they have auctions of copyrights of which a round dozen are not worth more than a guinea. When a book of undoubted historical value is given to a publisher by its author, he calls in two or three of his fellows and they join together in the risk. They buy a collection of letters by Pope for £50, and one by Swift for £37. Everything is little ; everything connected with the business shows that the market was very limited; that it was uncertain; that the risk in producing almost any book was very real. A very narrow market. Yes: but then its narrow limits acted in an unexpected way; for if a book got into one house and was talked about likely to it got into all. “My book,” says Gibbon, “is on every table.” As for discounts: thirteen as twelve; or reduc- tions for a large subseription, we read nothing. When we consider the authors’ side we find that they regarded the commercial side of their pro- fession to mean simply that they were to sell their work to the bookseller for as much as they could get. Hence the use of the word “generosity’; hence, when men began to live by writing, the bending back and the outstretched hand which have done so much to ennoble and to dignify the profession of literature. The selling of books was regarded by the writer as a kind of gamble, or speculation. As for keeping a share in his own property, he did not know that it was property. Even in the case of Johnson with the Dictionary, it never so much as occurred to him that he was creating a noble property in which he ought to retain a share, and that a large share. It may be urged that it was a period in which, as we have seen, every new book was brought out as a risk to the venturer. Yet, what does Charles Enight, who knew the subject better than anyone before him, or since, say of this very period? “’Twas, in many respects, the golden age for publishers, when large and certain fortunes were made; when there was not a great deal of gambling spirit in the business.” “Large and certain fortunes ’’ Then what about these risks P. The word “large” is not to be accepted in its present sense, and the word “certain " means only that by dividing risk and so mini- mising possible loss, the publishers avoided dangers while they lost the chance of great coups. W. B. * LITERATURE IN THE PERIODICALS, WITHOUT PREJUDICE [about Authors and Publishers]. I. Zangwill. Pall Mall Magazine for March. THE NEw POET LAUREATE. John Dennis. Leisure How' for March. THE BRITISH MUSEUM : The Departments. Sir E. Maunde Thompson, K.C.B. Leisure Howr for March. THE TREATMENT OF MEDICINE IN FICTION. Caroline W. Latimer, M.D. New Science Review for January. IMAGINATION. Arthur Lovell. New Science Review for January. CRITICISM As THEFT. Professor William Knight. Nineteenth Century for February. PEREDA, THE SPANISH NovKLIST. Hannah Lynch. Con- temporary Review for February. THE EvoluTION OF EDITORs. Leslie Stephen. National Review for February. ENDURING CHARACTERISTICS OF MACAULAY. T. Brad- field. Westminster Review for February. AUTHORITY IN LITERARY TASTE. Speaker for Feb. 22. CANADIAN CoPYRIGHT. Speaker for Feb. I. THE BIOGRAPHER. Speaker for Feb. 8. ## p. (#594) ################################################ 24O THE AUTHOR. POPULAR WRITERS AND PRESS CRITICS. Review for Feb. 8. AN EvKNING WITH MALLARME. for Feb. 22. AN AUTHOR's ComPLAINT. Letters from J. W. D. and George Redway. Athenaewm for Feb. I. DANGER SIGALS IN NovKLS. Nation for Jan. 23. AN UNPUBLISHED LETTER OF THOMAS PAINE. for Feb. 6. THE REAL PETER PARLBY. Bookseller for Feb. 7. THE PUBLISHERs' AssocIATION. Bookseller for Feb. 7. THE Associate:D BookSELLERs. Bookseller for Feb. 7. NOTABLE REVIEws. Satwrday Z. Z. Literary World Nation Of Walter Pater’s “Miscellaneous Studies.” Campbell Dodgson. Academy for Feb. 8. Of Thomas Hardy’s “Jude the Obscure.” Saturday Review for Feb. 8. - Of Professor Saintsbury’s “Literature of the Nineteenth Century.” Times for Feb. 14. Of J. M. Robertson’s “Buckle Athenæum for Feb. 22. Of Mr. Gladstone’s edition of Butler. Feb. 22. Of D. J. O’Donoghue's Life of William Carleton. Chronicle for Feb. 22. Of Miss Rossetti's “New Poems.” Feb. 22. Mr. Zangwill discourses at good length on the relation of author and publisher. The methods of the Trade Union are only partially applicable to the author, but even the possible has not yet been done. “There is nothing but a registered disorganisation. What the publishers are really afraid of is not a society but a man”—the agent. Publishers may rave as they will, but authors have every right to employ agents to save them from the unpleasant task of chaffering and of speaking highly of themselves. And it is the author who pays the agent, not the publishers, their whinings notwithstanding. The agent may indeed squeeze out larger sums than publishers like to disgorge— but how can he obtain more than the market value P Political economy is dead against the possibility. As for the right of the author to reckon his expenses of research, equally with the publisher reckoning his office expenses, in the cost of production, it is not only an ethical fallacy but a politico-economical one, “because the economical question is only concerned with the distribution of the work, and the money or the heart's blood that went to make it has nothing to do with the question, while the publisher's office expenses are of the essence of the question.” He excuses the publisher making successful books pay for un- successful; and allows him the right to capture the bulk of the profits of the author's first books, because they largely supply the author with his public—“but when a popular author brings a publisher a book it is he who improves the publisher's distributing agency.” Mr. Zangwill at the same time strikes at the root of the publisher's existence by prophecying that he will become more and more the mere distributor, if indeed he be not eliminated by a mechanical and His Critics.” Speaker for Daily Saturday Review for organisation. “The popular author needs only a central store to supply the trade with his printed writings, the cost of production of which is covered by the first day's sales.” Writing upon “An Author's Complaint” in the Athenæum, “J. W. D.” says that similar cases have come under his notice, and “in every instance where a bookseller has ticketed my books above the published price, it has immediately been rectified when his attention has been called it.” He thinks simple ignorance, therefore, the cause. Mr. Redway sends to the same journal opinions he has received upon his letter in favour of abolishing the net system of book-selling (summarised in this column last month). The Associated Booksellers have been conferring on this subject at their annual meeting, but with no definite end. One species of argument used was that the attainment of an adequate profit was the real matter, the precise method of reaching it being comparatively immaterial. At the Pub- lishers’ Association to frame rules, Mr. Frederick Macmillan said he entirely refused to believe in the hostility between authors and publishers often alluded to in the Press. The interests of the two, he continued, must always be inseparable. With regard to the booksellers, the saying was equally true, and the newly-formed Publishers’ Associa- tion would try to release them from the thraldom of excessive discounts. On the question of Canadian Copyright the Speaker is pleased that the position taken up by the Colonial Office, that legislation on copyright was beyond the province of the Dominion Parlia- ment, has now apparently been dropped. But it has never been able to see that the loss of what may be called automatic copyright in Canada is a very serious matter to British authors. “The English-speaking people of Canada number perhaps three millions, and are chiefly farmers with little time, money, or inclination for buying books.” Our contemporary thinks that :— If by using Canadian pirate publishers as a lever, we could force the United States into the league of civilised nations which have assented to the Berne Convention, the game might be worth playing. |Because, while the writers of established reputation draw rich revenues from the United States, the poorer man and the beginner are robbed as brazenly as ever. The article also impresses the necessity of careful consideration of the Canadian authors’ rights in other countries, because—French or English—he can never hope to make a large income out of his own people. Moreover— The only protection which is of any real use to the writer must be a world protection, and that world protection can only be secured by Canada assenting to the rule of inter- national equality, which was decreed at Berne. ## p. (#595) ################################################ THE 24. I A UTHOR. Discussing Professor Courthope's inaugural lecture in the Chair of Poetry at Oxford, as to what tribunal society can create to pronounce effectively on questions of literary taste, the Speaker does not agree with the Professor's objections to an English Academy on the French model—“officialism ‘’ not being an English fail- ing, while “true originality” would be the strongest title to admission to the ranks of such Academy. Nevertheless, it concedes that, so long as the school of English literature runs on the lines of scholarship in its widest sense, it may at least form a genuine school of English culture, and help to educate the public mind as to the requirements of a literary style. The letter by Thomas Paine which Mr. Moncure D. Conway sends to the Nation, was written from Paris in January, 1797, to Colonel Fellows, book- seller in New York, with whom the writer dis- cussed arrangements about publishing his books. We extract this brief long-ago glimpse of Paine's view and experience in this way:- You ask me by your letter to Mr. Caritat for a list of several works in order to publish a collection of them. This is an undertaking I have always reserved for myself. It not only belongs to me of right, but nobody but myself can do it; and as every author is accountable (at least in reputation) for his works, he only is the person to do it. & tº I have sustained so much loss by disinterested- ness and inattention to money matters and by accidents, that I am obliged to look closer to my affairs than I have done. Lately Mr. Andrew Lang entered his protest against so-called “scissors-and-paste ’’ criticism ; now Professor Knight finds fault with modern methods. He is alarmed for the risk that the professional critic, undertaking too much work, may review many books without reading them, and that unless he is somehow discovered and just sentence passed upon him, he will often return a biassed verdict on the literature that passes through his hands. All injustice is theft, he says; and he makes the rather striking point that papers which publish extracts from a book or a magazine defraud the public—besides, of course, taking from the author and hurting the publisher—because the public is deprived of the liberty of knowing in its integrity what some of the ablest writers of the time have had to say. The assumption is that the public believes it is getting the “integrity” with the , extracts. Throughout the article runs a note of welcome to the just critic who can be severe, as we are suffering from a vast amount of trivial production —“we have a modern literary swarmery, as we have a modern social proletariat.” The Pro- fessor admits that the function of the modern critic is singularly ill-defined. He chiefly wants full knowledge, judicial impartiality, and readi- ness to appreciate what is new if it be a genuine development of latent tendencies. The article on “Medicine in Fiction ” is in the nature of a protest against the “vague, false, and impossible statements that are scattered broadcast by almost every novelist.” The sug- gestion—which may be ironieal—is made that the sources of correct information should be “occasionally consulted; ” also that good taste should be displayed. George Eliot's works are held up admiringly for their correct treatment of such cases. The writer, however, advises the avoidancee of medical subjects altogether as themes for novels. The Nation says that the “danger-signal—i.e., the indication of the subject treated in certain novels—should be placed on the cover instead of in the preface, to be truly effective; and that the change from the old custom under which English fiction might be left to free publishing and reading, may signify a gain for art, but certainly means “a loss to our comfort, to our traditions, to our manners.” *-*. BOOK TALK, appearance of a new magazine entitled Sisters,under the editorship of Mrs. Elizabeth Hooper, and published by S. W. Partridge and Co. Its first number appeared in December. It is devoted to the interests of women in their social rights, although it is not by any means in sympathy with the New Woman. It has for its main object the mutual help, com- fort, and advancement, and the founding of free homes for indigent and invalid gentlewomen. Among its popular features, a new and original recitation by Mrs. Albert S. Bradshaw appears every month, and an instructive page on the art of elocution. Messrs. Jarrold have just issued a new illus- trated edition of “Old Caleb’s Will,” by Frances Armstrong. Price 38. 6d. Miss Jean Middlemass will shortly run a serial called “The Case of David Lisle,” through the National Press Agency Syndicate of News- papers. The second edition of Mr. Mackenzie Bell's “Spring's Immortality and other Poems ” being sold out, the publishers, Messrs. Ward, Lock, and Bowden, are about to issue a third edition in which the author has made some revisions, parti- cularly in the poem entitled “The Taking of the Flag” \ W YE have hitherto neglected to notice an ## p. (#596) ################################################ 242 THE AUTHOR. The lecture at the Imperial Institute, by Mr. James Baker, author of “John Westacott,” &c., was an undoubted success. The subject of the lecture, “Egypt of To-day,” is always interest- ing, and the lecturer's treatment elicited frequent applause. The views, of which over sixty were shown, were from snap shots taken by Mr. Baker; they represented the natives in religious cere- monies, groups around the temples and tombs, Scenes on the Nile and in the native houses, prisons and schools. Lord Monkswell has written a novel, which will be published by Messrs. Smith, Elder and Co. under the title of “ Kate Grenville.” “The Romance of Rahere,” by Edward Hardingham. (Elliot Stock.) — The poems in this book are presumably by one who now makes his first appearance in public. The poem which gives its title to the volume is about 150 pages in length; the other twelve are nearly all of good length. In these days of tiny volumes it is pleasing to have one poet not afraid of a sustained flight. Let Mr. Hardingham speak for himself in the following: PERDIDI DIEM | Nigh a baker's shop A man stood wistful——in his arms a child Asleep of weariness. Alas! beguiled By pleasant converse with a friend, to stop I thought not, but passed by—Perdidi diem Perdidi diem After, at my meal, My pets about me jealous each of each, A weary face, more eloquent than speech, Rose up, Egyptian guest. I could but feel The sting of thoughtlessness—Perdidi diem Perdidi diem “Evermore the poor Ye shall have with you.” Thus the Lord of all. Ah, God, how oft they look, they sigh, they call! We pass them careless by, or close the door. Forgive me, Lord, for oft—Perdidi diem Perdidi diem : Down the village street A-dust with summer heat, and broader road, Self-judged and self-condemned, I eager strode ; A mile, then two, and three, yet could not greet Again the wanderer pair—Perdidi diem Perdidi diem | Sorrowful at heart Returning home, I vowed no more for shame Ill felt, or pride, or selfish ease, the claim Of outcast to repel, or hunger smart Of poverty to quicken, lest one day The God alike of rich and poor should say. Tu perdidisti diem, servant Mine. Non perdidisti diem, dost thou lift A wormling out the path of hurrying men; Dost save a moth from flame; the guiltless wren Release from snare, or straying beetle shift Back to its burrow ; but at close of day Canst peaceful sleep to dream thy Lord doth say, Non perdidisti diem, servant Mine ! “The Exiles: a Romance of Life.” By Marcus S. C. Rickards. (London: George Bell and Sons.) This is a single poem told in about a hundred and fifty pages with songs and lyrics interspersed. Read, for instance, the following:— GOLD at the peep of dawn, Waxing to noon, Then by slow stealth withdrawn; Gray afternoon, Weiling a watery sun, Herald of rain begun, Weeping till Night hath won Her silver moon. Gold in the soft spring-time, Deepening to splendour Of the gay summer-prime, Till autumn tender Lose her tints, tears, and sighs, In gray despairing skies, Ere in cold silvery guise Calm winter end her. Gold in the curls that tell Childhood’s bright story— Oft lovelier mid the spell Of Youth’s full glory— Fading with Hope's fair gleam, Gray as the wept-for dream, Till silvery quiet beam In locks all hoary. Silver at dawn of Love, Cold, clear, disdaining. Then gray around, above— Sigh, gust, and raining. Ere the sun stream in gold, Deepening till all behold Love, that ne'er waxes old, And knows no waning. Mrs. Hodgson Burnett has completed a new novel of the time of Queen Anne, called “A Lady of Quality,” and Messrs. Warne will publish it immediately. Mr. E. F. Benson is engaged upon a romance laid in Greece during the War of Independence. The author of “Dodo’’ was recently sojourning in Greece, in connection with the operations of the British School of Archaeology. Mr. Allen Upward calls his new novel “A Crown of Straw,” which will relate to the late king of Bavaria. It will be published by Messrs. Chatto and Windus. Some months ago we announced “The Herb Moon,” by “John Oliver Hobbes.” It is now stated that the heroine of this story, which is to be published shortly, is of “a noble type of womanhood;’ and, moreover, that the author has now abandoned stories of the type of her “The Gods,” “Some Mortals,” and “Lord Wickenham.” The third volume of Mr. Herbert Spencer's “Principles of Sociology” may be expected by the summer, and in it will be included his brief work on “Ecclesiastical Institutions.” ## p. (#597) ################################################ THE AUTHOR. 243 Mr. Lecky has written an introduction to “A Life Spent for Ireland: Leaves from the Diary of W. J. O’Neill Daunt.” Mr. Clark Russell’s novel, in three volumes, “The Tale of the Ten,” and Mr. Crockett's “Cleg Kelly,” will both be published immediately. Distinctive interest attaches to the forthcoming poem by Mr. Robert Buchanan (which will appear immediately), from the fact that the author is also the publisher. This attitude will be explained in a pamphlet by Mr. Buchanan, who calls the ordinary publisher “a barnacle on the bottom of the good ship Literature, yet pre- suming to criticise the quality of the cargo in the hold.” In the same way he will himself deal direct with the bookseller upon all other works he may publish in the future. The title of the poem is “TheDevil's Case: a Bank Holiday Interlude.” Mr. John Stafford is a new writer who will appear with a volume of stories, entitled “Doris and I,” to be published by Messrs. Chatto. For Mr. William Archer’s “Theatrical World of 1895,” to appear soon, Mr. Pinero has written a prefatory letter, mainly reminiscent of his early days at Edinburgh, while Mr. H. G. Hibbert supplies a synopsis of playbills. Mdme. Stepniak is preparing a biography of her late husband, the well-known Russian agitator. The Russian section of it will be edited by Prince Kropotkin. Chapters on Stepniak as a critic, Stepniak as a political writer, and Stepniak in Italy, will be contributed respectively by Professor York Powell, Mr. Edward Garnett, and Malatesta, the Italian anarchist. A Russian romance has, by the way, just been completed by Mr. William Le Queux, entitled “The Nihilist Spy: Being the Strange Adventures of Anton Prehzneff.” Messrs. Ward, Lock, and Bowden will publish the story. The postman poet, Mr. James D. Hosken, has written a tragedy in three acts about “Christo- pher Marlowe,” which is its title; also a harle- uinade in doggerel called “Belphegor.” They will be published together in one volume by Messrs. Henry and Co. very soon. Should health attend him, Mr. Justin M*Carthy contemplates renewed literary activity now that he has given up the duties of leadership in the Irish Parliamentary Party. He has in prospect, for instance, the completion of his “History of Our Own Times” by bringing it down to the present day, a memoir of the Pope, a three- volume novel, and a collection of short stories. Add to these his own Reminiscences, and the list seems richly promising. The autobiography of Mary Anderson will be ready at Messrs. Osgood, McIlvaine's, in a few days' time. Next month the same house will issue the second portion of the Barras memoirs. In the course of the spring season they will also publish a work by Professor Garner, of “the language of the monkey tribe’” fame, giving his experiences during his late visit to West Africa. The Professor spent four months in an iron cage in the forest of the French Congo, with only the companionship of his subjects of study, the wild beasts. Mr. Arthur Waugh supplies notes and an intro- duction to a new edition of Johnson’s “Lives of the Poets,” which Messrs. Kegan Paul have in the press. It will consist of six volumes, published monthly, and there will be thirty portraits in it of the chief poets. Mr. Le Gallienne has edited for Mr. Lane a reprint of “The Compleat Angler,” from the 1676 edition. Two hundred drawings by Mr. Edmund H. New will be given throughout the twelve parts, issue of which begins now. Another work to be published by Mr. Lane is “The Feasts of Autolycus: The Diary of a Greedy Woman,” being articles on cookery by Mrs. Pennell, which have been published in the Pall Mall Gazette. Mr. F. Marchmont, a London secondhand book- seller, is compiling a “Handbook of Anonymous Literature,” which, while not pretending to be comprehensive in scope, will index about 2000 works. 2 “Hans Breitmann’’ is about to issue, through Messrs. Chatto and Windus, a book on the some- what quaint topic of “mending and repairing.” He has gone conscientiously about it by experi- menting in particular cases and discussing the latest technological works, and he knows no book in any language which covers the same ground as it will. The new editor of the Edinburgh Review is the Hon. Arthur Elliot, brother to the Earl of Minto, and sometime Member of Parliament for the county of Roxburgh. February witnessed the sudden departure (owing to differences with the proprietor) from the editorial chair of the Pall Mall Gazette of Mr. Cust, M.P., who has been succeeded temporarily by Sir Douglas Straight until, as it is understood, an American editor appears. Mr. E. T. Cook has succeeded Sir John Robinson in the editorship of the Daily News; and his assistant, Mr. J. A. Spender, now follows him as editor of the Westminster Gazette. Mr. Murray has in his possession letters and other documents written by and relating to ## p. (#598) ################################################ 244 THE AUTHOR. Byron, including the poet’s own continuation of “Don Juan,” and other fragments, with the aid of which he is about to prepare a final and com- plete edition. r - Miss Florence Marryat's new story is con- cerned with Spiritualism, and the title is “The Strange Transfiguration of Hannah Stubbs.” Messrs. Hutchinson, who will publish this book soon, have also in hand a novel by Miss Marie Corelli, entitled “The Mighty Atom.” New stories by Mr. Frankfort Moore, “In Our Hours of Ease;” Mr. Morley Roberts, “The Great Jester: being some Jests of Fate; ” and Mr. Percy Russell, “A Cumberland Tragedy,” are announced by Messrs. Mentz, Kenner, and Gelberg for early publication. Mr. Gabriel Setoun calls his next novel “Robert Urquhart.” It will come from Messrs. Bliss, Sands, and Foster, who are also issuing “A Willage Drama,” a new story by “W. Schallen- berger,” the pseudonymic author of “Green Tea.” The most important publication during February was Slatin Pasha's book, “Fire and Sword in the Soudan: a Personal Narrative of Fighting and Serving the Dervishes, 1879-95 (Arnold). The iniquities and cruelties of the Mahdi's rule are graphically set forth in a work which, if ever one was, will be acknowledged to have been dearly bought by its writer. Of purely literary interest, Professor Saintsbury’s “History of Nineteenth Century Literature" (Macmillan) was notable. The period, says the writer, need fear no comparison in poetry. “In prose fiction it stands alone.” “In “making’—prose or verse —no time leaves record of performance more dis- tinguished or more various.” Mr. R. D. Blackmore has a volume of four short stories coming out presently, Messrs. Sampson Low being the publishers. His new long story, “Dariel: a Romance of Surrey,” will appear first in Blackwood’s Magazine. The biography of the late Frederick Engels, which his executor, Mr. E. Bernstein, is preparing, will be published under the title “Frederic Engels, the Founder of Scientific Socialism : His Work and his Associations.” From a list drawn up by the Publishers' Weekly of America, it appears that during 1895 there were published in America. 3396 books by American authors and 2073 by English authors. In fiction, however, the proportion was 827 English to 287 American; while in poetry, bio- graphy, and travel English books were also more numerous. In works of history, theology, law, and medicine, the balance is distinctly on the American side; while in books on sport and amusement the Transatlantic reading public evi- dently divide their favour equally. An uncommon kind of story, vide the pub- lishers' announcement, is shortly to be published by a lady writer through Messrs. Hutchinson. The heroine of “In a Silent World” is a deaf and dumb girl, and the tale, says the authoress in her preface, “seeks to depict the introspection of a soul pent up, prison-like, between the walls of a great affliction, whose only mode of express- ing the emotions is by the pen.” - Mr. H. D. Traill's biography of Sir John Franklin will be published during the spring by Mr. Murray. A catalogue of Mr. Whistler's lithographs is being compiled, with descriptive matter, by Mr. T. R. Way for the guidance of collectors and connoisseurs. The edition will consist of only 125 copies, at IOS. 6d. each, and there will be as frontispiece a portrait of Mr. Whistler by himself, in stump lithography. Messrs. Bell and Sons will publish the list. “English in American Universities.” (Boston, U.S.A.: D. C. Heath and Co.) Here are twenty accounts of the English courses in representative American colleges, each written by a professor and, with two exceptions, reprinted from the Dial. In an introduction to the book, Mr. W. M. Payne, of that journal, discusses the shortcomings of their higher instruction in English, but remarks that, however far it may be from the fulfilment of its whole ambition, it is eager in its outlook for higher things. Two new series of works of fiction are announced, namely, “The Leisure Library,” to be begun by Messrs. Hutchinson with a volume entitled “The Second Opportunity of Mr. Staple- hurst,” from the pen of Mr. W. Pett Ridge; and “The Yellow Library,” which follows on the wind-up of the “Pseudonym " series of Mr. Fisher Unwin, and will open with a volume from Canon Jessopp. At the Frere book-sale the famous Paston Letters were bought over for the British Museum. A copy of the rare Kilmarnock edition of Burns brought 3121—a record price for it—at Messrs. Sotheby's on the 21st ult.; and first editions of Dickens’s “Pickwick’’ and “Tale of Two Cities,” in the original numbers, sold for £13 5s. and £10 5s., respectively. Of Scott, “Guy Man- nering,” first edition, was bought for £7 7s., “The Antiquary" for £3 5s.; “Rob Roy,” 25, and the first and second series of “Tales of my Landlord,” 3916. 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. 06 Issue 10 (March 1896) Subject The topic of the resource The Author, Vol. 06 Issue 10 (March 1896) Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015013732253" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015013732253</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Publication Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 1896-03-02-The-Author-6-10 publications The Author